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.

Description

This script reads the Exchange schema version from the Active Directory schema partition.

The Exchange organization name is fetched from Active Directory automatically.
  
The script fetches at forest level:

• objectVersion of MESO Container
• rangeUpper of ms-Exch-Schema-Version-Pt 
• msExchProductId of Exchange Organization container
• objectVersion of Exchange Organization container

The script fetches at domain level:

• objectVersion of MESO Container

Examples

Code Samples

# Fetch all version information in the Active Directory forest
.\Get-ExchangeServerVersionInfo.ps1

Sample Output:

PS D:\Scripts> .\Get-ExchangeServerVersionInfo.ps1

Exchange Server Schema and Object Information for forest [VARUNA.ROOT]
Exchange Organization Name        : VARUNA-GROUP
Active Directory Schema rangeUpper: 15332

Working on VARUNA.ROOT
MESO Container objectVersion           : 13236
Exchange Configuration msExchProductId : 15.01.1466.003
Exchange Configuration objectVersion   : 16213

Working on VARUNAGROUP.DE
MESO Container objectVersion           : 13236

Version History

• 1.0, Initial community release

Links

• Download and follow at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Get-ExchangeServerVersionInfo
• Download and like at TechNet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Get-Exchange-Schema-73d3e629

Follow

• Twitter @stensitzki
• LinkedIn
• Xing

Enjoy Exchange Server!

Exchange Server 2016 introduced the PowerShell cmdlet Get-MailboxServerRedundancy. This cmdlet helps you plan and prepare for Exchange Server maintenance by querying the current maintenance readiness of the database availability group (DAG). 

Interestingly, there is no PowerShell help available for this vital cmdlet. Microsoft Docs or Exchange Management Shell's Get-Help provide any valuable information.

When querying a DAG about the server redundancy status, the cmdlet's default output provides you with the essential information.

The default output contains information about:

• Identity
  Name of the DAG member server
   
• IsServerFoundInAD
  Indicates if the corresponding server computer object exists Active Directory
   
• IsInMaintenance
  Indicates if the server is currently in maintenance mode
   
• RepairUrgency
  Indicates an aggregated state of the mailbox database and search index repair modes 
   
• SafeForMaintenance
  Indicates if you can safely activate the maintenance mode for this server
   
• HealthInfoLastUpdateTime
  Timestamp when the server's health state was last updated
   

Example - Prior Maintenance

This example shows the Get-MailboxServerRedundancy output of a six server DAG, before activating maintenance mode for server LOCEXS06.

Get-MailboxServerRedundancy -DatabaseAvailabilityGroup EXDAG01

Identity        IsServerFound IsInMainten RepairUrgency SafeForMaintenance HealthInfoLastUpdateTime
                InAD          ance
--------        ------------- ----------- ------------- ------------------ ------------------------
LOCEXS01        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 09:10:11
LOCEXS02        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 09:10:11
LOCEXS03        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 09:10:11
LOCEXS06        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 09:10:11
LOCEXS05        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 09:10:11
LOCEXS04        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 09:10:11

As Exchange Administrator, you are most interested in the information displayed in columns RepairUrgency and SafeForMaintenance.

As you can see in this screenshot, no server is in maintenance mode. Servers S01 and S04 have a RepairUrgency state of Prohibited, and a SafeForMaintenance state of False. The latter tells us that we cannot activate maintenance mode for servers safely without risking mailbox database redundancy. 

What is the reason for this? Let's have a look.

Server Information

You can use the same cmdlet to query detailed information for each member server of the DAG. The default output for a single server does not provide any additional information on the server status. 

Get-MailboxServerRedundancy -DatabaseAvailabilityGroup EXDAG01 -Identity LOCEXS01

Identity        IsServerFound IsInMainten RepairUrgency SafeForMaintenance HealthInfoLastUpdateTime
                InAD          ance
--------        ------------- ----------- ------------- ------------------ ------------------------
LOCEXS01        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 09:11:11

Because we cannot activate maintenance mode for server LOCEXS01 safely, we are interested in identifying which redundancy state is responsible.

You can find this information by displaying the detailed server information.

Detailed Server Information

Use the Format-List, or short FL, cmdlet to display the Get-MailboxServerRedundancy cmdlet output as a formatted list.

