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Like Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1, Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2 is a slip-streamed version.

Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2 introduces several new features, but in order to utilize Exchange 2007 SP2, you must perform the following steps:

1. Extend the Schema
2. Prepare Active Directory
3. Install Windows Installer 4.5
4. Uninstall Interim Updates

Extend the Schema

In order to deploy Exchange 2007 SP2, you must first extend the schema. Depending on your environment's configuration, one of the following scenarios will happen:

• If your Active Directory environment currently does not have any Exchange Server version deployed, then when you extend the schema, the schema changes included with Exchange 2000 through Exchange 2010 will be deployed in your environment.
• If your Active Directory environment is currently Exchange 2000 and you are upgrading to Exchange 2007, then when you extend the schema, the schema changes included with Exchange 2003 through Exchange 2010 will be deployed in your environment.
• If your Active Directory environment is currently Exchange 2003 and you are upgrading to Exchange 2007, then when you extend the schema, the schema changes included with Exchange 2007 through Exchange 2010 will be deployed in your environment.
• If your Active Directory environment is currently Exchange 2007 and you are upgrading to Exchange 2007 SP2, then when you extend the schema, the Exchange 2010 schema changes will be deployed in your environment.

Question 1: Why is Exchange 2010 listed above?

For those of you that haven't been keeping abreast of the work we are doing in Exchange 2010, Exchange 2007 SP2 is required for coexistence with Exchange 2010. This enables support for coexistence like ensuring Exchange 2010 mailbox Autodiscover requests that are received by CAS2007 are redirected to the appropriate CAS2010 and enabling ActiveSync proxy support between CAS2010 and CAS2007.

Therefore, to minimize the number of times you have to perform a schema extension, we decided to include the Exchange 2010 RTM schema. For those of you that are planning to upgrade your Exchange 2007 environments to Exchange 2010, this will reduce the number of schema extensions you have to perform. Once you extend the schema with Exchange 2007 SP2, you will not have to extend the schema with Exchange 2010 RTM.

However there are direct benefits with deploying the Exchange 2010 schema with Exchange 2007 SP2. One of the new features in Exchange 2007 SP2 is the ability for administrators to control certain settings at the organization level that originally were configured via configuration files; the schema changes have enabled us to move some of these settings now into AD. Expect to hear more about this in a future blog post.

Question 2: How do I extend the schema?

In order to extend the schema you must meet all the pre-requisites:

1. You must be running the Exchange 2007 setup with a domain account that is a member of the Schema Admins and Enterprise Admins security groups.
2. The machine on which you run the Exchange 2007 setup schema extension process must be a member of the same domain and Active Directory site as the Schema Master.
3. The machine on which you run the Exchange 2007 setup schema extension process must be:

a. Windows Server 2003 SP2 with Windows Installer 4.5 installed
b. Windows Server 2008 with Windows Installer 4.5 installed
c. Windows Server 2008 SP2

To extend the schema, you simply run this command from an administrative command line:

setup /PrepareSchema

Prepare Active Directory

In order to support the new Role Based Access Control (RBAC) model in Exchange 2010, a new security group was created, the Exchange Trusted Subsystem (ETS). The ETS is a highly-privileged universal security group (USG) that has read and write access to every Exchange-related object in the Exchange organization. In Exchange 2010 all Remote Powershell actions are run under the context of a CAS which is a member of the Exchange Trusted Subsystem. This means that for any action that acts against a local server resource, for example in enumerating the IIS virtual directories, to succeed the Exchange Trusted SubSystem needs sufficient rights to view or manipulate those local resources depending on the action.

In order to support coexistence with Exchange 2010, Exchange 2007 SP2 creates this security group in the Microsoft Exchange Security Groups organization unit during the AD preparation setup phase. This group is then added to the Exchange 2007 server's local administrators group during the installation of the SP2 binaries.[rs42]

Question: How do I prepare Active Directory?

In order to prepare Active Directory you must meet all the pre-requisites:

1. You must be running the Exchange 2007 setup with a domain account that is a member of the Enterprise Admins security group.
2. The machine on which you run the Exchange 2007 setup schema extension process must be a member of the same domain and Active Directory site as the Schema Master.
3. The machine on which you run the Exchange 2007 setup schema extension process must be:

a. Windows Server 2003 SP2 with Windows Installer 4.5 installed
b. Windows Server 2008 with Windows Installer 4.5 installed
c. Windows Server 2008 SP2

To extend the schema, you simply run this command from an administrative command line:

setup /PrepareAD

Install Windows Installer 4.5

Microsoft Windows Installer is a component of the Windows operating system. Windows Installer provides a standard foundation for installing and uninstalling software. Software manufacturers can create the setup of their products to use Windows Installer to help make software installation, maintenance, and uninstallation straightforward and easy. For more information, please see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc185688(VS.85).aspx.

The Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010 setup engine is an example of a product that leverages Windows Installer. Specifically we have a setup wrapper that launches and installs the product via an MSI file. Windows Installer also allows us to patch via MSP files.

However, several of our customers have experienced an issue due to Windows Installer and the way rollups are applied. Essentially the following could happen:

1. You installed Exchange 2007 SP1 on a machine that does not have Windows Installer 4.5.
2. You removed the setup media or disconnected the network share.
3. You then applied SP1 RU4v1.
4. You then uninstall SP1 RU4v1.
5. During the uninstall you are now prompted for the source media (Exchange 2007 SP1).

This scenario was a result of a bug in the Installer setup experience, where if we ship a non-versioned file with a companion file in the main product setup MSI file (so in the Exchange 2007 SP1 media) and then and we patch the non-versioned file for the first time (so in the SP1 RU4v1 patch) then the uninstall of the patch prompts for original install media (because MSI has a bug where it does not make a backup of the non-versioned file when installing the patch). An example of a non-versioned file is the logon.aspx file for the forms-based authentication page in Outlook Web Access.

Question: How do I install Windows Installer 4.5?

For Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows Server 2008 RTM, to install Windows installer 4.5 you need to download the appropriate version from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=5a58b56f-60b6-4412-95b9-54d056d6f9f4.

Please note that if you are running Windows Vista SP2 or Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Installer 4.5 is already included.

Uninstall Interim Updates

Beginning with Exchange 2007, Sustained Engineering moved to model where we release public rollups on a routine basis as opposed to building individual hot-fixes that may or may not be publically accessible. This allows customers to get the latest code base fixes directly from Microsoft.com without requiring numerous hot-fixes to be up to date.

However, sometimes customers do experience issues that require them to run what we have termed an Interim Update because they cannot wait for the rollup to be released that contains the fix. Customers can obtain the Interim Update from Microsoft Support and deploy it to resolve their issue. Because it is an Interim Update, it does have certain requirements - they require a certain version of a rollup / service pack and due to our rollup architecture, Interim Updates must be uninstalled prior to installing the next rollup or service pack.

Conclusion

Hopefully the information included above will prepare you in upgrading to Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2. If you have any questions, please let us know.

-- Ross Smith IV

The Exchange UI team is investigating possible technologies we could use in future releases of management tools. One potential technology we could use is Silverlight. This would provide the ability to offer rich management features in a web-based interface, but would require that Silverlight be installed on PCs that were used to run those web-based tools.

We'd like to get your feedback on whether you think this would be a good idea or not. Also please note it is only an idea at this point.

If you have a few minutes, we'd appreciate it if you could go to the following link to complete a brief survey in order to provide your opinions on this.

Link to survey

Thanks!

- Karl Bystrom

Remind me Blank Subject will automatically remind you that you have a blank subject before you really send the message scanning each outgoing email. You will have then the opportunity to insert a subject to your outgoing message.

Delete Duplicated Contact allows you to delete duplicated contacts with just one click of a button.

VoIP Plug-in is a driver for Microsoft Fax that enables Microsoft Fax (Windows Fax and Scan) to connect to either phone lines or Internet services that support SIP T.38 (the industry standard network VoIP fax transmission protocol). Connect to PHONE LINES (PSTN) with VoIP gateways that support SIP T.38 (the industry standard network VoIP fax transmission protocol). Connect through INTERNET/VoIP services that support SIP T.38 pass-through. FREE.

OWA Tray Monitor is an Outlook Web Access New Mail Notification Tool This free tool is for corporate Exchange Users who use Outlook Web Access (OWA) as their primary user interface. The single most annoying feature lacking in OWA is it's ability to inform the user that new mail has arrived when working on another application. OWATray bridges that gap.

Data Fields Manager for Outlook allows users to perform mass modifications to contact fields in Outlook. You can add, remove, capitalize, build, clear, paste, trim and much more with the click of a button. Now select a contact folder and then create a folder tree that uses the Categories field as the folder name. Compatible with Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2007.

For everyone using the Outlook 2010 Technical Preview, there are a number of improvements for working with multiple Exchange accounts. My name is Andrew Sullivan, I’m a Program Manager working on Outlook and it’s my pleasure to highlight some of these improvements.

Connect to more than one Microsoft Exchange account simultaneously. If you’ve worked with more than one Exchange account in Outlook 2007 or earlier, you may have resorted to using multiple Outlook profiles to access your additional accounts. No more, as Outlook 2010 supports connecting to as many as three Exchange accounts from a single profile.

How do I get another Exchange account into Outlook?

