Monday, October 06, 2008

Using Exchange? Run MS Exchange BPA frequently!

Issue
Exchange OAB error (OAB = Offline Address Book)

Details:
Receiving error from Outlook 0x8004010F everytime anyone from Caching Mode access the Offline Address Book.
Receiving event id in exchange 9334 Source MSExchangeSA

My previous Exchange server crashed and I moved the database to a new a new virtual instance. I tried to move all Exchange services i.e. routing, update service, etc. but for some reason I still get an error from this OAB

Troubleshooting:
MS Exchange Best Practices Analyzer SERVER Scanned

Cause from the BPA:

Offline address book definition is missing The 'msExcUseOAB' value for mailbox store 'Mailbox Store [SERVER]' is missing. This will cause offline address book errors for 441 users in this database.

Actions:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997667(EXCHG.80).aspx

If the value for the msExchUseOAB attribute is missing it will cause offline address book errors for users in this information store.

To resolve this issue, associate the offline address book with a mailbox store by using the procedures below. To associate the Offline Address Book with a particular mailbox store in Exchange Server 2003
  1. Start the Exchange System Manager.
  2. Expand the server and the storage group affected.
  3. Right-click the mailbox store and click Properties
  4. Click the General tab, and then click the Browse button that is on the right side of the Offline Address Book box.
  5. Enter an offline Address Book to associate with this mailbox store, and then click OK
Moral of the story?
If you are using Microsoft Exchange. Run the Microsoft Exchange Best Practices Analyzer frequently. If you encounter an error? Run the BPA! It points you to the error and the recommended solution online.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Novell Storage Manager Free Presentation

Check out this Presentation on Novell Storage Manager. Create User Policies to automatically provision create / clean up user storage space.

Link for Presentation

With Novell Storage Manager, you can:

  • Easily manage storage on Microsoft Windows, Linux and NetWare, leveraging their respective directory technologies (Microsoft Active Directory and Novell eDirectory)
  • Automatically allocate, manage and clean up storage
  • Migrate storage—quickly and transparently—for thousands of users simultaneously
  • Use policies to predefine how much storage users and groups receive based on their roles within the organization
  • Pre-populate a new user's home directory with essential files
  • Limit the types of files that users can store on the network
  • Preserve intellectual property by automatically archiving a former user's data or forwarding it to an authorized manager
  • Demonstrate regulatory compliance with real-time enforcement and in-depth reports
  • Centrally monitor storage across your enterprise
  • Use your existing hardware