Just can't get enough of IT

Once upon a time at an Exchange Conference near you, a member of the Exchange Product Group (PG) announced that the very last Exchange Server will go away when having an active Exchange hybrid setup.

This was a hot topic for discussions at the Microsoft Exchange Conferences (MEC, @IamMEC) in 2012 and 2014, already. Since then the Exchange PG came up with a number of reasons why this is not possible. The question on when we will finally be able to remove the very last Exchange Server from the on-premises Exchange organization was asked every year at the Ignite Conference. 

Current Situation

Currently, the supported scenario for hybrid configurations between your on-premises Exchange organization and Exchange Online requires that you keep the last Exchange Server for creating, and managing Exchange related objects, even if those objects are located in Exchange Online. 

The following diagram illustrates the current requirements:

• Domain Controller Servers, with the most recent Active Directory Schema Update for a supported Exchange Server version, and stored Exchange-extended AD objects.
• DirSync Server, with AAD Connect, synchronizing Exchange-extended AD objects stored in on-premises Active Directory with Azure AD.
• Last Exchange Server, running a supported version of Exchange Server, managing the objects stored in on-premises Active Directory.

Interim solutions

In the past, there was communication on certain interim solutions that were supposed to support you in removing the last Exchange Server from your Exchange organization. Such interim solutions were:

• ADSI Edit
• Identity Management Solutions (IDM)
• PowerShell

At Ignite those solutions even made it into the official session catalog:

• Ignite 2018 - THR2145 - Why do we need to keep an Exchange Server on-premises when we move to the cloud?

All those interim solutions leave your on-premises Exchange organization and the Active Directory configuration in an uncomfortable twilight-zone. It was still something that worked somehow, but you knew it was officially not supported, and the secure and stable operation of the hybrid configuration was at risk.

But wait...

Removing the last Exchange Server is supported!

(at least when all components are released)

Solution

The new approach for managing your Exchange Online tenancy after migrating your on-premises Exchange organization to Exchange Online does not require an on-premises Exchange Server. 

The new mode of operation reduces your on-premises requirements to:

• Domain Controller Servers, running the most recent release Windows Server 2019 with the most recent Active Directory Schema Update for Exchange Server 2019 CU 5. This updates the Exchange-extended AD objects and the hybrid configuration object to support modern EXO management. Also, you must enable the Windows Feature "Exchange Online Remote Features" as described below.
   
• DirSync Server, with AAD Connect, synchronizing Exchange-extended AD objects stored in on-premises Active Directory with Azure AD. You must run the most recent release of Azure AD Connect (1.4.38.0) and have Exchange Hybrid enabled in AAD Connect.
  See release notes for Azure AD Connect. 
   
• Administrative PC, running the most recent version of the Exchange Online PowerShell v2 (aka ExchangeOnlineManagement)

The following diagram illustrates the new modern Exchange Online Management experience:

Simply you remove the requirement to use on-premises Exchange Server to write to your on-premises Active Directory. Instead, Azure AD Connect uses a new synchronization capability to handle the new Exchange Management experience in the AAD Connect MetaVerse. The on-premises AD-connector writes the changes to Active Directory which keeps the Active Directory up-to-date for all other on-premises solutions that require identities to have a proper state.

You execute all Exchange-related actions using the new Exchange Online Management PowerShell module, or, if needed, the new Modern Exchange Admin Center (EAC, which was announced at Ignite 2019.

Enable Modern Exchange Admin Experience (MEAE)

Before you uninstall the last Exchange Server from your on-premises Exchange organization, ensure that you

• Updated the Active Directory Schema Version to Exchange Server 2019 CU5
• Prepare the Active Directory and all domains in the Active Directory Forest that contain Exchange objects
• Ensure that there are not pre-Windows 2019 domain controller in use, and patch all domain controller to the March 2020 release
• Install the new EXORemote Windows Feature 