Get-MailboxServerRedundancy -DatabaseAvailabilityGroup EXDAG01 -Identity LOCEXS01 | FL

RunspaceId                                  : 70d82f8d-e6ca-4bfc-863f-11300a9784ff
Identity                                    : LOCEXS01
IsServerFoundInAD                           : True
IsInMaintenance                             : False
RepairUrgency                               : Prohibited
SafeForMaintenance                          : False
ServerContactedFqdn                         : LOCEXS04.VARUNAGROUP.DE
HealthInfoCreateTime                        : 15.06.2018 15:16:19
HealthInfoLastUpdateTime                    : 17.02.2020 09:11:11
ServerFoundInAD                             : CurrentState: Active; LastActiveTransition: 15.06.2018 15:22:16;
                                              LastInactiveTransition:
InMaintenance                               : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 17.01.2020 09:07:02;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 17.01.2020 10:42:02
AutoActivationPolicyBlocked                 : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 09.01.2020 10:14:50;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 09.01.2020 11:00:51
ActivationDisabledAndMoveNow                : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: ; LastInactiveTransition:
                                              15.06.2018 15:22:16
HighAvailabilityComponentStateOffline       : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 17.01.2020 09:07:02;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 17.01.2020 10:42:02
CriticalForMaintainingAvailability          : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 31.01.2020 16:52:49;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 31.01.2020 16:56:49
CriticalForMaintainingRedundancy            : CurrentState: Active; LastActiveTransition: 29.01.2020 11:43:06;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 29.01.2020 11:42:06
PotentiallyCriticalForMaintainingRedundancy : CurrentState: Active; LastActiveTransition: 01.02.2020 05:49:37;
                                              LastInactiveTransition:
CriticalForRestoringAvailability            : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 06.05.2019 09:16:36;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 06.05.2019 09:20:36
CriticalForRestoringRedundancy              : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 29.01.2020 11:42:06;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 29.01.2020 11:43:06
HighForRestoringAvailability                : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 29.01.2020 11:42:06;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 29.01.2020 11:43:06
HighForRestoringRedundancy                  : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 10.02.2020 09:05:02;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 10.02.2020 09:06:02
IsSafeForMaintenance                        : CurrentState: Inactive; LastActiveTransition: 03.11.2019 09:42:35;
                                              LastInactiveTransition: 12.11.2019 06:29:58
IsValid                                     : True
ObjectState                                 : Unchanged

The lines 24-27 show the information we want to know. Both, the CriticalForMaintainingRedundancy and PotentiallyCriticalForMaintainingRedundancy parameters have a CurrentState value of Active. The Primary Activation Manager (PAM) considers the server availability critical to provide redundant availability of the database copies hosted by this server. 

Each of state-parameter shows three pieces of information:

• CurrentState
  The current state, either Active  or Inactive
   
• LastActiveTransition
  The timestamp of the last state change to Active
   
• LastInactiveTransition
  The timestamp of the last state change to Inactive

But there is still the bothering question of why are two of the six servers not safe for activating maintenance?

The reason is simple. The mailbox databases mounted by the member servers of the DAG have a different number of database copies. This configuration is due to data storage capacity constraints.

The mailbox databases storing primary user mailboxes use four database copies per database. Those copies are evenly distributed across all six mailbox servers. Mailbox database storing online archive mailboxes use three copies per database. This database copy layout allows for safely activating server maintenance for one server at a time without risk to database redundancy.

The servers LOCEXS01 and LOCEXS04 hold mailbox databases with just two copies per configured database. Placing one of those two servers into maintenance mode reduces the database availability for these mailbox databases to one. Therefore, PAM informs us that database redundancy is at risk when activating maintenance for those two servers. 

Example - During Maintenance

This example shows the member server redundancy state while LOCEXS06 is in maintenance. The reason for monthly maintenance for installing Windows updates.

Maintenance was activated using the StartDagServerMaintenance.ps1 PowerShell script.

Get-MailboxServerRedundancy -DatabaseAvailabilityGroup indag01

Identity        IsServerFound IsInMainten RepairUrgency SafeForMaintenance HealthInfoLastUpdateTime
                InAD          ance
--------        ------------- ----------- ------------- ------------------ ------------------------
LOCEXS01        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 11:04:12
LOCEXS02        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 11:04:12
LOCEXS03        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 11:04:12
LOCEXS06        True          True        High          True               17.02.2020 11:04:12
LOCEXS05        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 11:04:12
LOCEXS04        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 11:04:12

Having a single server in maintenance has a significant impact on all other servers in the DAG. The servers LOCEXS03 and LOCEXS05 are not safe for maintenance as well. Activating maintenance for those two servers would affect the database redundancy for the databases hosted by those two servers.

