Just can't get enough of IT

You sometimes need some (or even many) test user objects in Active Directory.

This script helps you create any number of test users in your Active Directory domain, which you can easily enable for on-premises or remote mailboxes afterward.

The Script

# Number of user accounts to create
$UserCount = 5
$RandomPassword = $true
$DefaultPassword = 'Pa55w.rd'

# User name prefix
# New user object will be named TestUser1, TestUser2, ...
$TestUserPrefix = 'TestUser'

# User object properties
$GivenName = 'Test'
$Surname = 'User'
$Company = 'Varunagroup'
$JobTitle = @('Junior Consultant','Senior Consultant','Technical Consultant','Business Consultant')
$PreferredLanguage = 'de-DE'

# Name of the new organizational unit for test user object
$TestOU = 'Test User'

# Target OU path where the script creates the new OU 
$TargetOU = 'OU=IT,dc=varunagroup,dc=de'

# Import Active Directory PowerShell Module
Import-Module -Name ActiveDirectory 

# Build OU Path
$UserOUPath = ("OU={0},{1}" -f $TestOU, $TargetOU)

# Check if OU exists
$OUExists = $false

try {
   $OUExists = [adsi]::Exists("LDAP://$UserOUPath")
}
catch {
   $OUExists =$true   
}

if(-not $OUExists) { 
   # Create new organizational unit for test users
   New-ADOrganizationalUnit -Name $TestOU -Path $TargetOU -ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion:$false -Confirm:$false
}
else {
   Write-Warning ('OU {0} exists please delete the OU and user objects manually, before running this script.' -f $UserOUPath)
   Exit
}

Write-Output ("Creating {0} user object in {1}" -f $UserCount, $UserOUPath)

# Create new user objects
1..$UserCount | ForEach-Object {

   # Get a random number for selecting a job title
   $random = Get-Random -Minimum 0 -Maximum (($JobTitle | Measure-Object). Count - 1)

   # Set user password
   if($RandomPassword) {
      # Create a random password
      $UserPassword = ConvertTo-SecureString -String (-join ((33..93) + (97..125) | Get-Random -Count 25 | % {[char]$_})) -AsPlainText -Force
   }
   else {
      # Use a fixed password
      $UserPassword = ConvertTo-SecureString -String $DefaultPassword -AsPlainText -Force
   }

   # Create a new user object
   # Adjust user name template and other attributes as needed
   New-ADUser -Name ("{0}{1}" -f $TestUserPrefix, $_) `
   -DisplayName ("{0} {1}" -f $TestUserPrefix, $_) `
   -GivenName $GivenName `
   -Surname ("$Surname{0}" -f $_) `
   -OtherAttributes @{title=$JobTitle[$random];company=$Company;preferredLanguage=$PreferredLanguage} `
   -Path $UserOUPath `
   -AccountPassword $UserPassword `
   -Enabled:$True `
   -Confirm:$false
}

Enable mailboxes

Use your on-premises Exchange Management Shell to enable all test users with an on-premises mailbox.

$UserOU = 'OU=Test User,OU=IT,dc=varunagroup,dc=de'
Get-User -OrganizationalUnit $UserOU | Enable-Mailbox -Confirm:$false

Use your on-premises Exchange Management Shell to enable all test users with a new remote mailbox in Exchange Online. Do not forget to change the tenant name of the remote routing address.

Get-User -OrganizationalUnit 'OU=Test User,OU=IT,dc=varunagroup,dc=de' | %{Enable-RemoteMailbox
 -Identity $_ -Confirm:$false -RemoteRoutingAddress "$($_.SamAccountName)@TENANT.mail.onmicrosoft.com"}

You find the most recent version of the script at GitHub.

Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/Apoc70/New-TestUser

Enjoy.

Office 365 supports the upload of PST files to Azure storage for a direct import to mailboxes hosted in Exchange Online. The steps are described in detail in the online documentation at Microsoft Docs.

