Category Archives: Microsoft

Exchange, Exchange 2007, Exchange 2010, Microsoft, Office, Outlook 2010, Powershell, SBS 2008, SBS 2011, Small Business Server 2008, Small Business Server 2011, Windows, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

Powershell Script to Determine Active User Count for Microsoft Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2007

A script that I came up with to determine the user load that is being placed on a particular Exchange server so that you can plot the days of the week and times of the day that are busiest. This Powershell Script can be used with GFI Max Remote Management or SpiceWorks to easily identify busy Exchange servers.

$GETMSEXCHISAUC = Get-Counter ‘\MSExchangeIS\Active User Count’
$MSEXCHISAUC = $GETMSEXCHISAUC.CounterSamples |Select-Object CookedValue
Write-Host You have $MSEXCHISAUC.CookedValue Active Exchange User Connection\s to the Exchange Server

Feel free to edit the text part of the output (Last line), this could be simplified if required.

Microsoft, Powershell, SBS 2008, SBS 2011, Small Business Server 2008, Small Business Server 2011, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

Powershell Script to Determine Number of Connections to your Microsoft Terminal Services Gateway

I’ve put together another script that might be useful for monitoring how busy your Terminal Services Gateway is at various times of the day.  This Powershell Script can be used with GFI Max Remote Management or SpiceWorks to easily identify busy servers.

$GETTSGWCC = Get-Counter ‘\Terminal Service Gateway\Current connections’
$TSGWCC = $GETTSGWCC.CounterSamples |Select-Object CookedValue
Write-Host You have $TSGWCC.CookedValue Current Connection\s to the Terminal Services Gateway

Feel free to edit the text part of the output (Last line), this could be reduced/simplified if required.

Microsoft, Powershell, SBS 2011, Small Business Server 2011

Automate the Microsoft Windows SBS 2011 Server Solutions Best Practices Scan

To be able to use the script you will need to have installed the Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0 (MBCA) http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=16475 and the Windows Server Solutions Best Practices Analyzer 1.0 http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=15556 (Update to version 1.1 via Microsoft Update after manually installing 1.0)

Now that we have all the pre-requisites installed we can focus on the Powershell Script that allows us to automate the scanning process.  The script below will initilise the MBCA and then carry out a Best Practices scan based upon the Server Solutions BPA, this can either be used as a standard powershell script where required or setup to run on a schedule with GFI Max Remotemanagement or SpiceWorks.

 

Import-module BaselineConfigurationAnalyzer

Get-MBCAModel

Invoke-MBCAModel -ModelId WSSGBPA

 

This should return a “Success: True” if everything matches the Best Practices Analyser.

ActiveSync, Android, Android, Android, Apple, Exchange, Exchange 2010, Google, HTC, IOS5, iPhone, Microsoft, Office, Outlook 2010, Outlook Web Access, OWA, Samsung, SBS 2011, Small Business Server 2011

[RESOLVED] – Microsoft Exchange 2010 – Appointments exceeding 24 hours changed to multiple day All Day Event on Mobile Phones/Devices

Microsoft Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1 ActiveSync does seem to have issues with Appointments exceeding 24 hours that are not all day events (i.e. Friday to Sunday).  I have personally seen this issue with the iPhone 4 and 3GS, both were upgraded to IOS5 which did not resolve the issue.  The latest update “Microsoft Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1 – Hotfix Rollup 6” also does not seem to resolve this problem.

You might wish to test if you have the issue with your ActiveSync enabled Smart Phone or Device, you should be able to replicate the issue by asking a collegue to send you a meeting invite that starts on Friday at 4pm and then finishes on Sunday at 2pm, Once you accept the invite you will find that it has been changed to several all day events (Fri, Sat and Sun) rather than an appointment between the specified time period.

After a long wait it appears that this issue is resolved in Rollup 1 for Exchange Server 2010 – Service Pack 2, you can obtain the Rollup using the link below:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28809 – Update Rollup 1 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 (KB2645995)

You can see the overall list of fixes/changes in Rollup 1 here:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2645995

The Fix we are most interested in is “A meeting item displays incorrectly as multiple all-day events when you synchronize a mobile device on an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox”

This was original raised in: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2549255

You will need to ensure that you have updated your Microsoft Exchange 2010 Server to Service Pack 2 before you can install the Rollup so remember to factor extra time in for this.

You can obtain Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 – Service Pack 2 from here: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28190

Microsoft do seem to be aware of the issue and mention it in this Knowledgebase article

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2563324 Current issues with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and Third Party Devices

Issue 1.6 – Appointment exceeding 24 hours changed to multiple day All Day Event
When an appointment item’s duration exceeds 24 hours, but is not marked as an All Day Event, Exchange ActiveSync changes the item on the device to become a multi-day All Day Event. The next time that the device synchronizes with the mailbox, the change is propagated from the item on the device to the item on the Exchange Server 2010 mailbox.

Solution
Microsoft is investigating this issue. This problem can occur when using any ActiveSync device synchronizing with Exchange Server 2010.

As you can see Microsoft do not currently have a solution to the problem and may well need to contact Apple and/or Google to produce a fix for both the iPhone and Android based handsets.

I would recommend contacting Microsoft Product Support and your mobile phone manufacturer if this issue is affecting you.  The more users that log the issue the higher priority it will be given and the quicker we can expect to see a fix emerge.