Recently, we've seen calls on OWA Change Password functionality and questions about the features with Windows Server 2008.  The following is a quick synopsis of what you need to know to get this working the way you need it to.

Previous versions of Exchange Server utilized the Change Password functionality for IIS 5 and 6 using the IISADMPWD virtual directory and a .DLL file on the server.  These configurations were discussed in the following KB articles:

FIX: You experience various problems when you use the Password Change pages in IIS 5.0
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=831047

FIX: You experience various problems when you use the Password Change pages in IIS 6.0
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=833734

Implementing the Change Password feature with Outlook Web Access
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297121

This method is no longer required with Exchange Server 2007.  However, it can be used with Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007 configurations when the ability to change passwords after they have expired or when users are required to change their password at the first logon is needed.  An Exchange Server 2007 Help topic discusses the uses and configuration of Change Password functionality:

Configuring the Change Password Feature in Outlook Web Access
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb684904.aspx

Please note that the IISADMPWD functionality is not included with IIS 7.0 on Windows Server 2008.  Some workarounds have been posted on the web that show a method to implement the same behavior for IIS 7.0.  However, these workarounds are not supported or recommended by Microsoft and we have observed that the solution does not always work as expected with Exchange Server 2007.  Specifically, changing passwords for users whose passwords have expired is unreliable. 

If you require the ability to change passwords after they have expired or when the user must change the password at first logon, and your Client Access Servers run Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2007 SP1, you can use ISA Server 2006 to implement the feature.  See the following:

Configuring and Troubleshooting the Password Change Feature in ISA Server 2006
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc514301.aspx

Also, see the following:

https://blogs.technet.com/isablog/archive/2007/08/23/password-change-with-fba.aspx

- Will Duff

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CSS often fields questions about troubleshooting Exchange 2007 Client Access Server (CAS) publishing rules using ISA Server 2006. The ForeFront TMG team blog has a great post: Troubleshooting OWA 2007 Publishing Rules on ISA Server 2006. 

If you are just getting started with publishing Exchange 2007 using ISA Server 2006, here's one of our favorite docs, courtesy the ForeFront TMG team: Publishing Exchange Server 2007 with ISA Server 2006.

ISA Server 2006 SP1 includes support for SAN certificates, and some new features that make it a must-have upgrade. If you haven't upgraded to SP1 yet, you can find out more about these new features in this blog post by the ForeFront TMG team: ISA Server 2006 Service Pack 1 Features.

- Bharat Suneja

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When you use a single server in your organization, but wish to publish Free/Busy for Exchange users from another organization (using the Add-AvailabilityAddressSpace cmdlet and InterOrg replication or third party solutions), it is important to remember the following:

DAV requests made by the Availability Service to the Schedule+ Free/Busy Public Folder in your organization are sent using HTTP, not HTTPS, to the /public virtual directory. 
By default, when you install the Client Access Server role on a computer, the virtual directories are configured to require SSL.   In a single server environment, this will prevent the Availability Service from retrieving the Free/Busy information from Public Folders.

In this scenario:

• You use the Add-AvailabilityAddressSpace cmdlet to define the access method and associated credentials that are used to publish and view free/busy information across organizations. 
• Replication tools or scripts are typically used to create the disabled users/contacts and Free/Busy data in your organization. 

After this is done, when Outlook users try to look up Free/Busy data for the users in the target organization, you begin to see events like the following in your Application Event Log:

Event Type:     Error
Event Source:   MSExchange Availability
Event Category: Availability Service
Event ID:       4003
Description:
Process 4204[w3wp.exe:/LM/W3SVC/1/ROOT/EWS-1-128632060327053920]: Microsoft.Exchange.InfoWorker.Common.Availability.PublicFolderRequest failed. The exception returned is Microsoft.Exchange.InfoWorker.Common.Availability.PublicFolderRequestProcessingException: The remote server returned an error: (403) Forbidden.. The request information is http://mail.domainname.com/public/?Cmd=freebusy&start=2008-08-04T12:00:00Z&end=2008-09-03T12:00:00Z&interval=30&u=user.name@domainname.com.. The Availability service could not successfully retrieve Schedule+ free/busy data for one or more legacy Exchange mailboxes. To find the root cause of this error, increase the diagnostic logging level of the MSExchange Availability service.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

There are three workarounds for this scenario:

1.  Move the Client Access Server role to another server. 

2. Disable "Require SSL" for the /public virtual directory in the IIS manager.

**You will likely wish to close port 80 for Internet access in to this server for security reasons.

Using this method will allow external clients to successfully connect and use HTTPS, and will not lessen the security of the connections.  Just because SSL is not required does not mean that it cannot be used.

3. A workaround that will allow ONLY Outlook 2007 clients to retrieve Free/Busy data (Outlook Web Access will still fail for these replicated users) could be to introduce the registry value below.  This will force the clients to retrieve and publish Free/Busy data to a Public Folders folder - bypassing the Availability Service.  The value is:

Key:     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Options\Calendar
DWORD:   UseLegacyFB
Value:   1

The value choices for this key are:
0 (or not present) = default behavior of using the Availability Service
1 = Use public folder free/busy information

It is important to remember that if the UseLegacyFB registry value is used, only Outlook users will be able to access Free/Busy data for the external users you have replicated!

References:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124122(EXCHG.80).aspx

- Will Duff

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To read the updated Exchange 2007 Storage Cost calculator blog post and get the calculator, go HERE.

All future calculator updates will be rolled into this page, sorted from newer to older.

UPDATE ON 12/02/2008:

Version 4.0

This release of the Storage Cost Calculator is all about providing enhancements.

• We introduced the capability for you to select the type of backup solution you want to utilize when analyzing the cost of various disk configurations.  You can now choose either VSS Clone, VSS Snapshot, or disable the feature all together.  We also adjusted the language to recommend usage of VSS clones or a solution that can guarantee fast recovery (3 minutes + log replay) in the event that you choose to deploy large mailboxes without continuous replication.
• We allow you to choose as to whether you want to price things out on an individual component perspective (e.g. disk cost) or from an entire solution cost.
• We allow you to enter in the number of storage enclosures and storage controllers, their relevant costs and power consumption as well.
• We simplified the SCC vs. CCR tab. 
  • We now have you select a DAS configuration for CCR and a SAN configuration for SCC.  These disk configurations are different from the Input worksheet.
  • We also allow you to choose the backup configuration for each (again different from the Input worksheet choices).  This removes the hard requirement that you must have 2 VSS clones for SCC.  You can now choose which backup configuration you will utilize, as well as, how many clones (if you choose VSS clones). Note that we still recommend for large mailboxes in a SCC configuration that you deploy a VSS solution that can support fast recovery (3 minutes + log replay).
  • We changed the way third-party data replication works.  Previously, if you enabled data replication for your SCC configuration, you were required to have disks for your VSS clones.  Now you get to choose whether the remote site will have backup copies present in the event you activate that site
  • We now include SCR copies in the comparison.
  • We allow you to choose as to whether you want to price things out on an individual component perspective (e.g. disk cost) or from an entire solution cost.
  • We allow you to enter in the number of storage enclosures and storage controllers, their relevant costs and power consumption as well.

- Ross Smith IV

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EDIT: We updated this post on 12/9/2008 and corrected the step 4 below.

I had a case earlier this month where the customer wanted a simple way to export the results of message tracking.  In the Exchange Management Console, he used the Message Tracking feature under Toolbox to configure a set of messaging tracking parameters and then received the results, as in this example:

Although there is no way in the console to export this to a text or csv file, you can follow these steps to export to CSV:

1. Configure message tracking parameters the way you need them and view the results to confirm.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the Message Tracking Results screen, and click Go Back.

3. Copy the get-messagetrackinglog command syntax from the Exchange Management Shell command field:

4. Open the Exchange Management Shell, paste in the copied get-messagetrackinglog command, and add the following to the end of the command:

This will create a CSV file of the message tracking results with column headers that can then be imported into Excel, for example.

