Exchange Server Pro » Books

Outlook 2010 Inside Out for Exchange Server Pros

Paul Cunningham — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:00:15 +0000

One of my favorite things about working with Exchange Server is the way it exposes you to every layer of IT.

From the data center to the end user and everything in between, Exchange Server pros need experience with such a broad range of concepts, products and technologies that it can sometimes be overwhelming.

At the end user level there is the Outlook client itself, the most heavily used application in many businesses. So much of our back-end server architecture and administration is for the benefit of the end user experience.

Think about new Exchange Server 2010 features such as Mail Tips and Rights Management integration, and other common scenarios such as delegation and shared mailbox access. These types of daily usage scenarios make Outlook one of the most important applications an Exchange Server admin needs to know and understand.

With so much to understand I look for resources that are good for both fast learning and ongoing reference material. Which is why I am excited to see the release of Microsoft Outlook 2010 Inside Out from MS Press.

At just over 1000 pages long this book is the ultimate Outlook reference for Exchange Server pros. It covers the total end user functionality and also includes a section decicated to using Outlook with Exchange Server.

Definitely a must have for your Exchange Server library.

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The Ultimate Exchange Server 2007 Toolkit

Paul Cunningham — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:02:04 +0000

If you are regularly deploying or administering Exchange Server 2007 environments then chances are there are some pieces of software and documentation that you regularly need to make use of. Today I thought I would share with you what is in my own Exchange 2007 toolkit.

Software

Operating Systems

Naturally it pays to have copies of the Windows Server CD media on hand. If you don’t like carrying CD’s then having ISOs that you can mount is usually just as good.

Windows Server 2003 32-bit and 64-bit (both Standard and Enterprise, and R2) CD media, slipstreamed with SP2.
Windows Server 2008 32-bit and 64-bit DVD media (includes all the bits for both Standard and Enterprise on it) with SP2.

Exchange Pre-Requisites

When deploying Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2003 there are several pre-requisites needed. Having these ready to copy to the server saves a lot of time finding and downloading them:

.NET 2.0 with Service Pack 1 (x86 and x64)
MMC 3.0 (x86 and x64)
PowerShell (x86 and x64)

Even though production Exchange systems are only deployed on 64-bit servers I include both the 32-bit and 64-bit pre-requisites in my toolkit for situations where the Exchange 2007 schema extension is performed on a 32-bit domain controller.

Windows Server 2008 deployments don’t need any special software because all of the Exchange 2007 pre-requisites can be installed via the command line.

Exchange Installation Source

The latest build of Exchange 2007 is SP3 and is available as a complete install (ie, doesn’t require you to install RTM and then apply SP3). Again even though only 64-bit is used for production Exchange servers I still carry the 32-bit version with me for schema extensions and for installing the management tools on administrative workstations.

You can download both 32-bit and 64-bit install source here.

Planning, Deployment and Troubleshooting Tools

When you are planning or testing a new Exchange Server 2007 deployment these tools are are essential.

Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator (download here)
Microsoft Exchange Server Jetstress Tool (x86 and x64)
Exchange Load Generator (x86 and x64)
Exchange Server Stress and Performance Tool (x86 and x64)
Microsoft Exchange Server Profile Analyzer (x86 and x64)
Microsoft Exchange Best Practices Analyzer v2.8
2007 Office System Converter: Microsoft Filter Pack here, plus the reg script here
FBA Editor, for customizing ISA/TMG logon forms
DNSLint, for AD replication troubleshooting
Microsoft Active Directory Topology Diagrammer for generating Visio diagrams
ADmodify for bulk object editing, useful in GAL segregation scenarios
Microsoft Exchange Server Public Folder DAV-based Administration Tool
Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant v1.1
Exchange 2007 Anti Spam Migration Tool
MFCMAPI
Automatic Fix-It package for installing Exchange on Domain Controllers

Documentation

Microsoft provides downloadable help files for Exchange 2007 that are invaluable when out in the field, especially if you happen to be without internet access and need information fast.

While there are many good Exchange 2007 books around most of them are too big and heavy to carry out in the field. That is why I carry the Administrator’s Pocket Consultant with me. However will also list here the other books that I keep in the office for reference:

Want to work with Exchange Server 2007?

If you’re interested in working with Exchange Server 2007 you may want to:

Get certified. I’ve completed both the MCTS certification, and MCITP certification for Exchange 2007 using these two books.
Download my Exchange Server 2007 Transition Guide to learn how to migrate from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007.
Read my Project Coconut series, a real world Exchange 2007 deployment I recently worked on.
Subscribe to my RSS feed, so you can keep up to date with all of my Exchange related blog posts.

