Eseutil for large file copy August 10, 2009
Posted by Kiran in Uncategorized.Tags: General
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Having been involved in some of the data migration projects I have seen some of the folks still using windows explorer based file copy ( ctrl+c /ctrl+v) for copying large files such as Images or Package files over WAN.
Some of the most common disadvantages of using windows explorer based file coy are:
a) Slow file copy speed due to large buffer size.
b) No incremental file copy. If session gets disconnected one has to start the copy from the beginning & its data overwrite operation.
c) No control in terms of scheduling /log/time stamp etc.
There are following better alternatives for windows based file copy (excluding third party products).
1. Robocopy (Robust Copy) :
Robocopy is one of the most widely used utility for file copy. It is available as a resource kit tool for Windows 200x servers. Robocopy provides variety of options such as sync directories, incremental copy etc.
It can also be used for only copying ACLs (NTFS permissions) from directories without any data copy. Robocopy is available as a command line tool as well as in with a GUI. One can script & can use robocoy for regular offline file level backups. It is also widely used with Vshadow.exe (VSS) to create snapshot backup for files which are in use or are “open”.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145(WS.10).aspx (Robocopy description)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2006.11.utilityspotlight.aspx (Robocopy GUI)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb530725(VS.85).aspx (Volume shadow )
2. Richcopy :
This was spotlight utility in April’s TechNet magazine. Though developed as a PSS tool in 2001 it has undergone many changes to come to its current form. With multi-threaded file copy capabilities Richcopy is one of the faster data copy utilities available today. Some of the most notable features of richcopy are – FTP copy, one-to-multi & multi-to-one destination copy , pause/restart options & file filters i.e. file inclusion / exclusion capability etc.
Check out below complete details about Richcopy.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx?pr=blog
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=1210
3. ESEUtil :
Surprised? Exchange administrators across the globe know the importance of ESEUTIL for Exchange Database management. This is widely used for Exchange Database disaster recovery purposes such as Database repair (Eseutil /p) or offline defragmentation (Eseutil /d ).
However Eseutil is also one of the best file copy tool. As its designed to manage large size Jet databases ,Eseutil is particularly helpful for copying single large files such as image files.
The only flip side is availability of Eseutil. One can either copy Eseutil.exe & Ese.dll files from Exchange server or can install Exchange Management Tool on the workstation from where he intends to initiate the file copy. Its available in both x86 & x64 versions.
The syntax for ESEUTIL is: ESEUTIL /y <Sourcefile> /d <DestinationFile>.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124326(EXCHG.65).aspx
Find below KB article which gives details about how to run Eseutil on a non-Exchange server.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/244525
http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/05/08/slow-large-file-copy-issues.aspx (Microsoft performance team blog about file copy)
Microsoft VHDs for Exchange,SharePoint etc May 28, 2009
Posted by Kiran in Virtualization.Tags: VHD
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Creating test labs to evaluate different products,testing multiple scenarios & performing proof of concepts using virtualization techniques such as VMware server or Microsoft Virtual server is common practice followed by most IT professionals.To help quickly evaluate its products ,Microsoft have been regularly releasing pre-configured VHDs of it products such as Exchange 2007,Office Share point server 2007 etc.
I would encourage my fellow readers to utilize these VHDs for testing & POCs.
To download pre-configured VHD for Exchange 2007 SP1 click here
To download such VHDs for several other products please visit Technet’s RunIT on a Virtual Disk page.
Exchange 2010 beta:Some new features to look forward to May 27, 2009
Posted by Kiran in Exchange 2010.Tags: DAG, Exchange 2010
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Mid-April Microsoft released the public beta for Exchange 2010.Though Exchange 2010 is not a major shift in technology compared to Exchange 2007 there are some significant improvements.
Below are some of the features to look forward to in Exchange 2010 though this list is not inclusive
1.Dude,where are my storage groups? And what’s this “Database Availability Group” (DAG):
In Exchange 2010 “Database Availability Group” provides a single high availability solution which can handle on-site as well as off-site replication (features which were first introduced in Exchange 2007).With DAG an Exchange database is no longer associated with a server but instead is an Org level resource.Each database can have upto 16 copies.
- No more storage groups.
- Exchange 2007 SP1 features,Local continuous replication (LCR) & Single copy cluster (SCC) are no longer available.
- No longer needed to specify if clustered or non-clustered server for Mailbox server role installation.