- Kristi Simmons

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There has been a lot of interest and discussion about the MCM | Exchange Server 2007 Program since Microsoft announced it earlier this year, and as the PM responsible for the Exchange Program I wanted to give you some of the history of the program, tell you more about what to expect from the program, try to answer some of the many questions I receive every day about the program, maybe try to motivate you to apply, or perhaps even dissuade you from applying if you aren't quite ready.

So what's the Program all about?

Well, the official version is here - but I want to give you a more personal take on what the program is about, having been through the previous version of the program myself (known at the time as Exchange Ranger) around 3 years ago. The experience is one I look back on as the most rewarding six weeks (as it was then) of my professional career, and the major milestone of my career; I have never been so busy since (a blessing and a curse, but mostly a blessing).

The program we refer to today as MCM grew out of that very successful Exchange Ranger program, established 5 or so years ago by the Product Group to help customers successfully deploy Exchange and avoid hitting problems that many customers faced. Back in those days Exchange was responsible for generating a lot of support calls. It was, and still is, a complex product, and it was too easy for customers to get themselves into a mess, and then call Microsoft hoping we would be able to fix the problems over the phone. Often this wasn't the case, as their original design was often flawed, their implementation was poorly completed, the solution itself was too complex, or for one of many other reasons. The goal of the Ranger program was to highly train consultants and architects who would then go out and make sure the design was done right, make sure the solution was tested, make sure it really met the requirements, and ultimately, to reduce the number of customers getting themselves into situations that required a call to Product Support.

The program was very successful in accomplishing these goals. Critsits (Critical Situations - if you don't know what it is; trust me, you don't want one of those) were proven to have been reduced. But you may wonder why you have never heard of the Ranger program. That's because, just like Fight Club, the first rule of Ranger was not to talk about Ranger. OK, not really, although it seemed like it. But it was because the program started originally as a Microsoft Internal-Only program, and no-one else needed to know about it at that time. Over the years, though, the program was opened up to Gold Partners. Now, many of the people who have been through the program work for partners, some small and others large partner organizations, as well as graduates from storage and hardware vendors. In short, a real mix of individuals, all of whom come together in a community of peers - but more about that later.

I had first learned about the program when I joined a Microsoft partner company who had sent several people through Ranger, and it was clear those guys knew some serious stuff. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about Exchange, but they had forgotten more than I knew, had access to stuff I could only dream of, and frankly, got all the great jobs, the money and the fast cars; they got the lot. I never had the chance to go whilst at that company because I left to join Microsoft.

Six months after joining, and whilst working for MCS in the UK, I got my chance to go to Ranger and spent six weeks (six of the hardest working weeks of my life I will add) in Redmond attending the training. I was fortunate enough to pass the exams, and pass the Qual Lab at the end and in those days when we also ran the Review Board for MCA | Messaging at the same time, I managed to scrape through that, too. Sound easy? Not when you understand that only 3 of 16 who attended got the whole way through that first time, and I can assure you that I was in a class full of people I have the utmost of respect for. It was very tough and intensive, and some of my classmates have subsequently gone on to pass the required pieces.

But whether we passed or failed the first time around, we all learned an incredible amount, and what's more, we shared an incredible experience. Spending that much time with a group of very bright individuals is a learning experience in its own right. We learned from each other, we learned from the instructors, we learned about ourselves. That sounds cliché, but when you have worked six days a week, twelve to fourteen hours a day, you really find out what you have to do to learn, to survive, to succeed. It's not just a training course, it's an experience. To this day I could email any one of my classmates with a question or request for help, and I'm certain they would offer it, as would I for them.

The fact that this is an experience and not just a training course you turn up for and sit through, is what makes Ranger, sorry, Master, what it is. Many of the things that made Ranger what is was still are there in Master. I know, because that's how I want it to be. During the training you might wonder why some things are done they way they are, but I can assure there's rarely anyone who doubts that the methods used make sense when they get to the end. There's a lot to learn and the only way to do it is to get your head down and work hard. That is of course, if you want to get the most from it.

Who is the Program Aimed At?

The program historically was aimed at those working in the field of consulting. As time went by people from engineering roles and support roles began attending and now I tend to think of the program at being aimed at consulting or field engineering roles. I would also like to add Enterprise Administrators of Exchange systems to that list too, but whatever your job title is, the key thing is this: you need to have had a lot of hands-on experience working with, designing, troubleshooting and migrating/upgrading to Exchange 2007.

We try to keep all technical sessions at around level 300 - 400, and that level means you already need to know some stuff. If you are lost from the start, you will be wasting your money. This is one of the reasons why we require not only some MCP exams, but also your resume. I want to see what kind of experience you have before I accept you into the Program. I want you to be successful, and if you don't have enough experience to carry you through when the going gets tough, you will struggle. In most cases, I would rather people in that position wait a year or two before applying again, and during that period spend time working with the product, learning skills and gaining experience, because experience is probably the most important factor in success in the program, and experience takes time, it's as simple as that.

What Will I Learn and Who Will Be Teaching?

From 22 Ranger deliveries and 1 Master delivery I have yet to meet anyone who can say they were not blown away by how much they learned, or more interestingly, how much they realized they didn't know. One of the key tenants of Ranger is "know what you know, know what you don't know, and never confuse the two" and this is something I make sure all of our candidates live by. No one knows everything, but it takes a special kind of person to admit it sometimes, in this world of technical one-up-man-ship that we work in. And we do, don't we?

So I'm not going to post the full agenda here for many reasons (it changes as things change in the product, that's the main one; this is never a locked-down course), but I will outline it for you as follows:

• During week 1, we spend two-and-a-half days on CAS, and two-and-a-half days on transport. We spend a lot of time going into the design of namespace, proxying, redirection, certificates, securely publishing CAS, etc., during the CAS sessions. In transport, we dig deeply into the transport pipeline, routing, hygiene, tuning and troubleshooting. There will be plenty of light-bulb-coming-on-over-your-head moments as some things start to make sense.
• During week 2, we spend the majority of the 5 days looking at the Mailbox role and associated technologies, digging deep into database internals, storage, and continuous replication, as well as looking at performance troubleshooting and sizing. The final day that week is spent on UM, configuring UM, making phones ring, setting up Auto Attendants, all that good stuff.
• The final week brings Exchange back together again, looking at Exchange as a whole, and spending time on High Availability, as an entire solution, and then migration and co-existence.

In addition to the time in class, which is five days a week, 8am to ... well, it varies, but on average, 7 pm-ish, there are weekend projects/assignments, some evening homework, as well as some social events to help break the routine up a bit. Three weeks go very fast.

As for instructors, I don't want to drop names here either. I could, but I won't. All of them know their stuff, and I mean, really know their stuff. In the first two weeks I tend to use instructors who are focussed on the one area we are covering; the transport guy, for example, does nothing but transport, the UM guy does nothing but UM, etc. The third week, which as I said is more about Exchange as a whole, is taught by people with years of field expertise. Consultants, Architects, Existing Rangers, basically people who have been there, done that, know all the tricks and how to use them. Their years of experience benefit the class, and their mistakes can hopefully be avoided (by you).

Aside from the instructors and the agenda though there's another great resource to help you: the rest of your class. Exchange is a huge technology, covering many areas and over time people tend to specialize, or simply gain experience in specific areas. And so a large part of the learning is based on group discussion and white-boarding. We can all learn from each other, from our own real world deployment experiences. This is not the kind of training where you just sit and listen to an instructor whilst he or she makes their way through 495 PowerPoint slides. When I went through the program, one of the most valuable sessions lasted three 14 hour days and the instructor used about 60 slides in total. There was a lot of discussion, hands on with labs and white-boarding, and it was awesome.

How Much Will This Cost?

To attend the three weeks of training, it will cost you $18,500. That program fee gets you the training and your first attempt at all four exams. It does not include your expenses or travel.