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Free Microsoft Exchange ebooks

Paul Cunningham — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:34:07 +0000

From MSExchange.org:

Configuring Microsoft Exchange for Fast Recovery is a free e-book available from Realtime Publishers.

Microsoft Exchange is the premiere authority for email in today’s global marketplace. With the impact email has on the workplace and corporate communications, along with the advent of Exchange Server 2007, maintaining an optimal environment is vital. This includes building a resilient environment that can recover from unexpected interruptions.

The Essentials Series: Configuring Microsoft Exchange for Fast Recovery will provide you with the tools for configuring hardware backup and restoration strategies to help return Exchange to full function with minimal downtime.

The download is available here at the Realtime Publishers website. There are other free ebooks available as well, but be warned you need to jump through some registration and personal information hoops to get access to them.

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Enterprise Systems Backup and Recovery (Book)

Paul Cunningham — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:53:45 +0000

Dan lets us know that the book Enterprise Systems Backup and Recovery: A Corporate Insurance Policy written by local guru Preston De Guise is available now. The book is a platform-agnostic guide to comprehensive backup and recovery systems and should be compulsory reading for IT decision makers.

In the author’s own words:

Instead of focusing on any individual backup product, this book recommends corporate procedures and policies that need to be established for comprehensive data protection.

It provides relevant information to any organisation, regardless of which operating systems or applications are deployed, what backup system is in place, or what planning has been done for business continuity.

It explains how backup must be included in every phase of system planning, development, operation, and maintenance. It also provides techniques for analyzing and improving current backup system performance.

I’ve tangled with many different backup systems in my career and in at least half of those environments the problems with the backup systems were not due to sloppy implementation, rather they were due to unclear corporate policies and lack of high level support for a proper investment in data protection.

Enterprise Systems Backup and Recovery: A Corporate Insurance Policy covers everything from basic concepts, common myths, human responsibilities, retention policies, recovery strategies, handling of media, through to advanced enterprise concepts, how to provide documentation and training, and how to monitor an enterprise backup system.

Buy it now: Amazon | CRCPress | Booktopia

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Microsoft Certification – The Mark Russinovich Exam

Paul Cunningham — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:00:55 +0000

Microsoft has released information for exam 70-660, TS: Windows Internals. This might be an odd sounding title to anyone who has never heard of Mark Russinovich or Sysinternals. From the MS Learning site:

This exam validates deep technical skills in the area of Windows Internals. Including troubleshooting operating systems that are not performing as expected or applications that are not working correctly, identifying code defects, and developing and debugging applications that run unmanaged code or that are tightly integrated with the operating system, such as Microsoft SQL Server, third party applications, antivirus software, and device drivers.

If that makes little sense take a look at Mark’s blog on Technet and you’ll see the type and depth of content they are talking about.

Candidates for this exam are engineers, developers, or IT staff who work with Windows at a level that requires Windows Internals knowledge. Candidates for this exam are typically in the upper echelon of the technical staff at their companies. These individuals typically hold such positions as escalation engineer, technical lead, and software design engineer. Their level of knowledge spans products both inside and outside the Microsoft Corporation. These individuals are involved in resolving problems that require deep understanding of Windows Internals rather than problems about planning and infrastructure development or how to use or configure a product that runs on Windows.

Sounds like a pretty tough exam, and the preparation looks even tougher. Though the exam is (apparently) available from October 10th this year, currently the preparation materials listed are as follows:

Classroom Training – There is no classroom training currently available.
Microsoft E-Learning – There is no Microsoft E-Learning training currently available.
Microsoft Press Books – There are no Microsoft Press books currently available.
Practice Tests – There are no practice tests currently available.

So that makes preparing for a tough exam pretty difficult. But its a pretty safe bet that the exam is going to cover the topics listed in Mark’s two books, Windows Internals 4th Edition (for 2000, XP, and 2003) and Windows Internals 5th Edition (for Vista and 2008).

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Microsoft Exam 70-236: Exchange Server 2007 Configuration (MCTS)

Paul Cunningham — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 08:30:38 +0000

This morning I sat and passed the 70-236 exam from Microsoft, which is titled TS: Exchange Server 2007, Configuring.

Passing this exam earns you MCTS: Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 – Configuration certification status, and also earns credit towards the MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator certification.