PS C:\> Get-WindowsFeature

Display Name                                            Name                       Install State
------------                                            ----                       -------------
[ ] Active Directory Certificate Services               AD-Certificate                 Available
    [ ] Certification Authority                         ADCS-Cert-Authority            Available
    [ ] Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service       ADCS-Enroll-Web-Pol            Available
    [ ] Certificate Enrollment Web Service              ADCS-Enroll-Web-Svc            Available
    [ ] Certification Authority Web Enrollment          ADCS-Web-Enrollment            Available
    [ ] Network Device Enrollment Service               ADCS-Device-Enrollment         Available
    [ ] Online Responder                                ADCS-Online-Cert               Available
[ ] Active Directory Domain Services                    AD-Domain-Services             Available
[ ] Active Directory Federation Services                ADFS-Federation                Available
[ ] Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services     ADLDS                          Available
[ ] Active Directory Rights Management Services         ADRMS                          Available
    [ ] Active Directory Rights Management Server       ADRMS-Server                   Available
    [ ] Identity Federation Support                     ADRMS-Identity                 Available
[ ] Device Health Attestation                           DeviceHealthAttestat...        Available
[ ] DHCP Server                                         DHCP                           Available
[ ] DNS Server                                          DNS                            Available
[ ] Exchange Online Remote Features                     EXORemote                      Available
[ ] Fax Server                                          Fax                            Available
[X] File and Storage Services                           FileAndStorage-Services        Installed
    [X] File and iSCSI Services                         File-Services                  Installed
        [X] File Server                                 FS-FileServer                  Installed
        [ ] BranchCache for Network Files               FS-BranchCache                 Available
[...]

PS C:\> Install-WindowsFeature -Name EXORemote

Display Name                                            Name                       Install State
------------                                            ----                       -------------
[ ] Active Directory Certificate Services               AD-Certificate                 Available
    [ ] Certification Authority                         ADCS-Cert-Authority            Available
    [ ] Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service       ADCS-Enroll-Web-Pol            Available
    [ ] Certificate Enrollment Web Service              ADCS-Enroll-Web-Svc            Available
    [ ] Certification Authority Web Enrollment          ADCS-Web-Enrollment            Available
    [ ] Network Device Enrollment Service               ADCS-Device-Enrollment         Available
    [ ] Online Responder                                ADCS-Online-Cert               Available
[ ] Active Directory Domain Services                    AD-Domain-Services             Available
[ ] Active Directory Federation Services                ADFS-Federation                Available
[ ] Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services     ADLDS                          Available
[ ] Active Directory Rights Management Services         ADRMS                          Available
    [ ] Active Directory Rights Management Server       ADRMS-Server                   Available
    [ ] Identity Federation Support                     ADRMS-Identity                 Available
[ ] Device Health Attestation                           DeviceHealthAttestat...        Available
[ ] DHCP Server                                         DHCP                           Available
[ ] DNS Server                                          DNS                            Available
[X] Exchange Online Remote Features                     EXORemote                      Installed
[ ] Fax Server                                          Fax                            Available
[X] File and Storage Services                           FileAndStorage-Services        Installed
    [X] File and iSCSI Services                         File-Services                  Installed
        [X] File Server                                 FS-FileServer                  Installed
        [ ] BranchCache for Network Files               FS-BranchCache                 Available
[...]

Even though not explicitly stated, you should restart the server after installing the Windows feature.

• Connect to the modern Exchange Online Admin Center as a Global Administrator or Exchange Services Administrator and add at least one of your on-premises domain controllers to the list of modern management servers.
  https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/#/modernmanagement

As part of the next AAD Connect synchronization cycle, the magic happens.

• The added EXO modern management server is validated
  • You'll see an error sign in Modern Exchange Admin Center if the validation has failed
•  Azure AD removes the "on-premises"-lock from the Exchange related attributes, so you can start managing these attributes in EXO
• The Exchange hybrid configuration object is set to "Modern Coexistence", ensuring that a newly added on-premises Exchange Server will not interfere with the setup

Verify that you can edit the Exchange related attributes of synchronized Active Directory objects in Exchange Online or Azure AD before you remove your last Exchange Server. 

Whey ready to uninstall the last Exchange Server you must use the following command line parameters to remove the server as intended. Otherwise, you'll leave the Exchange organization in an inchoate state. Ensure that you use an administrative PowerShell session. 

./Setup.exe /mode:uninstall /SwitchToMEMA /IAcceptExchangeOnlineLicenseTerms

Normally, you do not have to accept license terms when uninstalling Exchange Server, but in this case, you have to accept the Exchange Online license terms.