At first glance that's a lot of money. At second glance, it is a lot of money. And we know this will put it out of reach for some people, particularly the self-employed, but it's a question of value, not just one of cost. Is the training valuable? Without doubt, no one who experiences it will ever disagree. The question is more whether it is value for money. Rather than me trying to convince you, here are some comments from the first Master delivery we just completed (these are uncensored and verbatim):

• It was an great experience, It really worth, even coming from my pocket
• Given the price and the time commitment required from this program, I wasn't coming in with moderate expectations. I expected the best, and that's what I got.
• Worth every penny and hour of aggravation

Obviously the cost/value discussion is not one I can win with everyone reading this, but I will add that we hope to deliver this program elsewhere in the world, and that may ultimately have an effect on cost. We may even look to provide discounted rates for particular audiences. But those cases and others like them are still 'maybes' at this time. That may change, so keep your eye on the Web site, as that is likely where we will announce any promotions like this.

The other side of the cost/value discussion is one of your increased marketability once the training is completed. Based on feedback Microsoft has received from IT professionals and leaders who have successfully completed the MCM training program, some of the MCM program graduates have achieved return-on-investment numbers such as 90 percent project success rate, 95 percent customer return rate, and 50 percent increase in billable rate. I'm not stating that Microsoft can guarantee that any of your rates will increase by obtaining the MCM credential, but based on past experience, it could happen. It worked for the partner I worked for before Microsoft - the Ranger was charged at a higher rate than me, because he knew more than me. Customers were educated about the value of the program and certification, and were prepared to pay more for it. This is a fact, it happened to me.

So Am I Buying a Certification?

No, certainly not. You are buying training which potentially leads to certification. Sure it's a hot new certification if that's what you are interested in, but you won't be getting that certification just because you showed up to class and know a bit about Exchange. That won't get you very far, as you are going to have to work very hard to pass the exams.

What I have found interesting is the attraction people have with regard to the training as an experience and the certification itself, which nicely leads me to the next section.

What Are The Benefits To Me?

There are several. First off, you get the training. I honestly believe that will give you more value in the long term than any certification. The certification though is of course your proof to your customers and partners (and the personalized letter signed by Rajesh Jha for you won't harm either), but the training you will get will make your projects more successful, your designs more complete and make you the go-to guru for Exchange amongst all your peers.

Aside from those benefits, there is one other key benefit to becoming a Certified Master - inclusion in the Ranger/Master community. Community is a big part of the program, and I work hard to give our community real benefit and value. The best and simplest example of that value is the community DL - on that DL are a couple of hundred people: all the graduates of the program and the instructors, plus some others of special value, such as Product Group folks, MSIT engineers, etc. Basically people we see as having value in their opinions and contributions. I have kept every thread since I joined that DL three years or so ago and it comes in VERY handy from time to time. One of the coolest things is that the background and experiences of those on the DL all vary so widely that community members can get answers to storage questions, security questions, and architecture questions from the people who are creating and documenting best practice, not just following best practice.

Another thing we do is something we call Continued Education. Twice a year, we arrange some kind of session or short course where we offer the chance to come back and do a refresher or learn something new. Sometimes it's something outside of Exchange (we ran a three day ITIL course earlier this year, enabling attendees from our community to become ITIL certified), sometimes it's something inside Exchange (hands on sessions with the next version of Exchange is another good example).

If you can't make the trips to Redmond, then I also arrange community conference calls. In the last few months, we have had sessions on CAS/Hub Transport scalability, Loadgen, and the perception and statistical analysis of Exchange in the newsgroups and on blogs. Sometimes technical, sometimes industry related, to give some broader perspective which we all need from time to time.

Aside from those things I have already mentioned we try to do lots of other things whenever we can; dinners, discounted trade show passes, the chance to interact and provide feedback with the Product Group, access to pre-release builds, that sort of thing. In short, if we know there's something we can do to give the community something back, we try to find a way to do it.

How Can I Learn More? What Can I Do to Prepare? How Can I Apply?

I hope I haven't put you off applying, with all that talk of 14 hour days, no time for sleep, and a class full of other geniuses. I haven't? Good! You can apply by following this link, but before you do, ask yourself this: are you sure you are ready? Do you already know Exchange from end-to-end and are you already at the top of your game? If so, go for it! We have some seats available in the March and May 2009 sessions and will be adding more in 2009 very soon. Those two deliveries are on the main campus in Redmond, but I am hoping to do some further afield next year, as well, so keep your fingers crossed if there's no chance of making it to Redmond.

The reason I am trying to make sure you are sure about your skills before you apply is because the target audience for this program is the top 1% of certified IT Pros. I want those that attend to succeed. The classes are hard to get in to, they are usually less than 20 people, and so I want to be sure the people in that room are likely to pass and do well (as well as contribute to the learning of everyone else), and are not there to learn how to use Exchange; to use an Americanism, this is not Exchange 101.

If you do decide you want to apply, and become accepted then you need to get ready. Here's my advice and my tips for survival and success, both leading up to the training, and during:

• Before turning up, take a long hard look at Exchange and list your weakest areas, the areas you really wouldn't want to have me interview you on, and then work on them. I did this before I turned up and it meant my weaker areas were strong enough to keep me just following the content, which is the bare minimum place you want to be.
• Clear all other projects from your plate for the duration of your visit. Aside from the fact that I don't allow email, IM, phone calls, etc., in class, you won't have time to work on anything else whilst in Redmond. Really, you won't. A recent candidate told me he wanted to blog of his experiences as we progressed. He didn't have the time to write one article whilst the training was on. It's intensive. Give it 100% and you'll do well, give it 80% and you will fail - and there's a good chance your boss isn't going to let you come again.
• Speak up if you don't understand something. Don't be shy. You are here to learn, showing you don't know something is not a sign of weakness, but quite the opposite. It takes a brave person to admit they don't know, and that person is braver than the one who was too scared to admit they didn't understand something.
• If you can't work with a hangover, don't go drinking. Simple as that.
• Keep your brain and body fuelled. Drink, eat, exercise, sleep when you can, and relax when you can. It's a test of endurance as much as Exchange at some points.
• Contribute - if you have something to add, speak up. We all make mistakes and you probably will too. That's ok. See the previous point. I don't mind people getting things wrong, as long as they learn from it. I also mean contribute to the team, and help each other. We all have strengths and weaknesses; play to your strengths and help others and hope someone can help with your weaknesses.
• Study in whatever way suits you best. Some people like to study in a group, some study alone; do whatever suits you best.
• Enjoy yourself. It is a lot of fun. Spending that much time without outside distractions working just on Exchange, is great fun. If you don't feel like that about Exchange, you're probably not ready for this. It's an Exchange love-in. With tests.

Summary

I hope you get a bit more of an understanding now about the program, the way it works, what you can expect from it, and if so, I'm happy with that as a result. If you have any more questions about the program though please feel free to email me directly, grtaylor at the usual place, and I'll do my best to get you the answers you are looking for.

So, do you have what it takes? I hope you do, I'm sure plenty of you do. So go fill out an application.

-- Greg Taylor

Update Rollup 5 for Exchange 2007 SP1 (announced a few days ago) has been released. The rollup is available on the Download Center here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=652ED33A-11A1-459C-8FFE-90B9CBFE7903&displaylang=en

The rollup will go live on Microsoft Update in 2-3 weeks from now (will be announced here). Localized versions for all supported languages are now available on Download Center.

KB 953467 has more details about this release and the included fixes.

We specifically want to call out two fixes related to the overall installation experience:

1) Service startup issue described in KB 944752 and a previous blog post.

• The rollup installer will now make the required modifications to the config files, even create new config files if not found. If customers have already modified the config files and have a generatePublisherEvidence setting, it will be left intact. Note that you still need the right version of .NET (see KB 944752) for the fix to take effect.
• Uninstalling the rollup will not rollback the addition of generatePublisherEvidence to config files.

2) Blank OWA logon page after installation of rollups 3 and 4, if you have modified logon.aspx file

• The rollup installer will now overwrite any OWA script files if required to ensure proper operation of OWA. You will need to redo any customization after installation of the rollup.

- Nino Bilic

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 can help you deliver the advanced protection your company demands to safeguard its messaging environment-anywhere access people require to boost productivity and operational efficiency to cut costs. Tune in to a webcast or take part in a virtual lab to learn how Exchange Server 2007 can help you optimize your hardware and networking investments and provide anywhere access to e-mail, voice mail, calendars, and contacts from a variety of client computers and devices. Also, please - please provide feedback on these Labs here in our comments so we can improve them and provide the highest quality information on your behalf!

