Aaron Tiensivu's Blog

Installing OCS 2007 R2 Group Chat Server on Server 2008 R2

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:18:00 -0400

To begin, follow the instructions here for the usual Server 2008 R2 workaround/fixes for Server 2008 R2 and OCS 2007 R2.

1. From an elevated PowerShell prompt: Import-Module ServerManager [Enter]
2. Install the prerequisites for Group Chat Server with: Add-WindowsFeature AS-NET-Framework,Desktop-Experience,FS-FileServer,NET-Framework-Core,MSMQ-Server,MSMQ-Directory,RSAT-ADDS,WAS-Process-Model,WAS-Config-APIs,Web-HTTP-Logging,Web-Mgmt-Compat,Web-Mgmt-Console,Web-Static-Content,Web-Windows-Auth [Enter]
3. Install KB 975858 so certificate based authentication works properly.
4. Install the OCS Group Chat Server as you normally would on any other operating system. Elan's guide is helpful for this (Part 1 / Part 2).
5. Install the OCS Core update from here and the UC API update from here. (If those links are outdated, go to KB 968802 for the latest links or use the ServerUpdateInstaller.exe)
6. Install the OCS 2007 R2 CU6 Group Server update from here. It is also a good idea to grab the Admin tools update from here and updated client from here.
7. At this point, if you try to start the OCS Group Chat Server services, they will stop without anything useful in the Event Logs. I'll save you time debugging this by pointing you to this older KB article here. You need to run %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2\Group Chat Server\ServerConfigTool.exe so that the tool will update the Group Chat database schema to the QFE1 level.
8. After running the ServerConfigTool.exe, you'll be able to start the update OCS 2007 R2 Group Chat services.

Celebrate, at this point you'll have a working Group Chat install on Server 2008 R2.

Hold off installing OCS 2007 R2 Cumulative Update 6 and .NET 4.0 gotchas

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 -0400

I've heard of numerous reports of the CU6's SQL back-end update having version mismatch problems with the front-end update.

One cause I can speculate on is that the web caches that Microsoft uses publish the updated bits are lagging behind. Unfortunately, due to the updates always having the same filename from Cumulative Update to Cumulative Update, it is hard to determine what version you have downloaded without looking at the file dates stored in each individual update.

If the front-end is updated without the proper back-end update, the front-end will complain about version mismatches in the SQL stored procedures.

Update: A tip from Tom Pacyk - install the OCS2009-DBUpgrade.msi before the other CU6 updates.

I talked a little about the .NET 4.0 issue here a few days ago but now that .NET 4.0 is on Windows/Microsoft Update as a recommended update, it is hitting more users during OCS installation.

If you install .NET 4.0 Framework before installing any OCS server role, the OCS setup program will complain that .NET 3.5x is not installed, even if you have .NET 3.5x installed (x being equal to 0 or 1, meaning .NET 3.50 or .NET 3.51).

Solution? Uninstall .NET 4.0 Framework, install OCS server roles, and then install .NET 4.0 if necessary. The OCS product team is working with the Windows product team to get a hotfix/update out for this.

Ideally, I wish there was a service pack for OCS 2007 R2 that had updated install bits for the ASN fix and the Server 2008 R2 gotchas.

OCS 2007 R2 Cumulative Update 6 (CU6) has been released

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:56:53 -0400

OCS 2007 R2 Server:
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 - KB 968802 - Download
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Back-end database update - KB 2032834 - Download

OCS 2007 R2 Client:
Office Communicator 2007 R2 - KB 2028888 - Download
Office Communicator Phone Edition 2007 R2 - KB 2267962 - Download

Group Chat:
Office Communications Server 2007 R2, Group Chat Server - KB 2032881 - Download
Office Communications Server 2007 R2, Group Chat Client - KB 2032922 - Download
Office Communications Server 2007 R2, Group Chat Admin Tool - KB 2032949 - Download

June 2010 Outlook 2007 cumulative update - does Outlook 2007 crash after moving to Exchange 2010?

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:44:07 -0400

I tend to keep an eye on the Office Cumulative Updates site (the link is on the right side of my website) and the June 2010 update for Outlook 2007 caught my eye.

In particular, there seem to be a few Exchange 2010 fixes directly related to Outlook 2007 crashing.

The issues fixed that caught my eye include:

1. This hotfix provides a design change. After you install this hotfix, the Secure Temp folder for Office Outlook 2007 is automatically cleared when you exit Office Outlook 2007.

2. After the Outlook mailboxes are moved a server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Office Outlook 2007 crashes intermittently.

3. In Office Outlook 2007, all received email messages are stored incorrectly in the Deleted Items folder. (Unfortunately, I've had clients keep very important e-mail in Deleted Items and then wonder where the messages went when they empty the Deleted Items folder.)

4. You may have data loss on meeting update when you use Office Outlook 2007 against Exchange Server 2010. When this issue occurs, the body of the meeting request is replaced by the following text: One or more problems with your meeting were detected and fixed.

5. After you install the Office Live Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Outlook, Office Outlook 2007 crashes during startup.

You can read more about the update here, and as general rule of thumb, it is good to keep the MSO.DLL updated as well, from here.

Outlook 2003 update for Exchange 2010 released!