Import CSV using an email address

Workload,FilePath,Name,Mailbox,IsArchive,TargetRootFolder,SPFileContainer,SPManifestContainer,SPSiteUrl
Exchange,,SALES.pst,TeamMailbox-Sales@varunagroup.de,FALSE,IMPORT,,,

But you might encounter the following error after starting the import job using the Security & Compliance dashboard.

X-Psws-ErrorCode: 840001
X-Psws-Exception: Microsoft.Exchange.Configuration.Tasks.ManagementObjectAmbiguousException,The operation couldn't be performed because 'TeamMailbox-Sales@varunagroup.de' matches multiple entries.
X-Psws-Warning: When an item can't be read from the source database or it can't be written to the destination database, it will be considered corrupted. By specifying a non-zero BadItemLimit, you are requesting Exchange not copy such items to the destination mailbox. At move completion, these corrupted items will not be available at the destination mailbox.
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff

Before you were able to start the import job the job configuration, the CSV file, and the content of the PST file were analyzed successfully. There was no hint of multiple entries for the target mailbox.

The detailed error message can be retrieved using the View log link. A clear text message is stated in the Status detail column, but you need to expand the width of the column. 

The hint provided in the status detail column states that there are multiple identities for the primary email. At this point in time, I do not know, how this possible when the target account is synchronized with AAD Connect.

Solution

Use the target mailbox GUID instead of the target email address as the target address in the CSV configuration file.

Connect to Exchange Online Remote PowerShell session and query the mailbox GUID for the target mailbox(es).

# Query target mailbox GUID for a single mailbox
Get-Mailbox TeamMailbox-Sales@varunagroup.de] | FL Guid

Create a new import job referencing the same PST file already copied to the Azure storage.

Import CSV example using the mailbox GUID

Workload,FilePath,Name,Mailbox,IsArchive,TargetRootFolder,SPFileContainer,SPManifestContainer,SPSiteUrl
Exchange,,SALES.pst,e7b7c35f-929d-420e-99a5-3c9afc419281,FALSE,IMPORT,,,

The import job will now be executed as expected.

Links

• Use network upload to import your organization PST files to Office 365

Do you need assistance with your Exchange Server platform? You have questions about your Exchange Server organization and implementing a hybrid configuration with Office 365? You are interested in what Exchange Server 2019 has to offer for your company?

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

Description

When using this PowerShell script you can update the guest user's thumbnail photo to a photo that aligns with your company's corporate identity and compliance guidelines, and you do not have to rely on the Azure AD default photo.

• This script sets the AzureADThumbnailPhoto for guest users to a photo provided as JPG or PNG file.
• The photo file can be up to 100KB in size. This is currently not checked in the script.
• You can either update a single guest user or all guest users.
• When updating the user photo can choose to set the photo forcibly or only if there is no photo set.
• The changes are written to a log file. The log file functions are part of the GlobalFunctions module.

Examples

# EXAMPLE
# Set the photo ExternalUser.png for all guest users if no photo exists

.\Set-GuestUserPhoto.ps1 -FilePath D:\Photos\ExternalUser.png -GuestUsersToSelect All -UpdateMode SetIfNoPhotoExists

# EXAMPLE
# Set the photo ExternalUser.png for guest user JohnDoe@varunagroup.de if no photo exists

.\Set-GuestUserPhoto.ps1 -FilePath D:\Photos\ExternalUser.png -GuestUsersToSelect Single -UserPrincipalName JohnDoe@varunagroup.de

Version History

• 1.0, Initial community release

Links

• Download and follow at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Set-GuestUserPhoto
• Download and like at TechNet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Set-Thumbnail-Photos-for-ae2d437c

Follow

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The PowerShell script to purge Exchange Server and IIS log files has been updated to version 2.1.

The function Copy-LogFiles has been slightly rewritten and there has been a change in the cmdlet parameters.

When using ArchiveMode CopyAndZip or CopyZipAndDelete all copied log files in the EXCHANGESERVER\LOGS folder are added to a compressed archive. The script creates a separate archive for IIS and Exchange logs.

 Code updated

function Copy-LogFiles {
  [CmdletBinding()]
  param(
    [string]$SourceServer,
    [string]$SourcePath,
    $FilesToMove,
    [string]$ArchivePrefix = ''
  )

  if($SourceServer -ne '') { 

    # path per SERVER for zipped archives
    $ServerRepositoryPath = Join-Path -Path $RepositoryRootPath -ChildPath $SourceServer

    # subfolder used as target for copying source folders and files
    $ServerRepositoryLogsPath = Join-Path -Path $ServerRepositoryPath -ChildPath $LogSubfolderName

    $ServerRepositoryPath = Join-Path -Path $RepositoryRootPath -ChildPath $SourceServer

    if(!(Test-Path -Path $ServerRepositoryPath)) {

      # Create new target directory for server, if does not exist
      $null = New-Item -Path $ServerRepositoryPath -ItemType Directory -Force -Confirm:$false

    }

    foreach ($File in $FilesToMove) {
      # target directory
      $targetDir = $File.DirectoryName.Replace($TargetServerFolder, $ServerRepositoryLogsPath)

      # target file path
      $targetFile = $File.FullName.Replace($TargetServerFolder, $ServerRepositoryLogsPath)
      
      # create target directory, if not exists
      if(!(Test-Path -Path $targetDir)) {$null = mkdir -Path $targetDir}

      # copy file to target
      $null = Copy-Item -Path $File.FullName -Destination $targetFile -Recurse -Force -Confirm:$false -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    }    
    
    if($ZipArchive) {
      # zip copied log files
      
      $Archive = Join-Path -Path $ServerRepositoryPath -ChildPath ('{0}-{1}' -f $ArchivePrefix, $ArchiveFileName)
      $logger.Write(('Zip copied files to {0}' -f $ArchiveFileName))
      
      # delete archive file, if already exists
      if(Test-Path -Path $Archive) {Remove-Item -Path $Archive -Force -Confirm:$false}

      try {
        # create zipped asrchive
        Add-Type -AssemblyName 'System.IO.Compression.FileSystem'
        [IO.Compression.ZipFile]::CreateFromDirectory($ServerRepositoryLogsPath,$Archive)
      }
      catch {
        $logger.Write(('Error compressing files from {0} to {1}' -f $ServerRepositoryLogsPath, $Archive),3)      
      }
      finally {

        # cleanup, if compression was successful
        if($DeleteZippedFiles) {

          $logger.Write(('Deleting folder {0}' -f $ServerRepositoryLogsPath))
          $null = Remove-Item -Path $ServerRepositoryLogsPath -Recurse -Force -Confirm:$false -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

        }
      }
    } 
  }  
}

Note

• The script utilizes the GlobalFunctions PowerShell module which needs to be installed first.

Links

• Release 2.1 at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Purge-LogFiles/releases/tag/v2.1
• Original blog post: https://www.granikos.eu/en/justcantgetenough/PostId/208/purge-exchange-server-and-iis-log-files

Social

• Twitter @stensitzki
• LinkedIn
• Xing

Description

This script has been developed for a custom project with the following requirements:

• User photos are provided in rectangular format by the HR department and stored in a dedicated folder
• User photos should be resized automatically to a square format to be suitable for
  • Active Directory thumbnailPhoto attribute (96x96 pixel)
  • Exchange user photo (648x648 pixel)
  • Intrant address book (150x150 pixel)
• Processed photos should be moved to a processed folder
• User logon names are used as user photo file names

The script utilizes a self developed C# command line tool, which has been published as open source at Github. The ResizeImage Wiki explains the usage of the command line tool. The application's configuration controls the target size and an optional pixel based offset.

Maybe the script will be useful in your project as well.

