ExInsight is a free monitoring and statistics tool for Exchange 2000/2003/2007 that provides a real-time view of the internals of Exchange Server transactions and allows you to evaluate individual user’s usage of Exchange Server.

This tool is especially useful for Exchange administrators and developers. By using this tool, you can gather real-time data about the users in an Exchange environment and learn more about the inner workings of MAPI, OWA, POP3, IMAP4, NNTP and other protocols.

ExInsight helps you to understand how individual users affect the performance of an Exchange Server, analyze application usage of Microsoft Exchange, and guide troubleshooting of applications that depend on Microsoft Exchange.

ExInsight consists of two tools: Activity Statistics and Transaction Monitor . These tools allow you to monitor users’ activity on multiple Exchange servers from any computer in the network.

Activity Statistics

This tool enables administrators to view statistics about individual users’ consumptions of Exchange Server resources and the users’ actual experiences. Shown on a user-by-user basis, this tool allows you to see the following information:

- Protocols used by the clients (MAPI, OWA, POP3, IMAP or NNTP)
- CPU usage (CPU time, CPU percentage)
- Number of messages sent, received or created
- IP addresses used by the clients (only for MAPI clients)
- Microsoft Office Outlook versions and mode, such as Cached Exchange Mode and the classic online mode

Transaction Monitor

This tool displays a continuous communication between any computer and Exchange Server, helping to guide troubleshooting of applications that depend on Exchange. You can view and log every Exchange Server transaction, applying filters and highlighting to pinpoint trouble areas.

Transaction Monitor shows accounts requesting the data, the names and locations of the objects queried in Exchange, timings and transaction results. This tool also provides simplified summaries and links with detailed diagnostic information for each transaction.

Download Version 1.1.152 – 7.38 MB (without .NET Framework 2.0, prerequisite)

Download Version 1.1.152 – 30.8 MB (with .NET Framework 2.0 included)

On the following site of Red-Gate you can download a free Exchange 2007 ebook, Sybex’s ‘Best of Exchange Server 2007′ gives you 350 pages on how to get the most out of Exchange 2007. Verry usefull when you are starting with Exchange 2007 and you want to learn quickly the ins and outs of Exchange 2007.

In this post we are going to install Exchange 2007 SP1 unattend with the command prompt including the installation of Rollup 5.

First i’ve installed an virtual Windows 2008 x64 server. The nex step is to install all the prerequisites. So as I posted a few weeks ago, this can be done with two simple batch file.

You can install Exchange 2007 SP1 with the following commands, it saves you a lot of time!

“C:\TMP\Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 incl. Service Pack 1 x64\setup.com” /mode:install /roles:HT,CA,MB,MT /organizationname:E2K7
/targetdir:E:\Exchsvr /EnableErrorReporting /EnableLegacyOutlook

Let’s see what all these commands are:

“C:\TMP\Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 incl. Service Pack 1 x64\setup.com”
This is the path to the installation files of Exchange 2007. Don’t forget the quotes(“”) when there’s a space in the path.

/mode:install
This will put the command in install mode.

/roles:HT,CA,MB,MT
This are the different roles that will be installed.
HT = Hub Transport
CA = Client Access
MB = Mailbox
MT = Management Tools

/organizationname:E2K7
This is the name of the Exchange 2007 Organization. Don’t forget the quotes(“”) when there’s a space in the name.

/targetdir:E:\Exchsvr
This is the location where you want to install Exchange 2007. It prefered a different partition then the Operating System (OS).

/EnableErrorReporting
This enables a higher logging level through the Exchange 2007 setup process, so it will be easier to trouble shoot.

/EnableLegacyOutlook
If you’ve Outlook 2000 of 2003 clients in your environment, then you need to enable the LegacyOutlook. When you’re only have Outlook 2007 clients, this option can be deleted from the command.