Prerequisites

• Windows Server 2019 Desktop Experience Editon or Core Edition, March 2020 Update
  Core Edition recommended
• Azure AD Connect, release 1.4.38.0
• Exchange Server 2019 CU5, as the last Exchange Server

Links

• Exchange Online Management PowerShell Module v2
• Hybrid deployment prerequisites
• Exchange Server hybrid deployments
• Install-WindowsFeature
• You must follow the instructions given in the follow article:
  Final instructions for enabling this awesome new MEMA-experience

Enjoy the modern experience and management options of Exchange Online!

Exchange Conferences

• MEC 2014 - Austin
• MEC 2012 - Orlando

Problem

You are not able to list public folders in a co-existence scenario with Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010/2013 using the Exchange 2007 EMS or EMC.

When you try to execute Get-PublicFolder you receive the following error:

Get-PublicFolder " There is no existing PublicFolder that matches the following Identity: '\'. Please make sure that you specified the correct PublicFolder Identity and that you have the necessary permissions to view PublicFolder.

This might happen after you have removed the first Exchange 2007 mailbox server, but not the last Exchange 2007 mailbox server.

Exchange Server 2007 uses the Exchange System Attendant to access the public folder store and fails if the System Attendant discovery in Active Directory does not provide a proper configuration.

KB 2621350 describes the discovery process:

1. Exchange Server 2007 selects a mailbox database.
2. Exchange Server 2007 obtains the LegacyExchangeDN attribute of the selected mailbox database. For example, Exchange Server 2007 obtains the following LegacyExchangeDN attribute value:
   /o=First Organization/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (group_name)/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=E14HUBCAS/cn=Microsoft Private MDB
3. Exchange Server 2007 removes the "CN=Mailbox Database" part of the address. The address then resembles the following:
   /o=First Organization/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (group_name)/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=E14HUBCAS
4. Exchange Server 2007 adds "CN=Microsoft System Attendant" to the LegacyExchangeDN value. After the value is appended, the LegacyExchangeDN attribute value resembles the following:
   /o=First Organization/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (group_name)/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=E14HUBCAS/CN=Microsoft System Attendant
5. Exchange Server 2007 tries to log on to the public store by using the value in step 4.
6. The store then tries to locate the System Attendant object.

There two annoying things about these steps

1. Step 1:  Exchange Server 2007 selects a mailbox database
   
   There is no description available on how the database is being selected. But the co-existence scenario results in a mailbox database being selected that might be located on Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2013. Even though there still are Exchange Server 2007 mailbox database available. You still require to have a mailbox database hosted on an Exchange 2007 public folder server, due to the legacy public folder requirements with Exchange Server 2013.
    
2. Steps 2-4: The LegacyExchangeDN example shows an E14HUBCAS name as a placeholder. In a situation where you have deployed dedicated mailbox servers, this should read E14MBX.
    

Solution

The magic System Attendant mailbox has been removed from Exchange 2010. But the System Attendent configuration node does still exist in the Active Directory Configuration Partition for compatibility reasons. The configured attributes of the System Attendant entry vary depending on the version of the installed Exchange Server.

In regards to the public folder issue, we need to focus on the following:

• Exchange Server 2010 System Attendant
  • homeMDB: <not set>
  • homeMTA: <not set>
• Exchange Server 2013 System Attendant
  • homeMDB: <not set>
  • homeMTA: CN=Microsoft MTA,CN=E15MBX,CN=Servers,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]

To fix the public folder access issue for Exchange Server 2007, set the homeMDB and homeMTA attributes. Set the Exchange System Attendant attributes to appropriate values for your Exchange servers.

Exchange Server 2013

1. Open ADSIEdit and connect to the Configuration context
2. Open Databases node
   CN=Databases,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]
3. Open the Properties of an Exchange 2013 database
4. View the distinguishedName property and copy the value to clipboard
   Example: CN=E15MBXDB01,CN=Databases,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]
5. Close the Properties window and open the Servers node
   CN=Servers,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]
6. Expand the first Exchange 2013 server and open the Properties of the Microsoft System Attendant node
   Ensure that the view is not filtered to Show only attributes that have values
7. Edit the homeMDB attribute and paste the distinguished name of the mailbox database copied in step 4
8. Apply the changes and close the properties window

Repeat steps 4 to 8 for each Exchange 2013 server in your environment.