TechNet Labcast: Exchange Server 2007 (Part 1 of 5): Installing Service Pack 1 and Transitioning from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007 (Level 200)
Friday, December 5, 2008
11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Labcast: Exchange Server 2007 (Part 2 of 5): Configuring an Edge Server and Compliance and Retention Using Exchange Server 2007 RTM (Level 200)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Labcast: Exchange Server 2007 (Part 3 of 5): Managing and Administering Exchange Server 2007 Using the Management Console and Management Shell (Level 200)
Friday, December 12, 2008
11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Labcast: Exchange Server 2007 (Part 4 of 5): Configuring Unified Messaging and Enabling Remote Client Access (Level 200)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Labcast: Exchange Server 2007 (Part 5 of 5): Using Local Continuous Replication and Cluster Continuous Replication (Level 200)
Friday, December 19, 2008
11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M. Pacific Time

BTW, here's a link to the main page:
http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9637353

- Joey Masterson

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This is a heads up that Rollup 5 for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is in the final stages of getting released and should be out in a couple of days. The next step for the Exchange team will be to release the Update Rollup onto the Download Center and then publish it to Microsoft Update. Microsoft Update publishing will happen 2-3 weeks after the Download Center publishing, due to internal policies and processes. We will let you know when this happens.

Regarding the overall patching experience, we have addressed the issue of Exchange 2007 managed services might time out during certificate revocation checks. While we will have a full list of issues fixed when the Rollup releases, some of major issues are:

• CDCR: Need an option to apply ELC policy to only the root instead of applying it recursively to root and all subfolders
• CDCR: Add generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false" to Exchange Services Config Files
• SCR does not copy logs in a disjoint namespace scenario
• SCR cannot be enabled when DNS suffixes differ on source/target in disjoint namespace scenarios
• Exchange 2007 CAS cannot copy the OAB from the OAB share on Windows Server 2008-based Exchange 2007 CCR clusters 
• Messages get stuck in outbox on Windows Mobile 6.1 devices When using  CAS proxy
• CDCR: MSI patching doesn't update logon.aspx if the file is modified by customer

PS. The "CDCR" listed in titles above stands for "Critical Design Change Request" - as in actual design changes that we took on in this Rollup (we usually take on a few of those in every Rollup)

- Scott Roberts, Nino Bilic

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Our friends over at Office Communication server wanted to get the word our on their upcoming release which they are promoting through their website. Here's their announcement, go check it out!

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 will launch on February 3^rd 2009. We are trying something new this time and will do the launch through a website that mimics a live event.  The website will include: keynote, breakout sessions, customer evidence and partner's booths.  Access to the website will be FREE, so why wait? Sign up for the event now at www.microsoft.com/ocs

-- Joey Masterson

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In my last post I showed how to set up OWA certificate based authentication on a Windows 2003 CAS with ISA 2006. In this post, I will cover how to set this up when your Client Access server is running on Windows 2008 server without being published with ISA server.

Note: These steps are only for Exchange 2007 mailboxes, and will not work for the /Exchange virtual directory. Your PKI infrastructure should already be in place as well. This can be a Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 certificate server, or your favorite third party vendor.

First up is to see if the Client Certificate Mapping Authentication [Web-Client-Auth] component of IIS is installed. This component is not required to install Exchange 2007 so will most likely need to be installed. You can add this via Server Manager or with the ServerManagerCMD like below.  A reboot of the server is required after the install.

1. ServermanagerCMD -query  will give you a list of components installed. Look at the Web Server/Security section and see if Web-Client-Auth is installed. If not, install it.
2. ServerManagerCMD -install  Web-Client-Auth

After the reboot you can begin configuring IIS.
1. Open IIS Manager and highlight the server name in the left hand pane.
2. Double click the Authentication icon in the middle pane.
3. Right click on Active Directory Client Certificate Authentication and select Enable.
4. Select the OWA virtual directory in the left pane under the Default Web Site.
5. Double click on the SSL Settings icon.
6. Set the Client Certificates radio button to Require.
7. Click Apply.

The next settings for IIS need to be done using the appcmd.exe command line utility. This is located in the windows\system32\inetsrv directory. This command allows you to unlock the XML configuration file to allow Client Certificate Mapping Authentication to be enabled.

1. appcmd unlock config /section:clientCertificateMappingAuthentication
2. appcmd set config "Default Web Site/OWA" -section:clientCertificateMappingAuthentication /enabled:true

Now just configure the OWA virtual directory from the Exchange Management shell. This will turn off forms based authentication, set Windows Authentication and Basic Authentication to false. Users will be required to present a certificate to access OWA after this step.

1. set-owavirtualdirectory -identity "server-name\OWA (Default Web Site)" -WindowsAuthentication:$false -BasicAuthentication:$false FormsAuthentication:$False
2. IISreset /noforce

More information:

There is a new IIS 7 Administration Pack that has been released. This tool adds a configuration editor to the feature view in IIS manager. This will allow you to make the certificate mapping changes in IIS manager instead of using the AppCmd.exe utility. This tool is still a technical preview tool so I did not cover the steps. If you are interested you can get more details over on the iis.net page here, and download the tool here.

-- DJ Ball

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It's now been 3 whirlwind weeks since taking the helm of the Exchange team. As I'm getting to know the team, I wanted to take this opportunity to better introduce myself to the Exchange community.

I feel fortunate to inherit such a strong product and exceptional team. The talent within the Exchange team has always been viewed as top-notch and I now deeply appreciate why. The people I've met and the processes I've learned about are nothing short of world-class. And, appropriately so, our partner and customer community is equally as impressive! Based on what I knew about Exchange before taking this role and even more so based what I've learned in the past few weeks, there is no question in my mind that Exchange is poised for continued, long term success.

In terms of my background, I have spent my entire career at Microsoft. I joined the Microsoft back in 1990, directly from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In my 18 years at Microsoft, I have worked on client and server software and services for both consumers and businesses. These experiences have helped me prepare for the opportunity I have to lead Exchange through the next several versions where we deliver on the S+S vision with Exchange Server and Exchange Online. Outside of work, you will often find me playing sports with my two sons. I am an avid sports fan and love to watch and play football, soccer, golf- sometimes more than my wife appreciates. ;)

Since coming onboard, I have been asked about this change in leadership, and my priorities for the Exchange business. I thought it would be great to share some of my thoughts with you too:

Why was there a leadership change and how does it impact Exchange's priorities?

This leadership change was a routine shift in executive duties for both Terry and me. Terry's exceptional people leadership and technical acumen will be a tremendous asset to the Windows Mobile team. My diversity of software and services experience made me a good fit for Exchange as we fully embrace and deliver on the S+S vision. With that said, our top priority for Exchange remains unchanged. We continue to focus our energies on delivering the best communication experience across the PC, web and other devices for all of our customers.

Is the fact that you are running both Office Live and Exchange telling of a strategy change for Exchange?

The short answer is no. Exchange and Office Live are two businesses with independent strategies and goals. There are some synergies between the Office Live service and Exchange Online from a services management perspective that I am leveraging across my two businesses, however.

What is your leadership style?

At my core, I am passionate about delivering great value for our customers and partners through strong engineering teams. You will see this passion play out as I lead Exchange. My focus as a leader is on creating a team that is unmatched in technical talent, drive to win and passion for exceeding customer expectations. I believe in taking risks, but always being accountable to deliver for our customers and the company. With an active and changing competitive landscape, I expect to keep a deep focus on customer value and satisfaction. Exchange leads the industry in customer satisfaction and strength of community. My goal in leading Exchange is to continue this trend and take it to the next level.

I really look forward to meeting more of the Exchange community in the weeks and months to come. Exchange has had a long history of energetic and participative community and I'm thrilled to become part of the mix.

 

-- Rajesh Jha

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As we have released Exchange 2007 SP1 Update Rollup 4 on Microsoft Update two days ago, a question came up: how do you tell which version of the Update Rollup is installed?

The simplest answer is to go to Add or Remove Programs Control Panel applet. Then:

1. Make sure that "Show updates" checkbox is checked
2. Click on the Update Rollup that you are trying to figure out version information for
3. Click on the "Click here for support information" link

The version will be displayed like this:

This applies to pretty much all other updates too, Exchange related or not.

- Nino Bilic

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EDIT: This post has been updated on 12/2/2008 to match the newest version of Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox Server Storage Cost Calculator.

Overview

Earlier versions of Exchange did not scale well enough, at a low enough cost per mailbox (because of expensive hardware and recovery options) to allow IT administrators the ability to match the ever increasing mailbox sizes of personal e-mail accounts. Exchange 2007 offers dramatic performance and scalability improvements when compared to prior versions of Exchange. Long recovery times have been a significant impediment to the adoption of larger mailbox sizes. The introduction of cluster continuous replication (CCR) offers the ability to rapidly recover from outages at a low cost. These performance and rapid recovery improvements enable IT departments to deploy large mailboxes easily and at a low cost. Increased mailbox sizes improve end-user productivity and satisfaction, reduce IT administrative costs, improve security, and help meet business and regulatory compliance requirements. For more information on the end user and IT benefits that are available by deploying large mailboxes in Exchange 2007, please see the whitepaper, Planning for Large Mailboxes with Exchange 2007.

In order to move forward with various designs like large mailboxes, IT departments need to understand one of the chief costs associated with Exchange mailbox servers, namely storage. To that end, the Exchange 2007 Mailbox Storage Cost Calculator is designed to help you determine a portion of the mailbox server cost, namely the disk cost (purchase price and lifecycle power and cooling costs). The calculator helps in two ways:

1. The calculator takes a series compares a series of storage design configurations and determines their respective costs. The underlying goal here is two-fold:

a. To show that you can achieve the same capacity and I/O requirements utilizing Small Form Factor SAS disks for relatively the same cost as Large Form Factor FC disks.

b. To show that there are other disk solutions (e.g., SATA) that can be viable and reduce the disk footprint cost.

2. In the situation where you are unsure whether you want to deploy Single Copy Clusters (SCC) or Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR), the calculator can compare SCC+SAN disk configurations against CCR+DAS disk configurations from a cost perspective.

Hopefully these measurements will show the value from a cost perspective in considering other disk designs, coupled with large mailboxes and continuous replication.

In order to utilize the Exchange 2007 Mailbox Storage Cost Calculator, you need to understand the solution you are planning to deploy. In particular, you need to know:

• Number of mailbox servers
• Number of mailboxes and their mailbox size
• High availability model that will be used
• Number of database copies that will exist
• Power and cooling costs
• Storage design
• Disk costs
• Disk active power consumption

In addition, you should also keep in mind that by default this calculator model only focuses on the associated disk costs. For a complete end-to-end cost/mailbox these items will also need to be considered, just to name a few:

• Server costs
• Array controller costs
• Disk enclosure costs
• Fibre/network fabric costs
• Datacenter/floor space costs
• Software costs
• Other operational management costs

How to Use the Calculator

Input Worksheet

When you launch the Exchange 2007 Mailbox Storage Cost Calculator, you are presented with the Input worksheet. This worksheet is broken down into 7 key areas.

Important: The example configuration provided within this calculator is just that, an example, and as such, each input option needs to be evaluated as to how it will affect your design.

Step 1 - Gather Storage Requirements

The Exchange 2007 Mailbox Storage Cost Calculator can work hand-in-hand with the Exchange 2007 Mailbox Storage Requirements Calculator. You should first scope out your mailbox server storage design using the Requirements Calculator as its output can be inputted into this calculator.

Step 2 - Solution Information

In this section you are asked to fill in the necessary information about your mailbox server solution:

Solution Information Settings	Value
Number of Mailbox Servers	6
Number of Mailboxes / Server	4000
Large Mailbox Size Deployment (1GB+)	Yes
High Availability Model	CCR
Number of Database Copies / Mailbox Server via Continuous Replication	2
VSS Backup Solution	Snapshot
Number of VSS Clone Copies	1
Third-Party Data Replication Solution	No
VSS Copy Support in Geographically Dispersed SCC	No

• For Number of Mailbox Servers, simply enter in the number of mailbox servers or number of clustered mailbox servers you will deploy.
• For Number of Mailbox Servers / Server, simply enter in the number of mailboxes that will be deployed on each mailbox server or clustered mailbox server. This value can be obtained from the Requirements Calculator Storage Requirements worksheet's Solution Configuration table (Single Server column).
• For Large Mailbox Size Deployment (1GB+), select Yes if you are planning to deploy large mailboxes and No if you are planning to deploy small mailboxes. Large mailbox deployments require a fast recovery mechanism in order to meet most RTO requirements; therefore, if you are deploying large mailboxes without continuous replication, you should deploy a VSS clone backup methodology.
• For High Availability Model, select the type of model that you plan to deploy: SCC, CCR, LCR, or none.
• For Number of Database Copies / Mailbox Server via Continuous Replication, enter in the total number of mailbox copies you will have for each mailbox server instance. This value can be obtained from the Requirements Calculator Storage Requirements worksheet's Number of Servers & Data Copies table.
• For VSS Backup Solution, you can choose clone, snapshot, or none. If you are deploying a SCC environment with large mailboxes, you should consider deploying a VSS solution that supports fast recovery (3 minutes + log replay), like a clone-based snapshot mechanism.
• For Number of VSS Clone Copies, you should select to have at least 2 copies so that you can rotate through them and not put your environment at risk by overwriting your only valid backup.
• For Third-Party Data Replication Solution, select yes if you are planning to utilize a data replication mechanism for your Single Copy Cluster or standalone mailbox server environment. By selecting yes, the storage calculator will double the number of disks required for the SCC or standalone solution (database, log, restore LUN) so that the replicated hardware can take ownership and become the primary copy without losing any functionality.
• For VSS Copy Support in Geographically Dispersed SCC, select yes if you plan on deploying a geographically dispersed SCC environment and want to ensure that backups can continue in the event of a site failover.

Step 3 - Storage Solution Costs

In this section you are asked to determine how you would like the cost analysis performed. You can utilize the default model, which bases the cost analysis on individual component pricing, or you can select to perform the cost analysis based on a complete storage solution cost.

For the first table, you can select as to whether you want to perform the cost analysis per individual component cost by selecting Yes, or you can choose to enter into the second table the entire solution's cost by selecting No.

Storage Solution Cost Settings	Value
Perform Cost Analysis Based on Individual Component Prices	Yes

If you selected No in the prior table, then you may enter into this table the storage solution cost per storage configuration. In addition, you can also enter into this section any additional costs (e.g. software licensing costs) you would like included in the cost analysis.

Storage Solution Cost Settings	Storage Solution Cost	Additional Costs
Configuration 1	$0.00	$0.00
Configuration 2	$0.00	$0.00
Configuration 3	$0.00	$0.00

Step 4 - Operational Metrics

In this section you are asked to enter in the power and cooling operational costs and how many years you expect this solution to remain in production. For determining your power and cooling costs, please consult your data center management staff.

Category	Value
Power Cost ($/kwh)	$0.12
Cooling Cost ($/kwh)	$0.12
Production Lifecycle (years)	3

Step 5 - Disk Configuration

In this section you are asked to enter in the various disk design configurations you wish to analyze from a cost perspective. For comparative analysis, you should enter at least 2 different disk configurations. This data can be obtained from the Requirements Calculator Storage Design worksheet's Storage Design Input Factors - Disk Selection section.

	Database Disk Type	Log Disk Type	Restore LUN Disk Type
Configuration 1	146GB 10K 2.5" SAS	146GB 10K 2.5" SAS	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA
Configuration 2	300GB 10K 3.5" FC	300GB 10K 3.5" FC	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA
Configuration 3	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA

In the second table, you are asked to enter in the various disk design configurations you wish to analyze from a cost perspective that will be used as part of the VSS backup infrastructure. Note that if you are performing snapshot copies and storing all the data on the same disks, you can select "-" for the Log Copy Disk Type.