Today Rollup 5 for Exchange 2007 SP1 is available (KB953467)

here you can see some of the major issues:

- CDCR: Need an option to apply ELC policy to only the root instead of applying it recursively to root and all subfolders
- CDCR: Add generatePublisherEvidence enabled=”false” to Exchange Services Config Files
- SCR does not copy logs in a disjoint namespace scenario
- SCR cannot be enabled when DNS suffixes differ on source/target in disjoint namespace scenarios
- Exchange 2007 CAS cannot copy the OAB from the OAB share on Windows Server 2008-based Exchange 2007 CCR clusters
- Messages get stuck in outbox on Windows Mobile 6.1 devices When using  CAS proxy
- CDCR: MSI patching doesn’t update logon.aspx if the file is modified by customer

You can download the Rollup 5 for Exchange 2007 SP1 below.

Download Exchange SP1 Rollup 5

When you use an Edge Server in your Exchange 2007 environment, you’ve to open some ports. Let’s open the right ports:

Incoming Traffic:
SMTP – TCP 25 – from the Internet
SMTP – TCP 25 – from the Edge Server to the Hub Transport Server

Outgoing Traffic:
SMTP – TCP 25 – from the Edge Server to the Internet
SMTP – TCP 25 – from the Hub Transport Server to the Edge Server
Secure LDAP – TCP 50636 – from the Hub Transport Server to the Edge Server
DNS – UDP 53 – from the Edge Server to the Internet
RDP – TCP 3389 – from the Hub Transport Server to the Edge Server

In this tutorial we are going to install an Edge Server for our Exchange 2007 environment. We’re going to install the Edge Role on a Windows 2003 Server.

First you need to install the following prerequisites:
- Powershell 1.0
- Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (MMC 3.0)
- .NET Framework 2.0
- .NET Framewerk 2.0 SP1
- Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM)

First off all you have to now that the Edge Server will be placed in the companys DMZ, therefore the name “Edge”. The server is NOT a member of the internal Domain and will be placed in a  workgroup, for example E2K7EDGE. The Hub Transport Server will push the Active Directory information to the ADAM on the Edge Server trough Secure LDAP, port 50636, so this is one-way traffic.

After the installation of the Edge Transport Role, we’re going to creat a new Edge Subscription file. This file will be imported later on on the Hub Transport Server.

new-EdgeSubscription -file “c:\Edgeexport.xml

Go to your Hub Transport Server, Organizational Configuration, Edge Subscriptions and select New Edge Subscription. Browse to your Edgeexport.xml file and select the right Active Directory Site. Click on New to import the Edge Subscription file.

Now we create a new Receive Connector, so we’re abble to receive e-mail from the outside world.

After this action, the Edge Subscription can be started, so the Active Directory will push some information to the ADAM.

Start-EdgeSubscription

As you can see, there are two Send Connectors available on the Edge Server. One for sending e-mail to the outside world, and one for sending e-mail from the Edge Server to the Hub Transport Server.

Now you can begin to fine-tuning your Anti-spam configuration on the Edge Server. So now your Edge Server is ready.

As all of you now, the installation of an Exchange 2007 environment takes some time! First you install all the prerequisites, after that the installation Exchange 2007 SP1. After finishing this, you will install the rollup pack. So let’s save some time during the installation.

When you extract the Exchange 2007 SP1 setup, there’s also an folder called Updates. Here you can put the additional updates that are need to install after the Exchange 2007 SP1 setup. Easy as that, we put Exchange 2007 SP1 Rollup 3 in the update folder. The installation will be started automatically…..

Default in Exchange 2007 there are a copple of Address Lists available.

All Contacts
All Groups
All Rooms
All Users
Default Global Address List
Public Folders

We can find everything in this lists within Outlook 2003/2007, exept one thing, the Equipment Recourse. You can find the equipment recourse in the All Users address list. So, let’s make a new custom address list for all our Recourse Mailboxes (included: Room and Equipment)

Open the EMC (Exchange Management Console), Organization Configuration, Mailbox, Address Lists.

Richt-click on New Address List. Lets call it All Recources.

Now we have created a new Address List. Let’s open the Outlook Web Access (or Outlook client) to check if it is available.

As you can see, there’s our new created custom Address List that includes all the Resource Mailboxes as shown in the preview. Make it easy for your users in the environment to search a resource.