I don’t like to dance around the exam NDA and give away too much about the exam content but I will offer the following advice and suggestions for training resources if you are planning to sit this exam.

As with any Microsoft exam always review the Preparation Guide.
In the absence of the official MS Press training kit I recommend Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unleashed. At 1200 pages it is not an easy read, but it will go a long way to preparing you for this exam, the design and deployment exams, many real world deployment and migration scenarios including integration with other products such as Sharepoint, and is a handy desk reference for your daily Exchange administrative duties.
Make use of the Technet Virtual Labs.
If you are new to Exchange and like webcasts, the 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 webcast series is a good start.
If you prefer reading documents, the Simple and Standard deployment guides are excellent reading.
Either the Exchange Server 2007 Virtual Hard Disk or the Exchange Server 2007 Evaluation software for hands on experience.
Know your Exchange Management Shell commands. This is essential for passing the exam. If you know the Exchange Management Console back to front but have not learned the shell commands you will fail the exam. At least 90% of the questions I faced involved selecting the correct shell command or commands to achieve the desired result.

Good luck.

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Microsoft Exam 70-350: Implementing Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004

Paul Cunningham — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 02:31:38 +0000

This morning I sat the Microsoft certification exam 70-350 for ISA Server 2004. I’d been putting this one off for a while, having already worked through the Microsoft Press training guide, a lot of whitepapers, and worked with the product for a lot of different customers over the last couple of years. I passed the exam with plenty of room to spare.

Someone gave me the tip that the exam is not particularly difficult. I tend to agree, but that would largely have to do with all of the work and study I’ve put into it beforehand. ISA Server 2004 is a great product, and the new versions are excellent too. The biggest hurdles in understanding it seem to be early on when you first start using it.

If you’re looking to do some training on ISA Server 2004 with the goal of certifying then I would strongly recommend the Microsoft Press training guide. The books contents will thoroughly prepare you for the exam provided you work through the material properly and don’t skimp on the practical exercises or review questions.

You can also make use of the extensive ISA 2004 Technical Library on the Microsoft website. The documentation there could be used for all of your training instead of using the training guide, but won’t take you through the subject in the same fashion. However it does make for excellent complimentary material for your training and for your real world work with the product.

I would give you tips on which areas to focus on but really the exam questions I faced pretty well broadly covered the entire product. There was no particular areas to focus on to the exclusion of others. I would certainly recommend though that you do not sit the exam until you are thoroughly familiar with fundamental networking concepts such as subnetting and routing, and with the ISA Server 2004 networking model.

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Two Security Books

Paul Cunningham — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 01:40:31 +0000

Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World is written by the internationally renowned security expert Bruce Schneier. Bruce has authored several books on security and this one is a fascinating read that is sure to open your mind up to new ways of thinking about security in everyday business matters. This book has definitely had a positive impact on the way I approach security in my daily work. I feel it has opened up more potential for my career and has made some aspects of my job much more interesting and challenging.

You can read more about the book here.

# Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World
# Hardcover: 432 pages
# Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (August 14, 2000)
# ISBN: 0471253111

Protect Your Windows Network: From Perimeter to Data is written by two of Microsoft’s top security personnel – Jesper Johansson and Steve Riley. Note that Jesper has left Microsoft for a new security role at Amazon.com. I have been in the audience when both of these guys have presented and they always deliver a captivating and entertaining performance. This book is no different – as someone who works in the Microsoft space I had a few eye-opening experiences in this book and loaded myself up with plenty of ammo to take into the workplace.

# Protect Your Windows Network: From Perimeter to Data
# Paperback: 608 pages
# Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; Bk&CD-Rom edition (May 20, 2005)
# ISBN: 0321336437

If security interests you then these books make a great starting point, much better than just diving in with a hardening guide or technical whitepaper.

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Exchange Server Pro » Books

Outlook 2010 Inside Out for Exchange Server Pros

Related posts:

The Ultimate Exchange Server 2007 Toolkit

Software

Operating Systems

Exchange Pre-Requisites

Exchange Installation Source

Documentation

Want to work with Exchange Server 2007?

Related posts:

Free Microsoft Exchange ebooks

Related posts:

Enterprise Systems Backup and Recovery (Book)

Related posts:

Microsoft Certification – The Mark Russinovich Exam

Related posts:

Microsoft Exam 70-236: Exchange Server 2007 Configuration (MCTS)

Related posts:

Microsoft Exam 70-350: Implementing Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004

Related posts:

Two Security Books

Related posts: