NET Framework 4.8 released - No support for Exchange Server

Microsoft has recently released .NET Framework 4.8, which will also be delivered promptly via Windows Update. However, .NET Framework 4.8 should not currently be installed on Exchange Servers. Exchange Server only supports certain .NET Framework versions depending on the update status. .NET Framework versions not supported by Exchange cause trouble from time to time (see here and ... Read more

Exchange Server Dashboards with ELK (ElasticSearch, Logstash, Kibana) Part 4

In part 3 of this article series, I described the configuration of the ELK components. If someone has already built the environment up to this point, there should already be some data records from the Exchange Message Tracking Logs in the Elasticsearch instance. Introduction This article is about the creation of a simple Kibana dashboard, which provides initial data ... Read more

New security updates for Exchange Server (All versions)

Microsoft has released security updates for Exchange Server today. Specifically, these are the following vulnerabilities: CVE-2019-0817: Microsoft Exchange Spoofing Vulnerability CVE-2019-0858: Microsoft Exchange Spoofing Vulnerability CVE-2019-0817 applies to all currently supported Exchange Server versions (including Exchange 2010). CVE-2019-0858 affects Exchange from version 2013 onwards. Even though the vulnerability is "only" rated as "Important", it ... Read more

Exchange Server Dashboards with ELK (ElasticSearch, Logstash, Kibana) Part 3

In part 2 of this article series, I described the installation of the ELK stack on Debian 9.8. This part is about the configuration of the individual components and the data of the Exchange Server message tracking logs. Introduction In this article, the ElasticStack components and the Exchange Server are configured. This article refers directly to ... Read more

Exchange Server Dashboards with ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) Part 2

As already announced, I would like to realize dashboards for Exchange Server with Elasticsearch, more precisely, the Elastic Stack (ELK). This part is about the installation of the Elastic Stack on a Debian 9.8 VM. Introduction I have described the installation and configuration in this article so that the environment can be recreated if you are interested. When I ... Read more

Exchange Server Dashboards with ELK (ElasticSearch, Logstash, Kibana) Part 1

Unfortunately, Exchange Server does not offer a build-in option to clearly display the status of the environment or certain performance parameters on a dashboard. Even many monitoring tools quickly reach their limits when it comes to clearly displaying the number of emails received or sent, for example. In this series of articles, I would therefore like to take a look at ELK, or the Elastic Stack ... Read more

Manage Exchange out-of-office notifications centrally

Most users manage the absence notifications themselves via Outlook. Before a planned absence, such as vacation, the user enters the desired message and, if necessary, specifies a deputy. In addition, the helpdesk or a user's line manager should usually also be able to enter an absence notification for users; this is usually useful for an unplanned absence, ... Read more

Exchange Server: New updates (February 2019)

New updates have just been released for all supported Exchange Server versions, which also fix the critical vulnerability from CVE-2018-8581. The updates should therefore be installed as soon as possible, as an exploit for this vulnerability has existed for some time. Click here to download the updates for Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016: Cumulative Update 12 ... Read more

Exchange DAG: Change database and logfile path

It can happen that the paths or the storage location of Exchange databases and log files have to be changed, for example when changing the storage system. This article is in response to a reader's question about how to do this with as little downtime as possible. There are several options for moving the database and log file paths, ... Read more