Exchange 2010 find empy distribution groups

When you have big Microsoft Exchange environment, you probably have many Distribution Groups.

Often you create distribution groups when you need them or someone need, and after that you forget about them.

It’s good to clean unused grups from time to time.

Below we present powershell command to find distribution groups without members.

If you have any distribution group without members, you will receive informations about name, smtp address and Managed By.

You can simply use below commands:

$DistrGroups = Get-DistributionGroup -ResultSize Unlimited
ForEach ($DistrGroup in $DistrGroups) { 
 if (!$(Get-DistributionGroupMember -Identity $DistrGroup.’DistinguishedName’)) { 
  Write-Host $DistrGroup.DisplayName "," $DistrGroup.PrimarySmtpAddress "," $DistrGroup.ManagedBy
  }
}

 

 

Exchange 2010 configure Site Scope for Autodiscover

In Exchange 2010 environment with many Active Directory Sites we have to provide access for clients connecting from multiple sites to our Exchange Server.

When our Exchange and Active Directory environment is spreads across country or world, we often use AD Sites. Then we have to make sure that every AD Site is supported by ours Exchange CAS servers Autodiscovery.

So we need to add AD Sites to AutoDiscoverySitesScope in our Exchange CAS Server.

First we should check existing configuration of CAS servers. To do this we can write below command:

Get-ClientAccessServer | fl Name, AutoDiscoverSiteScope

 

We will get list of all Exchange CAS with AutoDiscoverSiteScope.

If we don’t know what AD Sites are in our environment we can get list of AD Sites using:

Get-AdSite

When we want to add AD Site to Exchange CAS we need to use Set-ClientAccessServer CMDlet like below:

Set-ClientAccessServer -identity MXCAS01 -AutoDiscoverSiteScope "Location Site 1, Location Site 2"

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Exchange Server 2010 and 2007 Issues with Windows Updates KB2506146 and KB2506143

Watch for Windows Updates KB2506146 oraz KB2506143 and error

Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange 2007

 

Microsoft recently released updates KB2506146 and KB2506143 for operating systems Microsoft Windows 2008, 2008 R2 and Windows 7.

If you have Microsoft Exchange 2010 or Microsoft Exchange 2007 don’t install these updates.

Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2007 have some issues with these updates KB2506146 and KB2506143.

These updates will install Windows Management Framework 3.0 with PowerShell 3.o which is not supported by Exchange Server 2010 nor 2007.

You can read about updates here:

  • KB2506143 is the WMF 3.0 update for Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows 7 SP1;
  • KB2506146 is the WMF 3.0 update for Windows Server 2008 SP2.

 

After you install these updates, your Exchange Server 2010 or 2007 system can be unavailable or unusable. It also include workstations with Windows 7 and Exchange Management Tools.

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Exchange Server 2010 rollup upadate error 1603 or 1635

 

When you are trying to install update rollup or service pack for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 or 2007 and you receive error 1603 or 1635 you can resolve this problem like below.

Problems occurs because new rollup update or service pack check %SystemDrive%\Windows\Installer folder for .msp files from earlier update rollups.

If an .msp file is missing then process fails with code 1603 or 1635.

 

To resolve this problem you need to follow these steps:

  1. Make sure that all antivirus, anti-spam, and monitoring services are disabled.
  2. Clear the data in the “%SystemDrive%\Windows\TEMP”folder.
  3. Try to install the update rollup or service pack.
  4. If the installation fails, open the Exchangesetup.msilog installation log in the “%SystemDrive%\ExchangeSetupLogs” folder.

 

If you can’t find ExchangeSetup.msilog file then you have to use /lxv switch during installation rollup or service pack like below:

Exchange2007-KB968012-x64-EN.msp /lxv c:\Rollup.log

 

Now you can open log file and it looks like this below:

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Exchange 2010 datacenter switchover switchback tool

 

Microsoft released Data Center switchover-switchback tool for Exchange 2010.

This tool is made in … PowerPoint :)

You can run it in your PowerPoint software and it’s designed to help administrators troubleshoot the process to switch Exchange 2010 DataCenter.

When you run it you will find a series of questions that will help you to determine what commands to run and where to run and how to verify them to switchover or switchback your Exchange 2010 DataCenter.