	Database Copy Disk Type	Log Copy Disk Type
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 1	146GB 10K 2.5" SAS	--
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 2	300GB 10K 3.5" FC	--
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 3	1024GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA	--

Step 6 - Number of Disks

In this section you are asked to enter in the number of disks required for each disk design configuration you wish to analyze. This data can be obtained from the Requirements Calculator Storage Design worksheet's RAID Configurations / Server table (Note: when populating this table, only focus on the primary database copy and ignore the disk requirements for the continuous replication replica of disks).

	Number of Database Disks	Number of Log Disks	Number of Restore LUN Disks
Configuration 1	125	24	10
Configuration 2	60	12	10
Configuration 3	70	8	10

In the second table, you are asked to enter in the number of disks required for each VSS backup disk design configuration you wish to analyze.

	Number of Database Copy Disks	Number of Log Copy Disks
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 1	162	0
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 2	84	0
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 3	24	0

Step 7 - Disk Cost

In this section you are asked to enter in the disk cost for each type of disk you entered into Step 4. You can obtain this data from your storage vendor or from whatever purchase vehicle you utilize.

	Database Disk Type Cost	Log Disk Type Cost	Restore LUN Disk Type Cost
Configuration 1	$298.00	$298.00	$130.00
Configuration 2	$595.00	$595.00	$130.00
Configuration 3	$130.00	$130.00	$130.00

In the second table, you are asked to enter in the disk cost for each type of disk you entered into the VSS backup disk type table. You can obtain this data from your storage vendor or from whatever purchase vehicle you utilize.

	Database Copy Disk Type Cost	Log Copy Disk Type Cost
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 1	$298.00	$298.00
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 2	$595.00	$595.00
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 3	$275.00	$130.00

Step 8 - Disk Power Consumption

In this section you are asked to enter in the active power consumption for each type of disk you entered into Step 4. You can obtain this data from your storage vendor or from the disk manufacturer's product literature.

	Database Disk Active Power Consumption (w)	Log Disk Active Power Consumption (w)	Restore LUN Disk Active Power Consumption (w)
Configuration 1	8.0	8.0	10.6
Configuration 2	18.0	18.0	10.6
Configuration 3	10.6	10.6	10.6

In the second table, you are asked to enter in the active power consumption for each type of disk you entered into the VSS backup disk type table. You can obtain this data from your storage vendor or from the disk manufacturer's product literature.

	Database Copy Disk Active Power Consumption (w)	Log Copy Disk Active Power Consumption (w)
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 1	8.0	8.0
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 2	18.0	18.0
VSS Backup Solution for Configuration 3	11.6	10.6

Step 9 - Storage Configuration

In this section, you can choose to enter in details regarding your storage controllers and storage enclosures. Specifically you can define the total number of enclosures and controllers used in each configuration, the cost per device, and the active power consumption per device.

For the first table, you can select as to whether you want to include the storage enclosure and/or storage controller configuration into the cost analysis.

Storage Configuration Settings	Value
Include Enclosure Configuration in Cost Analysis	No
Include Controller Configuration in Cost Analysis	No

For the second table, you can enter in the details of the storage enclosure configuration per storage configuration. Please note that you should enter in the total number of enclosures used in the environment for each configuration.

Enclosure Configuration	Total Number of Enclosures / Environment	Cost / Enclosure	Active Power Consumption / Enclosure
Configuration 1	0	$0.00	0.0
Configuration 2	0	$0.00	0.0
Configuration 3	0	$0.00	0.0

For the third table, you can enter in the details of the storage controller configuration per storage configuration. Please note that you should enter in the total number of controllers used in the environment for each configuration.

Controller Configuration	Total Number of Controllers / Environment	Cost / Controller	Active Power Consumption / Controller
Configuration 1	0	$0.00	0.0
Configuration 2	0	$0.00	0.0
Configuration 3	0	$0.00	0.0

Storage Cost Results Worksheet

After entering in the required information on the Input Worksheet, you can access the Storage Costs Results Worksheet.

Storage Cost Calculations Section

For each disk configuration entered into the Input Worksheet, the calculator will derive the following information:

• Total Number of disks required. This number will reflect the required number of disks to support the Exchange storage (if continuous replication is selected, then at least 2 copies), the backup infrastructure, and the number of disks required for the number of standby continuous replication targets that were entered into the Input Worksheet.
• Total disk or solution cost.
• Total power consumed for the required disks/solution.
• Yearly power cost for the required disks/solution.
• Yearly cooling cost for the required disks/solution.

This information is then utilized in the results section.

Storage Cost Results Section

Based on the information provided in the Input Worksheet, the calculator will generate three tables.

The first table displays the capital expenses for each configuration. Specifically, the table outlines the total number of disks required for each disk configuration, the disk (or solution) cost, and the disk (or solution) cost per mailbox.

Capital Expenses	Total Number of Disks	Disk Cost	Disk Cost / Mailbox
Configuration 1 with VSS Backup Solution	2880	$838,080.00	$34.92
Configuration 2 with VSS Backup Solution	1488	$829,560.00	$34.57
Configuration 3 with VSS Backup Solution	1200	$176,880.00	$7.37

The second table displays the operational expenses for each configuration. Specifically, the table outlines the yearly power and cooling costs for the disks (or solution), the production lifecycle power and cooling cost, and the production lifecycle power and cooling cost per mailbox.

Operational Expenses	Yearly Total Power-Cooling Cost	Production Lifecycle Power-Cooling Cost	Production Lifecycle Power-Cooling Cost / Mailbox
Configuration 1 with VSS Backup Solution	$49,095.24	$147,285.73	$6.14
Configuration 2 with VSS Backup Solution	$54,443.75	$163,331.25	$6.81
Configuration 3 with VSS Backup Solution	$27,045.27	$81,135.82	$3.38

The third table displays the total expenses for each configuration. Specifically, the table outlines the total disk (or solution) cost and production lifecycle power and cooling cost and those costs per mailbox. The calculator will also visually show how the costs compare with one another: green indicates the most affordable solution, yellow indicates the second affordable solution, and red indicates the most expensive solution.

Total Expenses	Total Disk & Power-Cooling Cost	Total Disk & Power-Cooling Cost / Mailbox
Configuration 1 with VSS Backup Solution	$985,365.73	$41.06
Configuration 2 with VSS Backup Solution	$992,891.25	$41.37
Configuration 3 with VSS Backup Solution	$258,015.82	$10.75

Storage Cost Charts Worksheet

The Storage Cost Charts worksheet simply takes the data that is provided in the Storage Cost Results section and provides it in a graphical form which can then be used in presentations, or delivered to business decision makers, etc.

SCC vs. CCR Worksheet

This worksheet is designed to help you when you want to understand the differences between deploying in an SCC configuration or a CCR configuration; differences like:

• CCR provides two copies of the data. SCC provides only a single copy of the data (unless deployed with a third-party data replication solution).
• CCR provides a built-in fast recovery mechanism. SCC does not provide a built-in fast recovery mechanism.
• CCR due to its fast recovery mechanism can handle large mailboxes without an impact to RTO. SCC requires a fast recovery mechanism like VSS clones to satisfy meeting the RTO requirements.

SCC vs. CCR Input Factors - Solution Configuration

Step 1 - Many of the data points used to perform the SCC and CCR comparison are taken from the Input worksheet:

• Number of mailboxes
• Number of mailbox servers
• Whether large mailboxes are deployed
• Power and cooling costs
• Production lifecycle

However the Input worksheet does not include all the data points necessary to make this comparison. Those differences can be entered into this section's table:

• For Number of SCR Copies, enter the number of SCR copies you would like to have deployed in this environment. Note that for SCC environments, if you enable third-party data replication, the number of SCR copies value will be ignored.

Category	Value
Number of SCR Copies	0

SCC vs. CCR Input Factors - Storage Solution Costs

Step 2 - In this section you are asked to determine how you would like the cost analysis performed. You can utilize the default model, which bases the cost analysis on individual component pricing, or you can select to perform the cost analysis based on a complete storage solution cost.