- Other Exchange 2010 roles such as Hub Transport or Client Access server can be installed on Mailbox servers which are member of a DAG
Check out a great description of DAG here
2.New Outlook Web Access features :
Some of the OWA 2010 features are as below.
- OWA support for browsers Firefox & Safari,so no more OWA light
- Conversation View for emails – Grouping/ungrouping mails from a single conversation togather
- Side by side view for Calendars
- Integration with Office Communicator, including presence, chat, and a contact list
Check out detailed discussion on Exchange 2010 OWA features on Paul Robichaux’s blog
3.Improved administration with Exchange Management Shell
As a lot of you would know ,Microsoft has already started community technology preview of Powershell 2.0 (currently CTP 3 is in progress).Hence Powershell 2.0 based Exchange management shell offers following advantages.
- With the new Exchange Management Shell,one can connect to remote Exchange 2010 servers across the network with only Windows PowerShell V2 CTP3 and Windows Remote Management 2.0 CTP installed.
- Enhanced audit logging possible using shell. Any modifications done in Exchange organization configuration or any other exchange objects using either ESM,web management interface or shell will be logged & can be tracked.Check out the detailed information here
4.Mail tips :
Mail tips is really a cool feature.Mail tips are nothing but informative messages regarding the mail & its recipients.The mail tips could be regarding over sized messages,invalid recipients,restricted recipients etc.
Detailed examples of mail tips are discussed at MSExchange team blog.
For detailed information about all of the new features in Exchange 2010 check out the technet article here
Microsoft trainings for Exchange 2010 beta May 14, 2009
Posted by Kiran in Exchange 2010.add a comment
Last month Microsoft released the public beta for Exchange 2010.This was one update a lot of Exchange enthusiastics were waiting for !
I am sure,like me a lot of folks here wants get their hands dirty with this new version of Exchange.Hence to help the early adaptors with testing Microsoft have also released a couple of free trainings on Microsoft Learning portal.
Collection 6899: Exploring Features of Exchange Server 2010
This clinic contains two trainings which covers
- New features in Exchange Server 2010
- Technology enhancements
- Management tools used in Exchange Server 2010
- Managing a Mailbox server
- Unified Messaging in Exchange Server 2010
- High availability features in Exchange Server 2010
Please make use of these trainings.I’m currently testing Exchange 2010 beta in lab & will soon publish more information about Exchange 2010.So keep watching this space…
Office 2010:Microsoft accepting registration for technical review May 12, 2009
Posted by Kiran in MS Office.add a comment
Microsoft is currently accepting registrations for technical review of Office 2010 which is due for launch in last quarter of 2009.
Check out http://www.office2010themovie.com/
Once accepted,registered users will have access to pre-release versions of Office 2010 which includes Word 2010, Excel 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Access 2010, InfoPath 2010 and Publisher 2010.
To register click here.
Review Infrastructure Planning & Design guide for SharePoint Online May 11, 2009
Posted by Kiran in MS Online.add a comment
Microsoft Online team has launched a beta version of new Infrastructure Planning & Design (IPD) guide -SharePoint Online – Evaluating Software-plus-Services.This guide is due for public release for June’09.
This guide provides a ten step approach to guide the users through the decision making process about whether to use an on-premise collaboration service or Microsoft SharePoint Online Offering.
If you want to participate in the beta program & review the guide please join here
For those few who don’t know, Infrastructure Planning & Design series provides guidance for planning architecture & implementation of Microsoft products & offerings such as Microsoft Desktop Virtualization ,Exchange Online ,Windows Server Virtualization etc.
You can find all the IPD guides available for public download below:
Microsoft Online Services Trial Guide is available for download May 8, 2009
Posted by Kiran in MS Online.add a comment
Microsoft Online Services which is Microsoft’s offering in Enterprise Cloud Computing services space, has published Microsoft Online Services Trial Guide.
This How-to guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and using a trial account for the Business Productivity Online Standard Suite from Microsoft Online Services (MS BPOS)
Microsoft Business Productivity Suite consists of:
- Exchange Online (Email)
- Office Communications Online (Instant messaging)
- Office Live Meeting (Web conferencing)
- SharePoint Online (Shared spaces/work flow management)
This guide talks about procedure for setting up Microsoft Online Customer Portal (https://mocp.microsoftonline.com/Site/Default.aspx) & administering MS BPOS suite components described above.
Please find the download information below:
