How to update the Intelligent Message Filter version 2 in Exchange Server 2003 SP2

Here's a reference to a Microsoft KB Article on enabling updates for Exchange 2003 SP2 IMF.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=907747

Installing the Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Admin Tool on SBS

Copied from a post on the Official SBS Blog. Also works for the Microsoft Exchange Server Outlook Web Access (OWA) Administration Tool.

If you are trying to get familiar with the Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration Tool on your Small Business Server computer to take advantage of the new Mobile Security Features that will be introduced in the Windows Mobile 5.0 Messaging & Security Feature Pack, you will need to follow the steps below to get the web interface functioning properly on your Small Business Server computer:

1. Download the Mobile Admin pack here.
2. Backup the metabase in IIS (right click the servername in IIS -> all tasks -> backup/restore -> create backup)
3. TEMPORARILY set the default website to “all unassigned” (if it is not already)
4. Run MobileAdmin.exe that you downloaded in step 1.
5. Reset IIS back to the way it was before step 3, if applicable
6. Open the properties for the ExAdmin virtual directory under the default website -> directory security -> Edit for Secure Communications and uncheck “Require SSL”
7. Restart the IIS Admin service
   

You should now be able to browse http://servername/mobileadmin and also select users to manage.

Limiting MSDE Memory Usage

A common issue on new installs of SBS 2003 after they have been running for a few days is that some of the MSDE databases can use a lot of memory, especially if you have more than 1GB of physical RAM. You will know if you have this problem when the Server Performance Report has an Allocated Memory Critical Error.

Microsoft have published an article KB909636 about limiting memory usage for the MSFW MSDE instance but this can easily be applied to SBSMONITORING as well. I tend to allocate 100MB to each MSDE instance.

I find it easier to use Task Manager to identify the PID and memory usage of each sqlservr.exe process and then from a CMD prompt use tasklist /svc to identify the MSDE instance. Then I use the information in the KB article to limit the MSDE memory usage.

Windows Mobile 5 and SBS 2003 Premium

If you need to set up Windows Mobile 5 devices on your Small Business Server 2003 network then Microsoft have published an excellent whitepaper Deploying Windows Mobile 5.0 with Small Business Server 2003.

I ran in to a small problem when setting up a new WM5 device on our network where the device would sync OK over the air but not in the cradle. The solution involved creating an unusual split DNS configuration and learning more about SSL certificates.

In our office environment we are running SBS 2003 Premium from the Microsoft Action Pack with SBS 2003 SP1 and ISA 2004 installed. Our Internet connection is via a PPPoA DSL connection and we use a Cisco DSL router which NATs internal traffic. Our public IP address is on the Cisco and it is configured to forward ports 443, 444, and 4125 for Remote Web Workplace (RWW), Outlook Web Access (OWA), Outlook Mobile Access (OMA), and Sharepoint to the external interface on the SBS box.

I had followed the instructions in the whitepaper and entered the public DNS name in the Server address field in Activesync and on attempting to sync got the following error.

Microsoft Activesync, The server could not be reached. This can be caused by temporary network conditions. Support Code:80072eff.

This occurred because our public DNS name resolved to the external interface on the Cisco and being a standards compliant router it wouldn't loop back internal traffic. At this point the device could sync over the air without error.

No problem, like the whitepaper troubleshooting suggests, I created a split DNS and had our public DNS name resolve to the LAN IP address of the SBS box.

This would have worked had we been running SBS 2003 Standard without ISA because in that configuration there is only one SSL certificate. The SBS Standard SSL certificate matches the following addresses. Public DNS name, companyweb, ServerName, localhost, and ServerName.domain.local.

SBS 2003 Premium with ISA uses two SSL certificates. One which matches the public DNS name which ISA uses, and another which matches publishing.domain.local, companyweb, ServerName, localhost, and ServerName.domain.local which is used internally on IIS.

I had installed the SSL certificate matching our public DNS name on the WM5 device but now we were resolving to our internal network which used the other certificate and Activesync gave us a new error.

Microsoft Activesync. The security certificate on the server is invalid. Contact your Exchange Server administrator or ISP to install a valid certificate on the server. Support Code:80072f0d.

So I installed the other certificate on the device but got another error.

Microsoft Activesync. You have an incorrect SSL certificate common name in the Host Name field. For example, you may have entered www.tailspintoys.com when the common name on the certificate is actually www.wingtiptoys.com. Make sure the server name is entered correctly. Support Code:80072f06.

So now the problem was the internal certificate didn't match the public DNS name. I considered manually creating a new internal certificate which included the public DNS name and went as far as finding a couple of utilities, makecert and SelfSSL, and tested them in a Virtual PC environment. Although this worked it felt more complicated than was necessary considering other people had reported it working in similar environments.

The clue I needed was a response to a newsgroup post where the posters environment was nearly identical to ours except their public IP address was on the external NIC of the SBS box. I tested browsing to https://External_NIC_IP_Address/oma and was able to successfully log on to OMA.

I revised our split DNS configuration and changed the IP address that the public DNS name resolved to internally to the external NIC IP address. And Activesync now works both in the cradle and over the air.

The Beginning

I've decided it's time to create my own space on the Net where I can post stuff to do with Microsoft Windows Small Business Server and all those things that it would be nice to have a record of for myself and others.

And so it begins...