Exchange Server 2010

1. Open ADSIEdit and connect to the Configuration context
2. Open Databases node
   CN=Databases,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]
3. Open the Properties of an Exchange 2010 database
4. View the distinguishedName property and copy the value to the clipboard
   Example: CN=E14MBXDB01,CN=Databases,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]
5. Close the Properties window and open the Servers node
   CN=Servers,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]
6. Expand the first Exchange 2010 server and open the Properties of the Microsoft System Attendant node
   Ensure that the view is not filtered to Show only attributes that have values
7. Edit the homeMDB attribute and paste the distinguished name of the mailbox database copied in step 4
8. Apply the changes and close the properties window
9. Open the Properties windows of the Microsoft MTA of the same Exchange
10. View the distinguishedName property and copy the value to the clipboard
    Example: CN=Microsoft MTA,CN=E14MBXSRV01,CN=Servers,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=[ORG],CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=[DOMAIN],DC=[TLD]
11. Open the properties of the Microsoft System Attendant node for a second modification
    Ensure that the view is not filtered to Show only attributes that have values
12. Edit the homeMTA attribute and paste the distinguished name of the mailbox database copied in step 10
13. Apply the changes and close the properties window

Repeat steps 4 to 13 for each Exchange 2010 server in your environment.

Wait for Active Directory replication and retry to access the public folders using Get-PublicFolder in an Exchange Server 2007 Management Shell.

It might be required to restart the Exchange 2007 Information Store and System Attendant service of the Exchange 2007 server in question

Use an administrative PowerShell

Restart-Service MSExchangeIS 
Restart-Service MSExchangeSA 

I haven’t noticed any issues in production environments so far. If you encounter any issues in your environment, feel free to leave a comment.

Links

• You cannot view a list of public folders in an Exchange organization that has Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 mailbox databases,
• On-Premises Legacy Public Folder Coexistence for Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 7 and Beyond,
• Breaking Change : The System Attendant mailbox has been removed from Exchange 2010
• Exchange 2007 and 2013 environment – Public Folders on 2007 “Get-PublicFolder” cmdlet fails

Do you need assistance with your Exchange Server setup? You have questions about your Exchange Server infrastructure and going hybrid? You are interested in what Exchange Server 2016 has to offer for your environment?

Contact me at thomas@mcsmemail.de
Follow at https://twitter.com/stensitzki

Description

This script will generate a report for Exchange 2007/2010 Public Folder Replication. It returns general information, such as the total number of public folders, total items in all public folders, the total size of all items, the top 20 largest folders, and more. Additionally, it lists each Public Folder and the replication status on each server.

By default, this script will scan the entire Exchange environment in the current domain and all public folders. This can be limited by using the -ComputerName and -FolderPath parameters.

Examples

Generate a public folder generation report for public folder \MYPUBLICFOLDER having replicas on servers MXSRV01, MXSRV02, MXSRV03

Get-PublicFolderReplicationReport.ps1 -ComputerName MXSRV01,MXSRV02,MXSRV03 -FolderPath "\MYPUBLICFOLDER" -Recurse -Subject "Public Folder Environment Report" -AsHTML -To postmaster@varunagroup.de -From postmaster@varunagroup.de -SmtpServer relay.mcsmemail.de -SendEmail

Example report

If you want to simplify the report generation, create an additional script: Run-PublicFolderReplicationReport.ps1

param(
    [string]$publicFolderPath = ''
)

# Variables

# Custom label for email subject
$label = 'Exchange 2007'
$recipients = 'pfreports@mcsmemail.de'
$sender = 'postmaster@mcsmemail.de'

# array of public folder servers to query
$publicFolderServers = @('EX2007-01','EX2010-01')

# SMTP server to relay mail
$smtpServer = 'relay.mcsmemail.de'

# Used to trigger a dedicated report for \GrFolder1\Folder1, \GrFolder1\Folder2
$granularRootFolder = @()  # @("\Folder01")
$subPath = ''

# Check for granular folders, Added 2016-01-19
if($granularRootFolder -contains $publicFolderPath) {
    $subPath = $publicFolderPath
    $publicFolderPath = ''
}