This tool will ask you right questions to get information about yours environment and then you will get right feedback with commands to switchover and switchback Exchange 2010 DataCenter.

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Microsoft Exchange Server TechNet Library – changed URLs

 

Exchange Team Blog inform in post Exchange Server TechNet Library URLs updated that they have updated Exchange TechNet Library URLs.

So now link (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124558.aspx)) to Exchange 2010 documentation will take you to Exchange Server 2013 documentation.

But if you want to get to Exchange Server 2010 documentation you need only modify this link at the end and add (v=exchg.141) like below:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124558(v=exchg.141).aspx

Then you will get to Exchange 2010 documentation on TechNet

It’s not to much work to update your browser shortcuts.

 

Below you can find links to main documentation for Exchange Server versions:

Exchange Server 2013 Documentation
Exchange Server 2010 Documentation
Exchange Server 2007 Documentation

 

Exchange 2010 database create free space (white space)

 

Every mailbox database in Exchange 2010 has white space. It’s free space which can be used before .edb file will grow.

Sometimes we need to create free space in database right now if we want to avoid of growing of .edb file.

To get free space in mailbox database we can do the following:

  • move few mailboxes from mailbox database to other mailbox database
  • purge disabled mailboxes
  • purge soft-deleted mailboxes

 

Exchange 2010 check AvailableNewMailboxSpace (white space) in database:

We can check available white space for new mailboxes in mailbox databases using powershell like below:

Get-MailboxDatabase -server MBX1 | select Name, DatabaseSize, AvailableNewMailboxSpace

or if we want to check only one mailbox database:

Get-MailboxDatabase DB01 | select Name, DatabaseSize, AvailableNewMailboxSpace

 

If we want to see all disabled mailboxes (disabled today) in database we have to wait for scheduled Cleanup Agent or we can run it from powershell:

Get-MailboxDatabase -server MBX1 | Clean-MailboxDatabase

When we run above command, all mailboxes disabled today, will be marked as disabled and we can find them in Disconnected Mailboxes.

 

Exchange 2010 list disabled mailboxes:

We can get informations about disabled mailboxes to know how much space we will get when we purge disabled or soft-deleted mailboxes.

To list all disabled mailboxes in all mailbox databases in server MBX1 run:

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Microsoft Exchange 2010 how to reduce the size of the database

As is known in the Microsoft Exchange database size after removal of the mailboxes is not decreasing but remains the same.
Created the database “gap” so called White Space which tells us about the amount of available space, which can be used without the need to increase the size of the database file .edb.
Only after completing the White Space, a further increase in the size of mailboxes in the database, it will increase the file size .edb file.

In the case of Microsoft Exchange databases such solution is problematic, because in order to reduce file size .edb after removing mailboxes from the database we use the most with ESEUTIL, which have performed defrag the database.

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Microsoft Exchange 2010 DAG database moving

For every environment comes a moment in which it appears that we lack the space. Despite numerous retention policies, backup, mailbox limits, we finally reach the base of such a size that forces us to change the place of their location.

Prior to moving Microsoft Exchange 2010 databases to a new location that we need to know:

  • transfer database operation will break in access to mailboxes located in the database. The time interval depends on the size of the database and move the time of replication in Active Directory
  • best to plan the transfer bases outside working hours, thus touches the smaller number of users and the network used by us will not be charged by other systems
  • transmitted base can not be enabled CircularLoggingEnabled
    CircularLogging can be disabled using Exchange Management Console or by using PowerShell:

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White Space Viewer GUI

On the telnetport25.com website we can find utility that can show us in graphical mode information on the amount of whitespace available to the Exchange databases.

Whitespace – is the amount of available free space in the Exchange database. Edb, which can be used by the mailbox located at the base will be enlarged until the entire database file. Edb mailboxes because of the increase.

So if we remove the mailbox at the base or deleted emails are in the database after a specified period is defined in the settings of the Exchange database, the deleted data is permanently deleted from the database or file. Edb. Unfortunately, the. Edb itself is not reduced only retains its size, such as he had, and will appear in the free space (whitespace), which will first be used to create new mailboxes in the database or from growing the current boxes. This allows the database file itself. EDB will increase its size until the database is available space whitespace.

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