You Had Me At EHLO...

Voice Mail and Discoverability with Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging

Exchange — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:27:00 GMT

Exchange 2007 was the first release of Exchange to include Unified Messaging (UM) and this was the first time many of our customers started considering replacing their existing voice mail systems with UM. As with any new technology, many have sent in questions or concerns regarding the legal implications of UM, and how to control the voice mail messages once they're inside Exchange.

If you aren't familiar with Exchange UM and the benefits it provides to both end-users and IT professions, please check out more information here: http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/unifiedmessaging/default.mspx .

However, some companies have been hesitant to store voice mail and e-mail in the same system, fearing that it will create increased legal risk by making voice mails more "discoverable" or somehow less manageable. We got this initial feedback during our TAP and beta trials of Exchange, so we worked with the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP. They studied this problem and created a white paper to summarize their findings.

If you read through the white paper, you'll notice two things. First, the white paper concludes ".that no aspect of Exchange alters, by increasing or decreasing, the record retention obligations of these organizations in the U.S. or E.U. ." That is, if a company is obligated to retain voice mail messages, it doesn't matter if they're stored in Exchange 2007 UM or somewhere else - they still need to be retained. Likewise, if voice mail messages have been deleted in the normal course of business prior to an obligation to retain them, the fact they were in Exchange 2007 UM doesn't create a new obligation to retain where no obligation existed before.

Secondly, the white paper notes that Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging offers significant advantages for a company that may need to retain and produce voice mails. Features that were considered especially helpful included being able to visit a single system to access, query, and produce both voice mail and e-mail; and having a single repository (rather than multiple repositories) to apply retention policies.

The complete white paper is available here if you're interested: http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/unifiedmessaging/dataretentionwp.mspx

There are additional benefits that Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging provides for companies seeking to reduce cost and increase flexibility in addressing e-discovery requirements. They fall into two categories:

Ensuring that voice mails are not retained beyond policy during the normal course of business.
Being able to quickly and easily retain voice mails to meet preservation obligations in the face of impending litigation.

For a good overview of our compliance features if you're not already familiar with them, check out the Exchanger Server 2007 Compliance Tour here: http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/compliance/compliance-tour.mspx

Ensuring that voice mails are not retained beyond policy during the normal course of business:

To meet this first category of requirements, you can implement a transport rule and modify some settings to easily control how you retain voice mail.

Use a Managed Default Folders setting to automatically expire voice mails after X days. Also note that these policies can be applied differently at the user- or group-level, as well as for the entire organization.
Use Transport Rules to prevent voice mail being from being forwarded outside the organization, based on attributes Exchange automatically adds to a voice mail message:

Use Journaling settings to ensure that voice mail is not journaled to any external system. Additionally, in case you didn't know, Exchange does not journal voice mail by default. To change this setting or verify your existing settings, an administrators can use Set-TransportConfig or Get-TransportConfig cmdlets described here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb201690(EXCHG.80).aspx
Use Exchange ActiveSync settings to prevent voice mails from being forwarded to Mobile devices. This policy is somewhat draconian, as it prevents all attachments from being forwarded to mobile devices, not just .wma files.
Customize the voice mail message template to remind users of the company policy about voice mail retention. Administrators can create a message of up to 512 characters that appears on every voice mail message using Set-UMMailboxpolicy -VoiceMailText, described here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124903(EXCHG.80).aspx

Ensuring that voicemails are retained to meet preservation obligations in the face of impending litigation:

Once you have Exchange retaining voice mail to be consistent with organizational policies, you may need to change that based on impending litigation.

Instantly implement a retention hold on an effected user's mailbox, using either the Set-Mailbox cmdlet or the EMC. The retention hold can be indefinite, or have a set start and end date. This command can also be combined with the Get-Mailbox cmdlet, allowing you to easily select an OU, etc.
Easily transcribe voice mails, by providing a text field right next to the "play" controls on the voice mail message where the end user can make notes. These transcribed notes are searchable with Exchange's full-text search engine, allowing the message to be quickly retrieved later.
Assist users in the process of identifying relevant information by providing a litigation-specific Managed Custom Folder. This could automatically create a folder in the end user's Mailbox, with a name like "Contoso Litigation" and a descriptive label, such as "Please store any and all email, voice mail, and faxes related to Contoso Litigation in this folder"
Easily export voice mails to another mailbox for review using the Export-Mailbox cmdlet with the -Subject "Voice Mail" parameter. This allows Exchange administrators to create separate accounts for the purpose of reviewing voice mails, while leaving the original messages in place.

In Summary: Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging does not change a company's obligation to retain voice mail. However, by using Exchange UM, organizations will find it easier to control voice mail. It will also be easier to implement a retention policy that applies to e-mail, voice mail, and fax messages. Should it become necessary to prepare for litigation, Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging reduces the cost of accessing, querying, and producing voice mail.