Requirements

• ResizeImage.exe command line tool
• GlobalFunctions PowerShell module as desribed here
• Exchange Server 2013+ Management Shell (EMS) for storing user photos in on-premises mailboxes
• Exchange Online Management Shell for storing user photos in cloud mailboxes
• Write access to thumbnailPhoto attribute in Active Directory

Examples

The code samples utilize the following folder structure:

• D:\UserPhotos
  • SOURCE
    Contains all .JPG user photos with file names matching the user logon names
  • AD
    Target folder for tumbnailPicture photos (96 x 96 px)
    • ResizeImage.exe
    • ResizeImage.exe.config (local configuration for Active Directory photos)
  • EXCHANGE
    Target folder for Exchange mailbox user photos (646 x 648 px)
    • ResizeImage.exe
    • ResizeImage.exe.config (local configuration for Exchange mailbox photos)
  • INTRANET
    Target folder for Intranet address book user photos (150 x 150 px)
    • ResizeImage.exe
    • ResizeImage.exe.config (local configuration for Intranet photos)

Code Samples

# EXAMPLE
# Resize photos stored in the default PictureSource folder for Exchange On-Premises (648x648) and write images to user mailboxes
.\Set-UserPictures.ps1 -ExchangeOnPrem   

# EXAMPLE
# Resize photos stored on a SRV01 share for Exchange Online and save resized photos on a SRV02 share
.\Set-UserPictures.ps1 -ExchangeOnline -PictureSource '\\SRV01\HRShare\Photos' -TargetPathExchange '\\SRV02\ExScripts\Photos'

 # EXAMPLE
 # Resize photos stored in the default PictureSource folder for Active Directory (96x96) and write images to user thumbnailPhoto attribute
 .\Set-UserPictures.ps1 -ActiveDirectory

# EXAMPLE
# Resize photos stored in the default PictureSource folder for Intranet (150x150)
.\Set-UserPictures.ps1 -Intranet

Version History

• 1.0, Initial community release
• 1.1, Exchange Online support added
• 1.2, Log strings updated when updating Exchange photos

Links

• Download and follow at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Set-UserPictures
• Download and like at TechNet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Bulk-resize-and-adding-of-1e74d85e
• ResizeImage tool source code and binary available at Github
  • Visual Studio solution: https://github.com/Granikos/ResizeImage
  • Current release: https://github.com/Granikos/ResizeImage/releases

Follow

• Twitter @stensitzki
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Description

This script deletes user from the NoSpamProxy NoSpamProxyAddressSynchronization database table [Usermanagement].[User] table that have not been removed by the NoSpamProxy Active Directory synchronization job.

The script was developed due to a process flaw in how Active Directory accounts are handled as part of a leaver process. So this script does not fix a software bug, but a process glitch.

Due to the Active Directory account process the accounts still exist in Active Directory and are synchronized to the NoSpamProxyAddressSynchronization database.

When executed without the -Delete parameter all identified users are wirtten the log file only.

Requirements

• Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016
• Utilites GlobalFunction library found here http://scripts.granikos.eu or https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/GlobalFunctions
• NopamProxy PowerShell module, script requires to run on a server having NoSpamProxy installed
• ActiveDirectory PowerShell Module (Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-AD-PowerShell)

Examples

# EXAMPLE 1
# Check for Active Directory existance of all users stored in NoSpamProxy database. Do NOT delete any users from the database.

.\Remove-NspUsers.ps1 


# EXAMPLE 2
# Delete users from NoSpamProxy database hosted on SQL instance MYNSPSERVER\SQLEXPRESS that do NOT exist in Active Directory.

.\Remove-NspUsers.ps1 -Delete -SqlServerInstance MYNSPSERVER\SQLEXPRESS

Version History

• 1.0, Initial community release

Links

• Download and follow at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Remove-NspUsers
• Download and like at TechNet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Delete-users-from-c7213260

Follow

• Twitter @stensitzki
• LinkedIn
• Xing