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:33:16 -0400

As a follow-up to my blog entry about the Outlook 2007 update for Exchange 2010, we have an update released for Outlook 2003 for Exchange 2010! I didn't really expect to see this show up but it will help users when the Exchange 2010 SP1 calendar repair agent kicks in.

There is only one fix mentioned in this update for Outlook 2003:

When you use Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 in a Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 environment, the body of the meeting request may be changed to the following text: One or more problems with your meeting were detected and fixed.

I'm expecting to see an update for Outlook 2007 sometime soon to add support for Exchange 2010's personal mailbox archives. Outlook 2010 supports them out of the box, and Exchange 2010 SP1 allows you to store the archive mailbox in a different information store (i.e. slower SAN or drives).

Hotfix Rollup 1 for Microsoft Forefront Protection for Exchange - v11.0.689.0

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:13:40 -0400

A hotfix rollup is available for Forefront Protection for Exchange with some noteworthy fixes. This rollup will bring the build version to 11.0.689.0.

The following fixes are issues I've personally seen with the RTM version of FPE:

1. A Forefront Protection for Exchange scan engine update fails and generates Application Log errors
2. Forefront Protection for Exchange replacing legitimate attachments with text files and quarantining legitimate mail
3. The Forefront Protection for Exchange client crashes when adding an IP address, or range, to either the IP Allow/Block List
4. Spam Reports may take an excessive amount of time to retrieve in Forefront Protection for Exchange
5. Forefront Protection for Exchange generates more Realtime Scan Timeout notifications than expected

There are more fixes than what I listed, and you can review them here.

You can request the hotfix rollup here.

MVP again for 4th year running!

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:06:33 -0400

I always get nervous on the morning of July 1st ever since 2006. Thankfully I received this in email:
"Dear Aaron Tiensivu, Congratulations! We are pleased to present you with the 2010 Microsoft® MVP Award!"

I haven't posted much lately but that will change as some of these newer products get out the door. W7 SP1 and OCS/CS "Wave 14" in particular. Can't neglect Exchange 2010 SP1 either, but the public beta is already out for that.

Woohoo!

Come visit me at the Windows Springboard booth at TechEd North America next week!

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:34:06 -0400

I will be mostly talking about the Springboard site at the booth and how it can help you plan/adopt/migrate to Windows 7.

I'll be there with a few other fellow MVPs and Stephen Rose. Last year, we had Mark Russinovich stop by for a while. So, look for me in the Windows Client area!

Also, I will be on a panel for OCS 2007 R2 voice deployment 'war stories' during the Wednesday morning "UNC06-INT - Microsoft Communications Server "14": Voice Post Deployment" session with Francois Doremieux.

It is bound to be a great learning session, so try to stop by and say hi! I am amazed at the new feature sets and advancements that have been made with CS 2010 "Wave 14" aka OCS v.Next.

See you there!

Temporary fix for Live Meeting and Conferencing Add-In for Outlook download links

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Wed, 19 May 2010 13:51:46 -0400

The redesign of the Office website at Microsoft has made a few of the older links related to download of the Live Meeting client and Conferencing Add-In invalid, as pointed out by Matt Wade and followers of his website.

The issue has been reported to Microsoft and will hopefully soon be resolved, and this blog entry will be removed from this site.

In the meantime, here are the direct download links until this issue has been resolved:
Live Meeting Client
Conferencing Add-In for Outlook

KB 974599 - Office Communicator 2007 R1 update - May 2010

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Wed, 05 May 2010 11:23:16 -0400

2 fixes since last year it looks like:

KB 978164 - A conversation window opens unexpectedly when you press ENTER in the Search box in Office Communicator 2007
KB 979145 - The Office Communicator 2007 user interface pops up for all users who log on to a terminal server that is running Windows Server 2008

I suspect the release is mainly for the terminal server update and maybe OCS v.Next support.

You can grab the update at here.

Hardware Load Balancing with Office Communications Server 2007 R2 - Guidance document

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:11:08 -0400

One of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of publishing OCS - the use of hardware load balancers. Thankfully there is a brand new document from Microsoft to help you out.

To quote the download page:
"This document explains infrastructure and system requirements for hardware load balancing of Office Communications Server Enterprise pools, Edge Server arrays, and Communicator Web Access. It also explains various networking concepts, such as one arm vs. two arm configurations, network address translation (NAT), VLAN tagging, and Mutual Transport Layer Security (MTLS) connection multiplexing, in the context of an Office Communications Server deployment."

Grab the document here.

OCS 2007 R2 Cumulative Update 5 (CU5) has been released

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:41:25 -0400

The big news with this release is support for Windows 2008 R2 and workarounds for specific VOIP inter-op scenarios. I will be publishing some more info on both of these items later but wanted to get the word out because this update has been a long time coming!

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 CU5 Update
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 CU5 Database Update
Office Communicator 2007 R2 CU5 Update
Office Communicator Phone Edition 2007 R2 CU5 Update
Office Communicator Attendant Console 2007 R2 CU5 Update

Communicator 2010 Attendee (Beta) download link

atiensivu@gmail.com (Aaron Tiensivu) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:24:49 -0400

You can file this one under 'Things you find while browsing recently posted downloads'.

Since this has been posted for download on Microsoft's download site, you know that a public beta for the OCS release can only be right around the corner.

It won't be useful yet, because this will be used for the LiveMeeting functionality of the upcoming OCS version. Interesting to see it posted already though.

You can check it out here.