It can be a new 12 months, and that usually means an additional item update from Microsoft. This time about, it's Exchange. Microsoft lately launched Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. It appears that they are maintaining the Exchange rotation going on a 3 yr span, but do we truly need to have to improve our email server every single 3 many years?
Right here is the place you are going to consider mixed testimonials. Some IT pros may perhaps say, "If it can be not broke, will not correct it", though many others might say, "We have to improve, Microsoft stated so". Whilst Microsoft may well be pushing companies to move up to the newly redesigned Exchange 2013 platform, my recommendation would be to hold off as lengthy as feasible, or till they at least release some kind of update for Exchange 2013.
In my 1st try to roll out a new Exchange 2013 surroundings, we had mixed benefits. We had been constructing a brand new domain on a new VMware server deployment. We implemented a single server for our domain controller. This was a virtual machine operating Windows Server 2008r2 with simply just Lively Directory put in. We then made one more Windows Server 2008r2 virtual server to host our Exchange set up.
Immediately after putting in the numerous, and from time to time puzzling prerequisites, we have been effectively on our way to the real set up of Exchange 2013. We received the Exchange software program set up, created the essential DNS modifications, opened the required ports on the firewall, and held our breath. For all around the initially 4 hrs, every little thing was excellent... or was it? Inner and external mail exams have been working fine. Consumers have been acquiring their mail on their smartphones, by means of webmail and as well in their Outlook consumers. The implementation of Exchange 2013 was also uncomplicated. Effectively, just about.
Inside of 4 hrs of the Exchange server becoming on-line, a single consumer came to me and mentioned, "I simply just got an email from an worldwide consumer that was sent all-around 3 hrs in the past. The email said that I was supposed to be a element of a conference contact at four:00pm and it can be currently four:30pm. What occurred?"
I started out digging by means of log files, checking the occasion logs and even commenced sending some test messages. The logs supplied no insight as to what was taking spot. In truth, there was practically nothing in the logs that would have indicated any sort of mail movement difficulties.
Microsoft has ripped out the Exchange Management Console in Exchange 2013, leaving administrators both the Exchange Management Shell, or the new Exchange Management Web Interface for administering the Exchange deployment. A single of the handful of equipment that they did depart us with is the mail queue viewer. I opened up the viewer and confident ample, there had been hundreds of emails sitting in the queues waiting for Inner and external delivery. I considered to myself, "How may perhaps this have occurred? Anything was basically operating good!"
Flustered and baffled, I reconfigured our DNS settings and firewall settings to route mail back to our Exchange 2007 server and promptly termed Microsoft. Following discussing the difficulties with Microsoft, they explained that the concern was triggered through the confusion of Exchange 2013 wanting to use IPv6 as an alternative of IPv4.
Our whole network is primarily based off of IPv4 and we have not even mentioned the choices of modifying more than to IPv6. Microsoft acknowledged that they have been mindful of the concern and that it would be addressed in the 1st support pack or update bundle that came out for Exchange 2013. Though I inquired all-around the sum of time this could get Microsoft to release, they informed me that they didn't have a set date, as they have been nevertheless operating on correcting other troubles and incorporating other options.
So Right here I was, staring at 1 Exchange server display seeing hundreds of incoming and outgoing emails caught in queues that would will not attain their ultimate location and hundreds of other emails that had created it to delivery and are currently caught in a further server's mailbox databases all when viewing matters run close to flawlessly on our Exchange 2007 server.
I determined to change the DNS and firewall settings to stage back to the new Exchange 2013 server and reboot the Exchange 2013 server to see if perhaps that would clear up the queues, and absolutely sure sufficient, as quickly as the server came back on the internet from a reboot, all incoming and outgoing mail was delivered well. Why would a server reboot effectively clear the queues? I was stumped.
For the ultimate time, I altered all of the DNS and firewall settings, up to date recipient policies to contain all email domains and moved back to the Exchange 2007 server for our email wants. I exported all contents of the mailboxes from the Exchange 2013 server and imported them into the consumer's mailboxes on the Exchange 2007 server. All the things was back in location, and the Exchange 2013 nightmare had last but not least come to an end.
Considering that this deployment try, I have recreated bodily and virtual servers to property Exchange 2013. I have produced DNS and firewall updates and adjustments so several instances in the ultimate month; I can do it in my rest. It didn't matter what platform I set up Exchange 2013 on, the end end result was specifically the very same. It would work for some time, and then all of the mail would consider caught in delivery queues. I would reboot the server, and the mail would be delivered. It basically did not make any sense.
However, there is no content ending to this story, nor was there some unforeseen revelation that came on me to be ready to repair the Exchange 2013 deployment. It simply just didn't work. I have heard of other engineers owning the actual very same troubles, and I have heard other engineers declare that they have deployed Exchange 2013 with no concerns at all. I say, if the shoe fits, dress in it, However for me, nicely, I guess my feet had been also significant.
Although the new release of Exchange 2013 is complete of new options, many back end reconfigurations and the redesign of the EMC and OWA modules, the headaches of the initial implementation attempts have left a poor taste in my mouth for Exchange 2013. I believed perhaps we would deploy an Exchange 2010 server and wait for a support pack and do a uncomplicated improve to 2013, but, oh yeah, you presently cannot migrate from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013. Microsoft intends to correct this in their release of the Exchange Cumulative Update (CU1), which is anticipated to be launched sometime in the initially quarter of 2013.
I am not keeping my breath, and I'm in no hurry to deploy Exchange 2013 at all. Exchange 2007 has been as dependable as it comes, so I will stick to the side who claims, "If it is not broke, do not repair it". Possibly Microsoft need to start to get this strategy with long term deployments of their current computer software packages.
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