Archive for July 2013

Adjusting Exchange 2010 Memory Usage

The folks at ThirdTier have a great article on the how’s and why’s of adjusting Exchange 2010’s memory usage. I suggest you read their blog post first. My intent here is to highlight and clarify the process, as there are some steps that were not clearly obvious to me.

As always, before starting – make sure you have a recent backup of your server. And be aware that you will need to restart Exchange at the end of this process!

  • Log into your Exchange 2010 server (I’m running SBS 2011 Standard and Exchange 2010)
  • Click on Start, type adsiedit.msc and press enter.
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  • In most cases, ADSIEdit will start with the Configuration node already selected. If not, KB 266768 explains what you need to do.
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  • Now, drill down the Container module as follows: Services –> Microsoft Exchange –> Your organization –> Administrative Groups –> Your administrative group –> Servers –> Server name –> Information Store
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  • Right click on the Information Store, then click Properties
  • Scroll Down and locate the two attributes: msExchESEParamCacheSizeMax and msExchESEParamCacheSizeMin
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  • You will want to double click on each of these two parameters, and enter your desired value.
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  • What value should you use? Thirdtier suggests using 10GB/5GB for your max/min values. Adjust accordingly.

Please note: the ThirdTier article incorrectly states a value of 326780 for 10GB. The correct value is 327680.
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  • Click OK when finished.
  • Restart your Exchange services for the changes to be implemented.

SBS is now WSSMB!

imageI have worked with the Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) product line since 2001. The product itself goes back to the Windows NT era when it was called Microsoft BackOffice Server.

In 2004 I was honored to be designated as a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) for the SBS product. This past January, my MVP status was renewed for a 10th straight year. It’s amazing, given the fact that I am one of

But recently Microsoft decided to shake things up a bit, and we were informed that there would be a “technical expertise name change” to our SBS MVP group.

Effective July 17th, 2013, the technical expertise Small Business Server will be renamed to Windows Server for Small and Medium Business. Please note this is a MVP Program expertise change only and has no impact within the product team structure.

And you know what? That’s fine with me.

Many people have been very disappointed over the fact that the SBS product, as we have known it, will not be continued. I’m not one of those people. I see this as an indication that things never remain the same. New things to learn; new skills to develop; new opportunities to do what I like to do – help businesses be more productive.

So, I am officially a WSSMB MVP (at least until my next review period at the end of the year).

Exchange 2010 Forms-Based Authentication Service Doesn’t Start

After installing or migrating to Exchange 2010, one of the first things I check out is Outlook Web Access (OWA). But more often than not, I’m unable to login to OWA.

If you have been working with Exchange 2010 this may be nothing new. But, I am seeing a last minute flurry of activity with installing or migrating to SBS 2011, and thought that a quick post might be beneficial.

The key is to check that all Exchange services that are set to Automatic have in fact started. Quite often you will find that on a reboot of the server that Microsoft Exchange Forms-Based Authentication Service is not running.

Having to remember to start it manually each time you reboot the server is not acceptable!

The solution to this issue is very simple:
Change the startup type for this service from Automatic to Automatic (Delayed Start).
Next time you reboot your server, you will find that this service is running.

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