Tool for message tracking in Exchange 2010 is now called "Tracking Log Explorer"

I had been getting very frustrated with the tracking tools in Exchange 2010 as message tracking kept leading me to the Outlook Web App web interface, which I find unhelpful.

But then I found that what I'm used to seeing as Message Tracking is now called "Tracking Log Explorer" and near the same location.

Open Exchange Management Console -> Tools -> Tracking Log Explorer

It works the same was as Message Tracking in Exchange 2007

script to move Exchange servers in Outlook profiles

I haven't tested this yet, but I found what looks to be a very useful script for adjusting Outlook profiles when you need to alter the Exchange server if the change wasn't made automatically during a typical Exchange mailbox move.

An example is when I did my SBS 2008 migration from SBS 2003. I found that my Outlook profiles did not update automatically. The script from this blog post would have been immensely helpful:

http://davedolan.com/blog/?p=83&cpage=1#comment-121612

user not started because of error 8004011d for Blackberries

I had a BES Express box sitting on an Exchange 2010 box, but my users weren't receiving email. The event logs showed "user not started." After stopping and restarting the services in the proper order, my next step in troubleshooting was to run IEMStest.exe from a DOS prompt. Here were my results:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Enterprise Server\Utility>IEMSTest.exe
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Utility - IEMSTest.exe (IExchangeManageStore), Version 1.0
Copyright (c) Research In Motion, Ltd. 1999. All rights reserved.
Opening Default Message Store Mailbox - BESAdmin

Eric Jones: Opening message store using
/o=First Organization/ou=first administrative group/cn=Recipients/cn=Eric
/o=First Organization/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)
/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=server2/cn=Microsoft Private MDB
Eric Jones: OpenMsgStore failed (8004011d)
Eric Jones: CDO Server Name: server2
Eric Jones: CDO Mailbox DN: /o=First Organization/ou=first administrative grou
p/cn=Recipients/cn=Eric
Eric Jones: CDO logon successful
Eric Jones: Get default calendar folder successful
Eric Jones: Get calendar folder name successful: 'Calendar'
Eric Jones: CDO test completed successfully
Eric Jones: Active Directory permissions test completed successfully


As per the above output, the mailbox was not opened with error 8004011d. I ended up following these steps to adjust the throttling policy, which fixed the issue. After making the changes, I restarted the BB services and the Exchange services, and then the IEMStest passed and the mailboxes were accessible again.

order to use when stopping and restarting BES services

When stopping and restarting BES services in the course of troubleshooting, I found this KB on the correct order to stop services and the correct order to start the services after they have been stopped. From the KB:

The correct order to start the BlackBerry Enterprise Server services is detailed below:

1. BlackBerry Router
2. BlackBerry Dispatcher
3. BlackBerry Controller
4. All remaining BlackBerry Enterprise Server services

The following is the order in which to stop the BlackBerry Enterprise Server services:

1. BlackBerry Controller
2. BlackBerry Dispatcher
3. BlackBerry Router
4. All remaining BlackBerry Enterprise Server services

my static packet filters nightmare

It's been a bit since I ran into this problem, so I may not be remembering all the details correctly. But here's the gist -

In the course of setting up an Exchange 2010 server, I lost all network connectivity to my 2008 R2 box. I know I broke it, but I wasn't sure how. The answer was that I had enabled static packet filters when trying to set up routing and remote access via Network Policy and Access Services. Static Packet Filters are basically an additional option for denying access to certain ports - but if you have a firewall, you're already using another option for that functionality. I was just clicking through the Network Policy and Access Services installation and hit YES on something I wasn't paying attention to.

To remove the problem once I had realized what I did, I did this (according to my notes):

I opened RRAS and went to IPv4 -> General. Right clicked on my NIC and clicked on inbound and outbound filters each and chose "receive all packets . . . " instead if "drop all packets . . . "


Though looking back at it a couple months later, I don't see the same options when I right click on my NIC in RRAS. But hopefully, someone else will find this helpful at some point.

running message tracking on Exchange 2007 with wildcards

From what I can tell, the message tracking tool on Exchange 2007 does not allow wildcards like *@domain.com. I found this command which will allow you to use a wildcard value in the Exchange Shell:

get-messagetrackinglog -Server "Exchange-server-name" -Start "7/1/2010 11:34:00 AM" -End "8/10/2010 9:44:00 AM" -resultsize unlimited |where {$_.Sender -like "*@domain.org"}

This will allow you to get a list that uses the wildcard - but the results it gives you are pretty weak. It doesn't include dates and the subject is cut off, but it's a good place to start.

PDF options for creating and/or editing PDFs

When a user wants to create and/or edit PDFs, there are several options. This post will lay out the most common ones I have come across, including costs as of 8/6/10.

Office 2007/2010 - You're able to create PDFs from any of the Office 2007/2010 programs. From Word, Excel, PowerPoint, you can choose Save As and save any file as a PDF (you'll need service pack 2 or the PDF add-on to be able to save in Office 2007).

PDF995 - a low cost option for creating and making minor edits to PDFs. From PDF995.com, one can install the PDF Suite, which includes PDF converter and PDF editor. The PDF converter will let you create PDFs from any program and the PDF editor will let you make certain edits within an existing PDF (add page numbers, extract, remove, combine pages, etc). PDF995 is free as an ad-supported version (you see ads as you use it) or you can pay $19.95 for the PDF Suite or $9.95 for the PDF converter only. PDF995 is cheap, but not as full featured or easy to use as the more expensive programs (see below).

Adobe Acrobat Standard or Professional - Often, Adobe Acrobat is considered the gold standard for PDF creation. Adobe Acrobat Reader (which can only view PDFs) is far and away the most common PDF viewer. Adobe Acrobat Standard allows for PDF creation and editing in most ways. Acrobat Professional also adds functionality for protecting PDFs and creating forms. As of 8/6/10, the MSRP of Acrobat Standard is $299 and the MSRP of Acrobat Professional is $499. Often, you can save up to 30% from online stores like Amazon.com.

NitroPDF - NitroPDF is a full featured alternative to Acrobat Standard. As far as I know, it has all the same functionality as Acrobat Standard. As of 8/6/10, NitroPDF is $99. I have several clients using NitroPDF who have used Acrobat and find it just as good (or even better) for significantly less money.

For basic PDF creation, often Office 2007/2010 is plenty for most users as most PDFs are created out of Word or Excel. For most advanced users, the PDF995 Suite is generally good enough for basic uses, but I find most average users have some trouble with the interface. For the average user, I recommend NitroPDF. It's more cost effective than Acrobat, and it's a solid program. For the most discriminating users, I recommend Acrobat Professional.