Example - After Maintenance

After completing all maintenance tasks, e.g., installing Windows Updates or a new Exchange Server Cumulative Update, you end server maintenance using the PowerShell script StopDagServerMaintenance.ps1.

We query the server redundancy state again. 

Get-MailboxServerRedundancy -DatabaseAvailabilityGroup indag01

Identity        IsServerFound IsInMainten RepairUrgency SafeForMaintenance HealthInfoLastUpdateTime
                InAD          ance
--------        ------------- ----------- ------------- ------------------ ------------------------
LOCEXS01        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 11:23:12
LOCEXS02        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 11:23:12
LOCEXS03        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 11:23:12
LOCEXS06        True          False       High          True               17.02.2020 11:23:12
LOCEXS05        True          False       Normal        True               17.02.2020 11:23:12
LOCEXS04        True          False       Prohibited    False              17.02.2020 11:23:12

Server LOCEXS06 is not in maintenance, but the RepairUrgency state is High. The local Exchange Server replication engine is still busy replicating and processing log files, and updating the search indices. When CopyQueueLength and ReplayQueueLength are back to 0, and ContentIndexStates are back to Healthy, the RepairUrgency switches to Normal.

Tip

• You receive an error message when activating maintenance for an Exchange Server not safe for maintenance using
  ​StartDagServerMaintenance.ps1 -serverName [SERVER]
  
  In this case, you must use:

.\StartDagServerMaintenance.ps1 -serverName SERVERNAME -overrideMinimumTwoCopies:$true

Enjoy Exchange Server!

Sometimes you might be interested in gathering a list of all computer from an Active Directory domain in preparation for migration.

You can gather a list of all computer objects using the following command.

# Fetch a sorted list of all computer objects
Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Property * | Sort-Object Name 

The wildcard used with the Property parameter fetches all available attributes for a computer object. Check the available attributes in the result set to identify the attributes you are interested in.

# Example output for the first computer object gathered from Active Directory
(Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Property * | Sort-Object Name)[0]

AccountExpirationDate                : 
accountExpires                       : 9223372036854775807
AccountLockoutTime                   : 
AccountNotDelegated                  : False
AllowReversiblePasswordEncryption    : False
BadLogonCount                        : 0
badPasswordTime                      : 0
badPwdCount                          : 0
CannotChangePassword                 : False
CanonicalName                        : DOMAIN.local/Computers/COMPUTER01
Certificates                         : {}
CN                                   : COMPUTER01
codePage                             : 0
CompoundIdentitySupported            : {False}
countryCode                          : 0
Created                              : 9/2/2013 3:01:13 PM
createTimeStamp                      : 9/2/2013 3:01:13 PM
Deleted                              : 
Description                          : 
DisplayName                          : 
DistinguishedName                    : CN=COMPUTER01,CN=Computers,DC=DOMAIN,DC=local
DNSHostName                          : COMPUTER01.DOMAIN.local
DoesNotRequirePreAuth                : False
dSCorePropagationData                : {12/31/1600 7:00:00 PM}
Enabled                              : True
HomedirRequired                      : False
HomePage                             : 
instanceType                         : 4
IPv4Address                          : 
IPv6Address                          : 
isCriticalSystemObject               : False
isDeleted                            : 
KerberosEncryptionType               : {RC4, AES128, AES256}
LastBadPasswordAttempt               : 
LastKnownParent                      : 
lastLogoff                           : 0
lastLogon                            : 130942520427754509
LastLogonDate                        : 12/10/2015 3:02:53 PM
lastLogonTimestamp                   : 130942513734007331
localPolicyFlags                     : 0
Location                             : 
LockedOut                            : False
logonCount                           : 194
ManagedBy                            : 
MemberOf                             : {}
MNSLogonAccount                      : False
Modified                             : 12/10/2015 3:02:53 PM
modifyTimeStamp                      : 12/10/2015 3:02:53 PM
msDS-SupportedEncryptionTypes        : 28
msDS-User-Account-Control-Computed   : 0
Name                                 : COMPUTER01
nTSecurityDescriptor                 : System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectorySecurity
ObjectCategory                       : CN=Computer,CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=DOMAIN,DC=local
ObjectClass                          : computer
ObjectGUID                           : da59afcc-e00a-430b-9cbc-01adeed568f3
objectSid                            : S-1-5-21-3143343262-845931634-422089675-1179
OperatingSystem                      : Windows 7 Professional
OperatingSystemHotfix                : 
OperatingSystemServicePack           : Service Pack 1
OperatingSystemVersion               : 6.1 (7601)
PasswordExpired                      : False
PasswordLastSet                      : 12/2/2014 7:21:09 AM
PasswordNeverExpires                 : False
PasswordNotRequired                  : False
PrimaryGroup                         : CN=Domain Computers,CN=Users,DC=DOMAIN,DC=local
primaryGroupID                       : 515
PrincipalsAllowedToDelegateToAccount : {}
ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion      : False
pwdLastSet                           : 130619964697110685
SamAccountName                       : COMPUTER01$
sAMAccountType                       : 805306369
sDRightsEffective                    : 15
ServiceAccount                       : {}
servicePrincipalName                 : {RestrictedKrbHost/COMPUTER01, HOST/COMPUTER01, 
                                       RestrictedKrbHost/COMPUTER01.DOMAIN.local, HOST/COMPUTER01.DOMAIN.local}
ServicePrincipalNames                : {RestrictedKrbHost/COMPUTER01, HOST/COMPUTER01, 
                                       RestrictedKrbHost/COMPUTER01.DOMAIN.local, HOST/COMPUTER01.DOMAIN.local}
SID                                  : S-1-5-21-3143343262-845931634-422089675-1179
SIDHistory                           : {}
TrustedForDelegation                 : False
TrustedToAuthForDelegation           : False
UseDESKeyOnly                        : False
userAccountControl                   : 4096
userCertificate                      : {}
UserPrincipalName                    : 
uSNChanged                           : 1721509
uSNCreated                           : 45981
whenChanged                          : 12/10/2015 3:02:53 PM
whenCreated                          : 9/2/2013 3:01:13 PM