For the first table, you can select as to whether you want to perform the cost analysis per individual component cost by selecting Yes, or you can choose to enter into the second table the entire solution's cost by selecting No.

Storage Solution Cost Settings	Value
Perform Cost Analysis Based on Individual Component Prices	Yes

If you selected No in the prior table, then you may enter into this table the storage solution cost for the SCC storage configuration and the CCR storage configuration. In addition, you can also enter into this section any additional costs (e.g. software licensing costs) you would like included in the cost analysis.

Storage Solution Cost Settings	Storage Solution Cost	Additional Costs
SCC Storage Configuration (SAN)	$0.00	$0.00
CCR Storage Configuration (DAS)	$0.00	$0.00

SCC vs. CCR Input Factors - SCC Configuration

Step 3 - For this table, you can enter in various pieces of information regarding the Single Copy Cluster environment:

• For VSS Backup Solution, you can choose clone, snapshot, or none. If you are deploying a SCC environment with large mailboxes, you should consider deploying a VSS solution that supports fast recovery (3 minutes + log replay), like a clone-based snapshot mechanism.
• For Number of VSS Clone Copies, you should select to have at least 2 copies so that you can rotate through them and not put your environment at risk by overwriting your only valid backup.
• If you are planning on deploying your Single Copy Cluster environment in a geographically dispersed model or if you are planning to enhance your solution by replicating the mailbox store data to another storage enclosure, you can select "Yes" to the Geographically Dispersed SCC (3^rd Party Data Replication) input. By selecting yes, the storage calculator will double the number of disks required for the SCC solution (database, log, restore LUN) so that the replicated hardware can take ownership and become the primary copy without losing any functionality.
• For VSS Copy Support in Geographically Dispersed SCC, select yes if you plan on deploying a geographically dispersed SCC environment and want to ensure that backups can continue in the event of a site/storage failover.

SCC Configuration Settings	Value
VSS Backup Solution	Clone
Number of VSS Clone Copies	2
Geographically Dispersed SCC (3rd Party Data Replication)	No
VSS Copy Support in Geographically Dispersed SCC	No

Step 4 - For this table, you can enter in the desired storage configuration you wish to use in your SCC environment. Select the appropriate disk type and enter in the number of required disk spindles per mailbox server, as well as, the disk cost and the disk power consumption.

SCC Disk Configuration (SAN)	Database	Log	Restore LUN
Disk Type	300GB 10K 3.5" FC	300GB 10K 3.5" FC	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA
Number of Disks / Mailbox Server	60	12	10
Disk Cost ($)	$595.00	$595.00	$130.00
Disk Active Power Consumption ($)	18.0	18.0	10.6

Step 5 - For this table, you can enter in the design VSS backup storage configuration you wish to use with your SCC environment. Select the appropriate disk type and enter in the number of required disk spindles per mailbox server, as well as, the disk cost and the disk power consumption. Note that if you are performing snapshot copies and storing all the data on the same disks, you can select "-" for the Log Copy Disk Type.

SCC VSS Backup Configuration (SAN)	Database Copy	Log Copy
Disk Type	300GB 10K 3.5" FC	300GB 10K 3.5" FC
Number of Disks / Mailbox Server	60	12
Disk Cost ($)	$595.00	$595.00
Disk Active Power Consumption ($)	18.0	18.0

Step 6 - For this section, you can choose to enter in details regarding your storage controllers and storage enclosures. Specifically you can define the total number of enclosures and controllers used in each configuration, the cost per device, and the active power consumption per device. For the first table, you can select as to whether you want to include the storage enclosure and/or storage controller configuration into the cost analysis.

Storage Configuration Settings	Value
Include Enclosure Configuration in Cost Analysis	No
Include Controller Configuration in Cost Analysis	No

For the second table, you can enter in the details of the storage enclosure and storage controller configuration. Please note that you should enter in the total number of devices used in the environment for each configuration.

SCC Storage Configuration	Total Number of Devices / Environment	Cost / Device	Active Power Consumption / Device
Storage Enclosure	0	$0.00	0.0
Storage Controller	0	$0.00	0.0

SCC vs. CCR Input Factors - CCR Configuration

Step 7 - For this table, you can enter in various pieces of information regarding the Cluster Continuous Replication environment:

• For VSS Backup Solution, you can choose snapshot, or none. If you are deploying a SCC environment with large mailboxes, you should consider deploying a VSS solution that supports fast recovery (3 minutes + log replay), like a clone-based snapshot mechanism.

CCR Configuration Settings	Value
VSS Backup Solution	Snapshot

Step 8 - For this table, you can enter in the desired storage configuration you wish to use in your CCR environment. Select the appropriate disk type and enter in the number of required disk spindles per node, as well as, the disk cost and the disk power consumption.

CCR Disk Configuration (DAS)	Database	Log	Restore LUN
Disk Type	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA	500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA
Number of Disks / Node	70	8	10
Disk Cost ($)	$130.00	$130.00	$130.00
Disk Active Power Consumption ($)	10.6	10.6	10.6

Step 9 - For this table, you can enter in the design VSS backup storage configuration you wish to use with your CCR environment. Select the appropriate disk type and enter in the number of required disk spindles per mailbox server, as well as, the disk cost and the disk power consumption. Note that if you are performing snapshot copies and storing all the data on the same disks, you can select "-" for the Log Copy Disk Type.

CCR VSS Backup Configuration (DAS)	Database Copy	Log Copy
Disk Type	1024GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA	--
Number of Disks / Mailbox Server	24	12
Disk Cost ($)	$275.00	$130.00
Disk Active Power Consumption ($)	11.6	10.6

Step 10 - For this section, you can choose to enter in details regarding your storage controllers and storage enclosures. Specifically you can define the total number of enclosures and controllers used in each configuration, the cost per device, and the active power consumption per device. For the first table, you can select as to whether you want to include the storage enclosure and/or storage controller configuration into the cost analysis.

Storage Configuration Settings	Value
Include Enclosure Configuration in Cost Analysis	No
Include Controller Configuration in Cost Analysis	No

For the second table, you can enter in the details of the storage enclosure and storage controller configuration. Please note that you should enter in the total number of devices used in the environment for each configuration.

CCR Storage Configuration	Total Number of Devices / Environment	Cost / Device	Active Power Consumption / Device
Storage Enclosure	0	$0.00	0.0
Storage Controller	0	$0.00	0.0

SCC vs. CCR Calculations Section

For each disk configuration entered into the Input Worksheet, the calculator will derive the following information:

• Total Number of disks required.
• Total disk cost.
• Total power consumed for the required disks.
• Yearly power cost for the required disks.
• Yearly cooling cost for the required disks.

This information is then utilized in the results section.

SCC vs. CCR Results Section

The first table outlines the total number of disks required for the SCC and CCR configurations, as well as, the number of data copies that exist for each solution. If you enabled VSS clones for your SCC solution, this will be reflected in the total copy count. If you also select to deploy a third-party data replication solution for SCC, this will increase the copy count by one.

	Total Number of Disks	Total Number of Data Copies / Server	Types of Data Copies / Server
SCC Configuration (SAN) with VSS Backup Solution	1,356	3	1 + 2 VSS Clones
CCR Configuration (DAS) with VSS Backup Solution	1,200	2	2 + Snapshot Copies

The second table displays the capital expenses for the SCC and CCR configurations. Specifically, the table outlines the total number of disks required for each disk configuration, the disk (or solution) cost, and the disk (or solution) cost per mailbox. The calculator will also visually show how the costs compare with one another: green indicates the most affordable solution, yellow indicates the second affordable solution, and red indicates the most expensive solution

Capital Expenses	Total Number of Disks	Disk Cost	Disk Cost / Mailbox
SCC Configuration (SAN) with VSS Backup Solution	1356	$778,920.00	$32.46
CCR Configuration (DAS) with VSS Backup Solution	1200	$176,880.00	$7.37

The third table displays the operational expenses for the SCC and CCR configurations. Specifically, the table outlines the yearly power and cooling costs for the disks (or solution), the production lifecycle power and cooling cost, and the production lifecycle power and cooling cost per mailbox.