- Chris Chalmers
TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST

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Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator updated to v 15.6

Exchange — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:52:00 GMT

Please go to our Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator updates tracking page to see what is in this new version!

A blog post explaining the calculator (updated for this new version) is here.

Comments welcome!

- Ross Smith IV

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Microsoft Virtualization and Licensing Announcements

Exchange — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:07:08 GMT

Today Microsoft announced some significant changes to its licensing and support policies for applications in hardware virtualization environments. There are two key parts of the announcement worth highlighting for Exchange customers:

Microsoft now supports Exchange Server 2007 SP1 running Hyper-V or hypervisors validated under the Microsoft Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP).
Microsoft is waiving its 90-day license reassignment policy to enable customers who virtualize Exchange to move their licenses between servers within a data farm as often as necessary.

As part of the updated support policies, we have published an article called Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments. This article includes Microsoft's support policy and recommendations for running Exchange Server 2003 in a Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 environment. It replaces Microsoft Knowledge Base article 320220, which previously detailed the policy and recommendations for this environment. In addition, this article includes Microsoft's support policy and Microsoft's recommendations for running Exchange Server 2007 SP1 in a hardware virtualization environment.

Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments is a must-read for anyone considering a virtualized Exchange environment.

To learn more about the Microsoft-wide changes to licensing and support, see:

Microsoft press release - http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/aug08/08-19EasyPathPR.mspx
Volume Licensing Brief from WWLP - http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/volbrief.mspx
Support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=897615
Support partners for non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=944987
Microsoft server software and supported virtualization environments - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=957006

Exchange 2003 ESM for Windows Vista released

Exchange — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:11:32 GMT

Just wanted to drop a quick note that we have now released a version of Exchange 2003 Exchange System Manager (ESM) that runs on Windows Vista. this has been a frequent request so - now it is here!

You can download the package and related release notes here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3403d74e-8942-421b-8738-b3664559e46f&displaylang=en

- Nino Bilic

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Utilizing Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook V3.0 functionality in the Exchange Calendar Update Configuration Tool V 2.0

Exchange — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:12:00 GMT

This August 2008, Microsoft has released an update to the Outlook Time Zone Update Tool. This new version (Version 3.0) offers, amongst others, better support for Israel and Brazil with regards to time zone handling and rebasing of calendars.

The Exchange Calendar Update Configuration Tool utilizes the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook for rebasing operations, which is why version 2.0 of the Exchange Calendar Update Configuration Tool included the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook, in a redistributable format, as part of the package.

A new version of the Exchange Calendar Update Configuration Tool was not released along with the release wave of DST updates in Aug 2008, but instead the redistributable version of the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook V3.0 was made available for download.

The OutlookTimeZoneMoveLibRedist.exe is a redistributable installer that installs the assembly file Tzmovelib.dll in C:\Program Files\MsExTmz. Third-party calendar rebasing tools can use the assembly file to programmatically update calendars that are displayed incorrectly because of daylight saving time. With this assembly, developers can use the same APIs that Outlook and Exchange Server use in their calendar rebasing tools.

The below steps will allow you to utilize the added support in the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook V3.0, from the Exchange Calendar Update Configuration Tool V2.0:

Install the Exchange Calendar Update Configuration Tool from here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941018
Go to the control panel, and using Add/Remove programs (found in Programs and Features in Windows Vista) and remove the Time Zone Data Update Engine for Microsoft Office Outlook.
Install the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook V3.0 - redist package http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ee0af8fd-bbb7-44de-be4d-f33cb1b59563&DisplayLang=en - This download contains the following file: OutlookTimeZoneMoveLibRedist.exe
Rebase as appropriate

Exchange Server Documentation Updates - August 2008

Exchange — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:37:00 GMT

The Exchange Server documentation team is pleased to announce updates to the Exchange Server content.

To see what content has changed for Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1, take a look at Exchange Server 2007 Documentation Updates.

To see what content has changed for Exchange Server Analyzer, take a look at Exchange Server Analyzer Topic Updates.

In particular, we would like to highlight the following new or updated topics:

Server Installation and Automation Guides: This section of content provides guidance on how to formally document your organization's Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 build process, take steps to automate the build process to improve consistency, and reduce the possibility of operator error during server build and deployment. Installation guide templates cover both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003.
Managing Public Folders with the Exchange Management Shell: This article gives tips and tricks for the day-to-day management of public folders by using the Exchange Management Shell.
White Paper: Continuous Replication Deep Dive: Continuous replication is a key feature of Exchange Server 2007. Read about the technical details and inner workings of continuous replication technology in this white paper.

You can see these articles and other Exchange Server documentation content in the Microsoft Exchange Server TechCenter.

The following downloads are also available for SP1 content:

BTW, all our topics in the Exchange Library have a "Topic Last Modified" date at the top of the topic. And, if you wonder which topics apply to Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1, we now have an "Applies to" tag for Exchange 2007 content.