#
if($publicFolderPath -ne '') {
    Write-Host "Generating Public Folder reports for $($publicFolderPath)"
    # Generate report for a single public folder | Change COMPUTERNAME attribute for servers to analyse
    .\Get-PublicFolderReplicationReport.ps1 -ComputerName $publicFolderServers -FolderPath $publicFolderPath -Recurse -Subject "Public Folder Environment Report [$($publicFolderPath)] [$($label)]" -AsHTML -To $recipients -From $sender -SmtpServer $smtpServer -SendEmail
}
else {
    if($subPath -ne '') {
        $publicFolderPath = $subPath
    }
    else {
        $publicFolderPath = '\'
    }
    
    if($granularRootFolder.Count -ne 0) {
        Write-Host 'Following root folders will be excluded when using "\":'
        $($granularRootFolder)
    }
    
    Write-Host "Generating Public Folder reports for all folders in $($publicFolderPath)"
    
    $folders = Get-PublicFolder $publicFolderPath -GetChildren 

    # Generate a single report for each folder in root
    $folderCount = ($folders | Measure-Object).Count
    $pfCount = 1
    foreach($pf in $folders) {
        # Check, if folder is in list of granular folders
        if($granularRootFolder -notcontains $pf) {
            if($pf.ParentPath -eq '\') {
                $name = "$($pf.ParentPath)$($pf.Name)"
            }
            else {
                $name = "$($pf.ParentPath)\$($pf.Name)"
            }

            $activity = 'Generating Stats'
            $status = "Fetching $($name)"
            
            Write-Progress -Activity $activity -Status $status -PercentComplete (($pfCount/$folderCount)*100)
          
            .\Get-PublicFolderReplicationReport.ps1 -ComputerName $publicFolderServers -FolderPath $name -Recurse -Subject "Public Folder Environment Report [$($name)] [$($label)]" -AsHTML -To $recipients -From $sender -SmtpServer $smtpServer -SendEmail
            $pfCount++
        }
    }
}

Use the $granularRootFolder array to add root public folders which require a dedicated report for each sub-folder.

Version History

• 1.0, Initial community release
• 1.1, Replica status (green/red) depending on the item count, not the percentage
• 1.2, Fixed: If 1st server has a lower item count a folder is not being added to the list of folders with incomplete replication
• 1.3, Changes to number and size formatting, Exchange 2007 now returns MB or GB, as configured
• 1.4, Handling of KB values with Exchange 2007 added
• 1.5, Some PowerShell hygiene and fixes
• 1.6, Count of incomplete replicated public folders stated in the table header (issue #1)

Links

• Download and follow at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Get-PublicFolderReplicationReport
• Download and vote at TechNet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Exchange-2010-Public-315ea9aa

Additional Credits

Additional credits go to Mike Walker (blog.mikewalker.me)

Follow

• Twitter @stensitzki
• LinkedIn

Additional Note

This Powershell script has been optimized using the ISESteroids™ add-on. Learn more about ISESteroids™ here.

Description

This script reads Exchange Organization data and creates a single Microsoft Word document. A later version will support exporting to an Html file.

The script requires an Exchange Management Shell for Exchange Server 2016 or newer. Older EMS versions are not tested.

A locally installed version of Word is required, as plain Html export is not available, yet.

The default file name is 'Exchange-Org-Report [TIMESTAMP].docx'. 

Most of the script requires only Exchange admin read-only access for the Exchange organization. Querying address list information requires a membership in the RBAC role "Address Lists".

The script queries hardware information from the Exchange server systems and requires local administrator access to the computer systems.

Examples

# Example 1
# Create a Word report for the local Exchange Organization using 
# the default values defined on the parameters section of the PowerShell script.

.\Get-ExchangeOrganizationReport.ps1 -ViewEntireForest:$true

# Example 2
# Create a Microsoft Word report for the local Exchange Organization with 
# a verbose output to the current PowerShell session.