As a next step, you gather the selected information and 

# Fetch data for an operating system overview, sorted by property Name only
Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Property * | Sort-Object Name | Select Name,OperatingSystem,OperatingSystemServicePack,OperatingSystemVersion 

# Fetch data for an operating system overview, sorted by property OperatingSystem first, then Name 
Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Property * | Sort-Object OperatingSystem,Name | Select Name,OperatingSystem,OperatingSystemServicePack,OperatingSystemVersion 

You can export the gathered information to a comma separated file easily using the Export-Csv cmdlet.

# Export the gathered and sorted information to a CSV file using a semicolon as the delimiter
# Adjust the file path for the CSV file to fit your environment
Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Property * | Sort-Object OperatingSystem,Name | Select Name,OperatingSystem,OperatingSystemServicePack,OperatingSystemVersion | Export-Csv -Path C:\SCRIPTS\ComputerOverview.csv -NoClobber -NoTypeInformation -Delimiter ';' 

Link

• Inventorying Computers with AD PowerShell

Enjoy!

Exchange Server extends the Active Directory schema during the PrepareSchema step during setup. The steps PrepareAD, PrepareDomain, or PrepareAlLDomains create Active Directory containers and objects that are crucially important for a stable operation of Exchange Server.

There are different Active Directory objects that are used to determine, if Active Directory has a proper Exchange Server configuration up and running.

Forest level

At Active Directory forest level the following attributes are used to determine the Exchange Server release:

• rangeUpper attribute of the ms-Exch-Schema-Version-Pt schema object 
• msExchProductId attribute of the Exchange organization object in the configuration partition
• objectVersion attribute of the Exchange organization object in the configuration partition
• objectVersion of the Microsoft Exchange System Objects (MESO) container 

Domain level

At Active Directory domain level the following attribute is used to determine the Exchange Server release:

• objectVersion of the Microsoft Exchange System Objects (MESO) container 

Schema versions

Links

• Script to gather Exchange schema information across all domains in an Active Directory forest

Enjoy Exchange Server!

Description

This script removes orphaned ActiveSync device partnerships from Exchange Server 2010 user mailboxes. Run the script as a scheduled job to maintain your Exchange Server environment properly.

Modifiy the script path variables to fit your requirements. The variables are configured in the ### BEGIN Variables section.

Steps being executed by the script:

1. Fetch all user mailboxes
2. Iterate through each user mailbox and determine the number of ActiveSync devices and the number of devices which have not synchronized since 150 days
3. Delete ActiveSync device registration, if a user has more than 4 devices in total and a minimum of 1 device that has not synced within 150 days

Examples

Remove-ActiveSyncDevicePartnership

Version History

• 1.0, Initial community release

Links

• Download and follow at Github: https://github.com/Apoc70/Remove-ActiveSyncDevicePartnership
• Download and like at TechNet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Cleanup-ActiveDync-device-5ee32087

Additional Credits

Additional credits go to Sebastian Rubertus

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