Thoughtsofanidlemind's Blog

Category: Exchange 2010

  • Thoughts about having a dedicated archive server in a DAG

    An article covering some aspects of the deployment of archive mailboxes posted on SearchExchange by Brian Posey, a well-known and respected writer about Exchange, attracted my attention. While Brian makes some good points, I think the general thrust of his argument is flawed. Here’s why. His central point is that…

  • Exchange 2010, mailbox imports, and LocalSystem

    Anything posted on the Internet has a reasonably long half-life, a fact that I was reminded of when I researched some information about the Windows LocalSystem account and discovered an article that I wrote for Windows IT Pro magazine about Exchange 2000. In a nutshell, the article discussed a major…

  • Be careful with VM snapshots of Exchange 2010 servers

    Those who are considering virtualizing production Exchange 2010 servers should read the fine print contained in the TechNet article “Exchange 2010 System Requirements“. In particular, this text is crucial: “Some hypervisors include features for taking snapshots of virtual machines. Virtual machine snapshots capture the state of a virtual machine while…

  • Varying replication mode within a DAG

    Log shipping is a well-known method for data replication between Exchange servers (and other computers). It made its first appearance in Exchange in the Local Continuous Replication (LCR) and Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) features of Exchange 2007, added to with Standby Cluster Replication (SCR) in Exchange 2007 SP1, and is…

  • Preparing for Spring Connections and first impressions of Office 365

    Earlier this week Brian K. Winstead, the author of the Exchange and Outlook blog on http://www.windowsitpro.com, contacted me to ask about the keynote that I’ll be giving at the Spring 2011 Exchange Connections event at the JW Marriott Resort hotel in Orlando from March 27 to 30. The resulting conversation…

  • Oooh… that’s some copy queue length!

    The Database Availability Group (DAG) is probably the best Exchange 2010 feature from both an impact and technology perspective. Microsoft took a really good decision by not limiting the DAG to enterprise editions of Exchange, even if you can only mount five databases on a server (counting both active and…

  • Facebook page for Exchange 2010 Maestro training

    The redoubtable Mr. Robichaux, showing a mastery of technology that marks him as a very special person, has created a Facebook page for our Exchange 2010 Maestro training events that we are planning for San Diego (May), London (UK – June), and Greenwich, CT (October). Not only does this demonstrate…

  • Multi-role or single-role servers?

    Ever since Exchange 2007, Microsoft has emphasized the product’s capability to be installed in different roles on a server. The logic behind this direction is pretty simple: you should only ever install the code that you actually need on a server rather than installing a lot of stuff that you…

  • Exchange 2010 Public Folders: Part 3

    This content comes from a chapter removed from my book Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Inside Out, also available at Amazon.co.uk (including a Kindle edition). The first part of the chapter is available in this post and the second here. This post completes the chapter on public folders. – Tony Permissions Public…

  • Join me at the Marathon Technologies webinar on 24 February 2011

    Many companies ask me to look at their technology, especially when it’s relevant to Exchange 2010. Typically there’s a request to get involved by assessing the technology and perhaps writing about it.  Most of the time I politely decline because I don’t have the time or I don’t care to…