In the Technical Preview, Outlook requires you to use the Mail Applet in the Control Panel to add additional Exchange accounts. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, type “Mail” into the search box in the control panel to find the Mail Applet. In Windows XP the applet is shown in the default Control Panel view.

Once you’ve launched the Mail Applet choose “E-mail Accounts…” and then “New…” From there, the wizard will allow you to add another Exchange account.

What’s the catch?

Your additional Exchange accounts function just like your first Exchange account in almost every way. Some things, however, are different. For example, the To-Do Bar shows appointments only from your default store, not those from additional Exchange account calendars. To view which store is your default click the Office button, then Account Setting, then, choose the Data Files tab.

What else is improved about Multiple Accounts?

The Ribbon in Outlook 2010 is specific to the account at which you are looking. If you click New E-mail in the ribbon while looking at the Inbox of your second Exchange account, your new message will be sent from your second Exchange account.

Who are you sending From?

When you add a second account of any type to Outlook 2010, the new From Picker will show up on new mail messages. This allows you to easily see which account you’re sending from, and just as easily change it.

These are just some of the improvements we made to help you manage multiple accounts in Outlook 2010! Please let us know what you think in the comments.

Andrew Sullivan
Program Manager

We are pleased to announce the release of Service Pack 2 for Exchange 2007. This marks an important milestone in the development process for Exchange Server 2007. Our team has provided a couple of blog posts here and here outlining what is available in this service pack release. During this week, we will feature a series of posts to add additional information which will hopefully assist in answering questions you may have on SP2.

As we mentioned previously, there are many important updates to Exchange 2007 in this service pack including:

• Enhanced Auditing - New Exchange auditing events and audit log repository enable Exchange administrators to more easily audit the activities occurring on their Exchange servers. It allows the right balance of granularity, performance, and easy access to audited events via a dedicated audit log repository. This simplifies the auditing process and makes review of audited events easier by segregating audited events in a dedicated location.
• Exchange Volume Snapshot Backup Functionality - A new backup plug-in has been added to the product that will enable customers to create Exchange backups when a backup is invoked through the Windows Server 2008 Backup tool. Exchange Server 2007 didn't have this capability on Windows Server 2008 and additional solutions were required to perform this task.
• Dynamic Active Directory Schema Update and Validation - The dynamic AD schema update and validation feature allows for future schema updates to be dynamic deployed as well as proactively preventing conflicts whenever a new property is added to the AD schema. Once this capability is deployed it will enable easier management of future schema updates and will prevent support issues when adding properties that don't exist in the AD schema.
• Public Folder Quota Management - SP2 enables a consistent way to manage quotas by improving the current PowerShell cmdlets to perform quota management tasks.
• Centralized Organizational Settings - SP2 introduces new PowerShell option that enable centralized management of many of the Exchange organization settings.
• Named Properties cmdlets - SP2 enables Exchange administrators to monitor their named property usage per database.
• New User Interface for Managing Diagnostic Logging- SP2 enables Exchange administrators to easily configure and manage diagnostic logging from within the Exchange Management Console.

As always, we encourage you to use our Exchange Software update forums to post your question so that we can ensure a response.

Links:

1. Download SP2 here.
2. Before installing, read the release notes here.
3. Questions? Ask us here.

Thanks!

The Exchange Customers Experience Team

Microsoft Learning has created a series of Learning Snacks to help satisfy your hunger for more knowledge.  Learning Snacks are short, interactive presentations about popular topics created by Microsoft Learning experts. Each Snack is delivered by using innovative Microsoft Silverlight technology and includes various media, such as animations and recorded demos. At the end of each free presentation, you can view more Snacks, learn more about the topic, or visit a related Web site.

Check out these Exchange 2010 learning snacks:

• Unified Messaging in Exchange 2010
• High Availability and Storage in Exchange 2010

If a snack isn't enough, there's plenty more resources from Microsoft Learning.  Check out these resources for even more information:

PrePress Chapter Downloads:

• Exchange 2010 Administrator's Pocket Consultant: Chapter 1: Exchange Server Administration Overview AND Chapter 6: Mailbox Administration

Free eLearning Clinics:

• Collection 6899: Exploring Features in Exchange 2010 (2-hours)
• Collection 6900: Introduction to Exchange 2010 (1-hour)
• Collection 6901: Exchange Server 2010 in an Enterprise (1-hour)

Instructor-Led Training:

• Course 10133a: First Look Clinic - What's New in Exchange Server 2010 (3-hours)
• Course 10134a: Hands on Lab - What's New in Exchange Server 2010 (3-hours)
• Course 10150a: Exchange Server 2010 (Beta) Ignite (3-days)

Training Portal Link:

• Exchange 2010 Learning Portal

Enjoy!

-- Scott Schnoll