You can now annotate topics in the Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007 documentation. Scroll to the Community Content section at the end of any topic in the Exchange Server Library, and click Add Community Comment. You'll be asked to sign in with your Windows Live ID and to register as a participant. Then, share your insights with the Exchange community.

--Cathy Anderson
Content Release Manager, Exchange User Documentation

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TechNet Webcast: High Availability in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 (Part 2 of 2): Disaster Recovery and SCR Deep Dive

Exchange — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:27:00 GMT

Are you prepared for outages that affect e-mail service or data availability? Have you defined recovery strategies and procedures for disasters big and small?

This Webcast will cover the recommended strategies for protecting Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 messaging service and data, with an emphasis on the ultimate disaster: a full site failure. Join Scott Schnoll this Friday (August 15, 2008) from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM PST as he dives deep into standby continuous replication (SCR), which was designed with these disasters in mind. This is a 300-400 level Webcast that covers disaster recovery options and strategies for Exchange 2007 SP1, standby continuous replication, and site resilience.

You can register for this free Webcast at http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032381322&Culture=en-US.

Looking for participants for a research study on Exchange!

Exchange — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:17:00 GMT

Hello,

Hi, my name is Karl Bystrom, I'm a researcher on the Exchange team. As part of our efforts to improve Exchange, the User Experience team will occasionally send out surveys to enable you to give input and feedback on a variety of topics. We'd appreciate it if you could take some time to complete this survey about your use of policies and/or transport rules when managing email. It should take a few minutes to complete.

Click here to take the survey

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or encounter any problems with the survey. My email is kbystrom AT Microsoft DOT com

We appreciate your time, and we look forward to your feedback!

-Karl Bystrom

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The Autodiscover Song

Exchange — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:31:00 GMT

Update! The actual song is now available for download in the link below. Enjoy!

So, how exactly do you encourage developers to adopt good development practices when such practices are not explicitly enforced? We thought about embroidered socks and matching hats, but that was universally frowned upon. Whitepapers and technical articles are good options, but in the end it was decided that Autodiscover was too important of a development practice to treat like any other feature in Exchange. It needed something different and unique. It needed.. a song. Yes, a song - to immortalize the virtues of Autodiscover in verse, hoping that in the end, everyone would use Autodiscover in their applications and would rise up in chorus and sing this song together as a unified front. Ok, maybe all developers singing in unison is a stretch. But one day while working on some changes in Autodiscover for the next version of Exchange, the chorus melody and words came to me and wouldn't leave me alone. I started to tinker on the piano and the rest of the song took shape. I didn't think much of it, but after discussing the idea with some other team members, it was decided that I should record and master it and make it available to the Exchange development community. So here it is - the Autodiscover song.

Chorus:

>>Autodiscover
>>There is no other
>>Way to decide
>>Where your mailbox is stored

>>Autodiscover
>>Your sister and brother
>>Exchange Admin and mother
>>Will be proud if you do

You may be tempted to wing it
Use a hardcoded link submit it
But performance will suffer
When you're left to your druthers
Should have Autodiscovered
Then all would be well

>>Chorus
Call it once for each mailbox of interest
Pair the link and mailbox for each request
If you encounter errors
Refresh once again
For more information search M-S-D-N for

>>Chorus
Exchange won't exist in a bubble
If you think that it will you're in trouble
Add a site, one or two
And your perf will be through
Unless you step up and decide that your app will just...

>>Chorus
Autodiscover,
Autodiscover,
Just AutoDiscover for me.
It's just plain XML

- David Sterling
Senior Software Development Engineer - EWS

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Exchange Server 2007 Server Installation Templates and Build Automation Guidance Released

Exchange — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:46:00 GMT

We have always recommended that customers prepare formal server build documentation for their Exchange environments. Until now, we've not provided any formal guidance around what that documentation should look like. We now have build documentation templates and instructions for preparing a build automation DVD. You can use these templates as a starting point for formally documenting your Exchange server builds. Preparing a build automation DVD can help streamline the installation of Exchange 2007 on both Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. The templates and build automation guidance can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc533547(EXCHG.80).aspx. Thanks to Ross Smith IV, with Exchange Center of Excellence, for his extensive help with this release.

Thanks,
Tom Di Nardo

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You Had Me At EHLO...

Voice Mail and Discoverability with Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging

Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator updated to v 15.6

Microsoft Virtualization and Licensing Announcements

Exchange 2003 ESM for Windows Vista released

Utilizing Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook V3.0 functionality in the Exchange Calendar Update Configuration Tool V 2.0

Links:

Exchange Server Documentation Updates - August 2008

TechNet Webcast: High Availability in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 (Part 2 of 2): Disaster Recovery and SCR Deep Dive

Looking for participants for a research study on Exchange!

The Autodiscover Song

Exchange Server 2007 Server Installation Templates and Build Automation Guidance Released