.\Get-ExchangeOrganizationReport.ps1 -Verbose

Version History

• 0.9. Initial community release
• 0.91, Information about processor cores, memory, and page file size added

Links

• Download and follow at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Get-ExchangeOrganizationReport
• Download and like at TechNet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Gather-Exchange-Organizatio-8c0dd625

Additional Credits

The script is based on the ADDS_Inventory.ps1 PowerScript by Carl Webster: https://github.com/CarlWebster/ActiveDirectory

Follow

• Twitter @stensitzki
• LinkedIn
• Xing

The JET Blue Story

The Exchange Server product used the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE, aka JET Blue) to store data for decades. The story of the JET Blue (in contrast to JET Red which is used for Access database) can be read here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Jet_Database_Engine). In the acient days of data storage the ESE database was the best choice for storing mostly unstructured data with many dynamic properties.

The Messaging API (MAPI) had been developed in the 1990s to provide programmers with a set of unified interface for easier message exchange. The MAPI documentation at TechNet has been replaced by the current Outlook 2013 MAPI Reference. In todays world it is not easy to find reliable ressource about the original MAPI implementation. The only printed resource is Inside Mapi (Microsoft Programming Series) , ISBN 978-1572313125 , which has been published in 1996.

At Ignite 2015 Ross Smith VI joked about moving the Exchange storage engine to SQL. Back in the day with Exchange 2013 in production and Exchange 2016 coming, this was true. But Ross laid the tracks for the evolution of Exchange.

But it seems that the Exchange Product Team realized that in today's world with heavily standardized communication and less dynamic requirements than in the 1990s the days of JET blue are over. At the same time SQL Server evolved to mature database solution, capable of handling big data. The question was, if it can store SharePoint data, why not Exchange data. After twenty years of Exchange Server using the good ole ESE engine it was time to move on.

The SQL scripts that are used by Exchange to configure SQL are loacted in $exbin\SQL

Example

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[MAPI_PROPERTIES](
	[MAPI_PROPERTTY_ID] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	[MAPI_PROPERTY_NAME] [nchar](127) NOT NULL,
	[IsWellKnownProperty] [bit] NOT NULL,
	[MAPI_TYPE_ID] [int] NOT NULL,
 CONSTRAINT [PK_MAPI_PROPERTIES] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED 
(
	[MAPI_PROPERTTY_ID] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]

GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[MAPI_PROPERTIES]  WITH CHECK ADD  CONSTRAINT [FK_MAPI_PROPERTIES_MAPI_TYPES] FOREIGN KEY([MAPI_TYPE_ID])
REFERENCES [dbo].[MAPI_TYPES] ([MAPI_TYPE_ID])
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[MAPI_PROPERTIES] CHECK CONSTRAINT [FK_MAPI_PROPERTIES_MAPI_TYPES]
GO

Exchange Server goes SQL

The current Exchange 2016 CU2 Preview supports an undocumented registry key to activate SQL Server support for Exchange. Personally I do not know, if this was supposed to be officially included in a public realease. So maybe the SQL support was made available by error and is already removed from the most current build again.

The famous SqueakyLobster registry key in has been used in Exchange 5.5 to troubleshoot performance issues. The new "Lobster" key is used to activate hidden code in Exchange Server product. The name of the key is LobsterMapiDB.

This key activates support for Exchange modern storage. Without this key you won't be able to move mailboxes from ESE legacy storage to SQL modern storage.

It is assumed that a SQL Server 2014 instance is available. A SQL Server 2014 Express edition is sufficient for testing purposes.

Note:
Any changes to configurations or the registry should be validated in a test environment first. Never try this in production right away.

The high level steps required to activate SQL support for Exchange 2016 are:

• Create a configuration file to provide the SQL connection string
• Create a SQL server login for the Exchange Trusted Subsystem security group
• Add a registry key to the local Exchange Server registry
• Restart Information Store Service (MSExchangeIS)
• Execute PowerShell script to migrate mailboxes to SQL

The detailed steps are:

• Create a new config file named Microsoft.Exchange.Data.SQL.exe.config in $exinstall/bin