Operational Expenses	Yearly Total Power-Cooling Cost	Production Lifecycle Power-Cooling Cost	Production Lifecycle Power-Cooling Cost / Mailbox
SCC Configuration (SAN) with VSS Backup Solution	$50,381.91	$151,145.74	$6.30
CCR Configuration (DAS) with VSS Backup Solution	$27,045.27	$81,135.82	$3.38

The fourth table displays the total expenses for the SCC and CCR configurations. Specifically, the table outlines the total disk (or solution) cost and production lifecycle power and cooling cost and those costs per mailbox.

Total Expenses	Total Disk & Power-Cooling Cost	Total Disk & Power-Cooling Cost / Mailbox
SCC Configuration (SAN) with VSS Backup Solution	$930,065.74	$38.75
CCR Configuration (DAS) with VSS Backup Solution	$258,015.82	$10.75

Conclusion

You can download the Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server Storage Cost Calculator from http://msexchangeteam.com/files/12/attachments/entry450038.aspx.

Hopefully you will find this calculator invaluable in helping to analyze various disk configuration costs for Exchange 2007 mailbox servers. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email strgcalc@microsoft.com.

- Ross Smith IV

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Microsoft Tech·Ed EMEA 2008 IT Professionals is the Microsoft premier technical education conference just for IT professionals. For five days, 5,000 IT professionals are learning how to architect, plan, deploy, manage and secure a connected enterprise from Microsoft experts and industry leaders.

Several folks from Exchange will be there presenting breakout sessions, interactive sessions and staffing the Ask the Experts area.  Here's a quick rundown of the Unified Communications sessions:

Date	Timeslot	Room	Code	Title	Session Type	Speaker(s)
11/3/2008	16:00 - 17:15	Room 116	UNC202	What's New in Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Breakout	Eric Swift
11/3/2008	16:00 - 17:15	Room 111	UNC205	Exchange Online Administration and Management	Breakout	Rob Nichols
11/3/2008	17:45 - 19:00	Room 134	UNC08-IS	Q&A: E-Mail Retention with Exchange Hosted Archive	Interactive	Joel Soderberg
11/3/2008	17:45 - 19:00	Room 111	UNC201	What's New in mobility and web access with Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Breakout	Brett Johnson
11/4/2008	09:00 - 10:15	Room 134	UNC06-IS	Q&A: Exchange Performance Demystified	Interactive	John Rodriguez
11/4/2008	09:00 - 10:15	Room 114	UNC301	Story so far...or what we've learnt from Office Communications Server Customers	Breakout	Sasa Juratovic
11/4/2008	10:45 - 12:00	Room 112	UNC303	Advanced Troubleshooting Strategies for Exchange Server 2007	Breakout	John Rodriguez
11/4/2008	12:20 - 13:10	Room 115	UNC01-PD	What's New in Office Communicator and Devices with Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Demo	Anton Krantz; Avronil Bhattacharjee
11/4/2008	13:30 - 14:45	Room 123	UNC01-ILL	Data Protection Manager 2007 - Protecting Exchange Server	I.L.	Jason Buffington
11/4/2008	13:30 - 14:45	Room 134	UNC01-IS	Q&A : How do I deploy mobility and web access in OCS 2007 R2 ?	Interactive	Brett Johnson
11/4/2008	13:30 - 14:45	Room 117	UNC310	Make Outlook 2007 happy with Exchange 2007 Web Services	Breakout	Kevin Laahs
11/4/2008	15:15 - 16:30	Room 113	UNC311	Going Big! A Discussion on Deploying Large Mailboxes with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 without Breaking the Bank	Breakout	Ross Smith IV
11/4/2008	17:00 - 18:15	Room 134	UNC02-IS	Q&A: Troubleshooting Server Issues in Office Communications Server 2007	Interactive	Peter Schmatz
11/4/2008	17:00 - 18:15	Room 112	UNC304	Migrating to Exchange Server 2007	Breakout	Andrew Ehrensing
11/5/2008	09:00 - 10:15	Room 117	UNC305	Deploying and Migrating Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Breakout	Anand Lakshminarayanan; Peter Schmatz
11/5/2008	10:45 - 12:00	Room 133	UNC05-IS	Q&A: Migrating Domino and Groupwise to Exchange 2007	Interactive	Andrew Ehrensing
11/5/2008	10:45 - 12:00	Room 113	UNC204	Microsoft Voice Interoperability Strategy and what's new in R2	Breakout	Francois Doremieux; Jingyu Qiu
11/5/2008	12:20 - 13:10	Room 125	UNC02-PD	Protecting Exchange Data with Data Protection Manager	Demo	Ilse Van Criekinge
11/5/2008	13:30 - 14:45	Room 133	UNC10-IS	Q&A : Deploying and Migrating Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Interactive	Anand Lakshminarayanan; Peter Schmatz
11/5/2008	13:30 - 14:45	Auditorium	UNC306	High Availability in Exchange 2007 SP1, Part 1: Continuous Replication and Failover Clusters	Breakout	Scott Schnoll
11/5/2008	15:45 - 17:00	Room 123	UNC01-ILL	Data Protection Manager 2007 - Protecting Exchange Server	I.L.	Jason Buffington
11/5/2008	15:45 - 17:00	Room 113	UNC316	Microsoft OCS Direct SIP Interoperability with IP-PBX	Breakout	Francois Doremieux
11/5/2008	17:30 - 18:45	Room 113	UNC401	ESE Internals	Breakout	Ross Smith IV
11/6/2008	08:30 - 09:45	Room 132	UNC03-IS	Q&A: Exchange Server 2007 Continuous Replication Deep Dive	Interactive	Ross Smith IV
11/6/2008	08:30 - 09:45	Room 111	UNC203	What's New in Conferencing with Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Breakout	Avronil Bhattacharjee; Renee Lo
11/6/2008	10:15 - 11:30	Room 132	UNC07-IS	Q&A : How do I connect my OCS with other voice and video systems ?	Interactive	Francois Doremieux; Jingyu Qiu
11/6/2008	10:15 - 11:30	Room 121	UNC302	Coexistence and Migration with Exchange Online	Breakout	Erik Ashby
11/6/2008	13:00 - 14:15	Room 132	UNC09-IS	Q&A: Migrating to Exchange Online	Interactive	Erik Ashby
11/6/2008	13:00 - 14:15	Room 112	UNC308	Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging Component Description and Conceptual Overview	Breakout	Martin Sherred
11/6/2008	14:40 - 15:55	Auditorium	UNC312	What's New in Voice with Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Breakout	Mahendra Sekaran
11/6/2008	16:20 - 17:35	Room 117	UNC307	High Availability in Exchange 2007 SP1, Part 2: Disaster Recovery and Site Resilience (SCR deep dive)	Breakout	Scott Schnoll
11/6/2008	18:00 - 19:15	Room 121	UNC318	Dell Global Services - Reducing Complexity and Cost of Exchange Storage	Breakout	Dee Chury; Dustin Johnson
11/7/2008	09:00 - 10:15	Room 115	UNC309	Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging Scaling and Performance Considerations	Breakout	Martin Sherred
11/7/2008	09:00 - 10:15	Room 112	UNC315	Certificates and Exchange 2007: Best Practices and Lessons Learned	Breakout	Ilse Van Criekinge
11/7/2008	10:45 - 12:00	Room 112	UNC317	Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and Hyper-V	Breakout	Scott Schnoll
11/7/2008	12:20 - 13:10	Room 111	UNC03-PD	Benefits of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in the daily business	Demo	Damien Caro
11/7/2008	13:30 - 14:45	Room 113	UNC313	Exchange Server 2007 CAS\HUB Deployment Scaling and Testing	Breakout	Bill Thompson
11/7/2008	15:15 - 16:30	Room 113	UNC314	Planning and Deploying Group Chat with Office Communications Server 2007 R2	Breakout	Ken Ewert

If you happen to be attending Tech·Ed EMEA 2008, drop by the Ask the Experts area and say Hello!

-The Exchange Team