Looking to upgrade your infrastructure to Exchange 2010, then Microsoft has a tool to help make the process a little smoother. They’ve published an updated version of their Exchange 2010 Deployment Assistant, which now supports migration paths from Exchange 2007 as well as help with new 2010 installs. Previously, the assistant would only advise users of Exchange 2003.
The Deployment Assistant allows administrators to create Exchange 2010 deployment instructions that are customized to their environment. The Deployment Assistant asks a small set of questions, and based on your answers, it provides a set of instructions that are designed to get you up and running on Exchange 2010. Instead of reading dozens of topics in the Exchange 2010 library, you simply answer a few questions, and the Deployment Assistant gives you customized content to install Exchange 2010.
The assistant is strictly web based, and does not require you to run anything on your systems. It does require you to have intimate knowledge of your Exchange environment for the results to be very helpful. You can find it over at Technet.
Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2010 is coming soon, and Microsoft is set to release an updated test version even sooner. The beta of 2010 has been out since September and the product team has been taking feedback to make the product even better then the 2007 version.
This Thursday, at 9AM PST, Microsoft will be hosting a 90 minute webcast to cover what has changed in the release candidate and the progress being made towards the final version. Anyone using DPM will want to be sure not to miss this. The team will demonstrate the software that early adopters have been running as well as new Windows client protection capabilities, the new SQL/SharePoint/Exchange protection and recovery features, as well as their enhanced Disaster Recovery scenarios.
There will also be information on the new auto-healing/auto-scaling features (which current DPM administrators like myself will love) — the team also promises a few new surprises that weren’t in the beta.
Those of you who know me, know that I have been an avid BlackBerry proponent for many years. I held fast to the opinion that BlackBerry coupled with Microsoft Exchange was the solution for business mobile communications. Be it BlackBerry Enterprise Server or Microsoft ActiveSync, I held steadfast in my opinion that nothing could perform as well or better in maintaining perfect harmony between my desktop, my laptop, my phone, and anywhere access to my information. I am here to say, that era has ended. A moment of silence, please. Now that the mourning is over, let me tell you the changes I’ve made, how, and why.
First, let me say that I had not been looking to leave the BlackBerry/Exchange family, but I was holding out for a full screen BlackBerry with a physical keyboard, a slider if you will. Those of you who follow mobile devices closely, especially those who follow BlackBerry hardware, are well aware of the numerous design concept drawings, mock-ups, etc. of a BlackBerry slider that have been floating around for at least a year. Never revealing just exactly when we would see such a device, RIM has only been willing to confirm that several design options have been considered. This secrecy is nothing unusual among device manufacturers, but the lack of information and an opportunity provided by a competitor presents a precarious position, and, in this case, caused a long time RIM fan to jump ship.
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With the recent launch of Apple’s latest OS iteration, Snow Leopard, many users were anxiously anticipating a more feature rich and integrated experience in corporate networks that employ a Microsoft Exchange server, or as Apple puts it, Out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange. While that may technically be true, it’s not as cut and dry as Apple claims it to be.
Freelance technology journalist Tim Anderson digs into the Exchange capabilities of Snow Leopard in its out-of-the-box state, and reveals that it’s not a full featured Exchange experience, but may be more reminiscent of Mail support pre-Snow Leopard. While previously Apple OS versions only supported basic e-mail connections to an Exchange server via IMAP, Snow Leopard offers support for Exchange Web Services. However, EWS is not a feature complete service, and is only available to those connecting to an Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1, Update Rollup 4. Even then, some features, such as public folder support will require an Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 2.
As Tim points out, there are many Snow Leopard users experiencing a myriad of difficulties in connecting their systems to Exchange servers. The saving grace looks like it will come from Microsoft, who in it’s next version of Microsoft Office for Mac, will be replacing Entourage with Outlook for Mac, which promises to deliver a more complete Exchange experience for Mac users.
Apple has released the latest version of their OS X operating system, version 10.6 or “Snow Leopard” for both desktops and servers. Current 10.5 users can upgrade to 10.6 for $29 per machine for the desktop or $499 for the server. 10.6 is only supported on Intel based Macs.
The desktop version features enhanced Exchange support, enabling programs like Mail, iCal and Address Book to communicate directly with our Microsoft Exchange 2007 servers. Both versions also feature enhanced support for x64 based computing, and have a x64 based kernel.
As we reported earlier in the week, 10.6 also includes built in malware scanning, something not mentioned anywhere on the Apple website.
The server version also includes a new SSL based VPN service, as well as new versions of iCal server and Address Book server, as well as updates to the built in Mail server.
Order: Client | Server
Update: Be sure to check the recently published 10.6 application incompatibility chart before upgrading. A few popular anti-virus programs as well as versions of Parallels Desktop are listed as restricted during install. Aperture 2.1.1. is also listed as unable to load after installing.
Microsoft is running a launch campaign for Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 and Exchange 2010. The campaign is called “The New Efficiency” and is focused toward IT Professionals and Developers. There are three different tracks that you can take at this event, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 and Exchange 2010.
There are 25 events across the country so I am sure there is one near you. Sorry international folks, Microsoft will not be holding similar events abroad.
For more information or to register for an event, visit the Microsoft event home page.
Looking to upgrade your infrastructure to Exchange 2010, then Microsoft has a tool to help make the process a little smoother. They’ve published an updated version of their Exchange 2010 Deployment Assistant, which now supports migration paths from Exchange 2007 as well as help with new 2010 installs. Previously, the assistant would only advise users of Exchange 2003.