		<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
		<!-- Exchange SQL Configuration - preliminary support -->
		<!-- %MAILBOXDATABASENAME% will be replaced by Exchange -->
		<!-- More information https://goo.gl/QiTtDo -->
		<configuration>
			<sectionGroup name="SqlMapiProviderGroup" type="Microsoft.Exchange.Data.SQL.SqlMapiProviderGroup, Microsoft.Exchange.Data.Common, Version=15.2.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a">
				<section name="SqlMapiProviderSection" type="Microsoft.Exchange.Data.SQL.SqlMapiProviderGroup, Microsoft.Exchange.Data.Common, Version=15.2.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" />
		    </sectionGroup>
			<runtime>
				<gcServer enabled="True" />
				<generatePublisherEvidence="False" />
			</runtime>
			<appSettings>
				<add key="MigrateMailboxesAutomatically" value="false" /> <!-- Not yet supported -->
				<add key="AllowJETBlueCoexistence" value="true" /> <!-- Allows for SQL/ESE Coexistence in DAG -->
				<add key="PerDatabaseMaxSize" value="1GB" />
				<add key="VerboseLoggingEnabled" value="False" />
		
			</appSettings>
			<SqlMapiProviderSection>
				<SqlMapiProvider>
					<add name="LobsterMapiDB"
					providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"
					connectionString="Data Source=SERVERNAME\INSTANCE;Initial Catalog=%MAILBOXDATABASENAME%;Integrated Security=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=True" />
				</SqlMapiProvider>
			</SqlMapiProviderSection>
		</configuration>

• Create a SQL login for Exchange Trusted Subsystem

CREATE LOGIN [DOMAIN\Exchange Trusted Subsystem] FROM WINDOWS

• Create a new DWORD named LobsterMapiDB in
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15
  and set the data value to 1
  
  
• Restart Exchange Information Store
  
  Restart-Service MSExchangeIS
   
• Use Move-MailboxToModernStorage.ps1 script to move selected mailboxes to modern storage

More can be found here:

• Migration scripts and config files are available at Github, https://github.com/Apoc70/LobsterMapiDB

Links

• From crush to product documentation: The story of Squeaky Lobster, http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2006/06/15/3394229.aspx
• Setting "Squeaky Lobster" performance counter settings, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/556030
• Extensible Storage Engine, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Storage_Engine
• Outlook 2013 MAPI Reference, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc765775.aspx
• SQL Server 2014, https://www.microsoft.com/en/server-cloud/products/sql-server/
• Final information: https://goo.gl/QiTtDo

Enjoy Exchange for the next 20 years...

Problem

You might encounter EventId 106 errors on Exchange 2013/2016 servers.

There are some article available on how to fix this issue on servers having a full installationof Exchange Server 2013/2016.

But you might encounter this error on servers having the Exchange 2013/2016 Management Tools installed only as well. In this case the solutions described will not work as expected.

Running the New-PerfCounters cmdlet requires the Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.Setup PowerShell snapin. This PowerShell snapin cannot be loaded on servers having the Exchange Management Tools installed.

Add-PsSnapin : The Windows PowerShell snap-in 'Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.Setup' is not installed on
this computer.
At line:1 char:1
+ Add-PsSnapin Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.Setup
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (Microsoft.Excha...owerShell.Setup:String) [Add-PSSnapin], PSArgumentEx
   ception
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : AddPSSnapInRead,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.AddPSSnapinCommand

Solution

The required code library is available on servers having the Exchange Management Tools installed. But the library is not added to the registry by default.

Registry of a server running Exchange Management Tools only:

Registry of a fully installed Exchange Server:

Just export the registry key Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.Setup from an Exchange Server, fix Exchange file paths (if required) and import the regiytry file on the server having the Exchange Management Tools installed.

Example registry file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\PowerShellSnapIns\Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.Setup]
"CustomPSSnapInType"="Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.SetupPSSnapIn"
"ApplicationBase"="D:\\Program Files\\Microsoft\\Exchange Server\\V15\\bin"
"AssemblyName"="Microsoft.Exchange.PowerShell.Configuration, Version=15.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"
"Description"="Setup Tasks for the Exchange Server"
"ModuleName"="D:\\Program Files\\Microsoft\\Exchange Server\\V15\\bin\\Microsoft.Exchange.PowerShell.configuration.dll"
"PowerShellVersion"="1.0"
"Vendor"="Microsoft"
"Version"="15.0.0.0"

After adding the registry key, you can successfully fix the performance counter issue.

Add-PsSnapin Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.Setup 

New-PerfCounters -DefinitionFileName "$exinstall\setup\perf\WorkerTaskFrameworkPerfCounters.xml”

Links

• Jetze Mellema Post: Fix those silly "106" Performance Counter events on Exchange 2013 servers