Lync Server 2013 CU1

Updates that are released for Lync Server 2013

Update for Core Components

2781550 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2013, Core Components: February 2013

Update for Conferencing server

2781551 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2013, Conferencing Server: February 2013

Update for Web Components server

2781564 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2013, Web Components: February 2013

Update for Standard or Enterprise edition server

2781547 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2013: February 2013

Update for Web Conferencing server

2787570 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2013, Web Conferencing Server: February 2013

Update for Mediation server

2796554 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2013, Mediation Server: February 2013

Update for Unified Communications Managed API 4.0, Core Runtime 64-bit

2781555 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2013, Unified Communications Managed API 4.0 Runtime: February 2013

Update for Call Park Service

2781549 Description of the cumulative update for the Lync Server 2013 Call Park service: February 2013

More information can be found here; download CU1 Installer Package here;

Update the database after the installation
After you install the update for the Core Components server role on a Lync Server 2013 Enterprise Edition front end server or on a Lync Server 2013 Standard Edition server, the updated SQL databases on the server are dropped. To apply the database changes, run the following cmdlet.

Lync Server 2013 Standard Edition (SE)
Install-CsDatabase -ConfiguredDatabases -SqlServerFqdn SE.FQDN -Verbose

Note You must run the cmdlet on the Lync Server 2013 Standard Edition server.

Windows Server 2012 Essentials Update Rollup 1

The update also includes new features and resolves some localization issues.

Features that are included in this update
- Support is added for hosted email message mailbox integration in the Dashboard.
- AntiXSSLibrary.dll is updated this improves the reliability of the Remote Web Access (RWA).
- The Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 package is updated to a new version.
- A direct download link is added to the Dashboard to improve the online backup integration.

Major issues that are resolved by this update
You cannot view Office 365 information through the Dashboard. This issue occurs if the proxy settings are configured to automatically detect the proxy server in Windows Internet Explorer.

Issue(s) Fixed
- The file history retention policy does not work with certain time formats.
- A hard block occurs on the hardware checks for a hoster.
- The system returns user tokens instead of cookies in Web API; may cause (CSRF) issue.
- The Dashboard crashes when a user add-in is configured as a leftmost add-in.
- The Domain Wizard fails if the domain name contains "homeserver" eg "smithhomeserver.com").
- The certification authority (CA) root certificate is incompatible with DirectAccess.
(Therefore, after you deploy DirectAccess on a server, a Windows 7-based client cannot establish a DirectAccess connection to the server.)
 
Note This fix only takes effect if Update Rollup 1 for Windows Server 2012 Essentials is applied before DirectAccess is deployed on the server.

More information can be found here; download via Windows Update.

IGNITE ONLINE: Training

Ignite Online provides technical training for IT Professionals on the new Exchange, Lync, Office and Office 365.

These guides feature new product capabilities and cover topics such as design, deployment and management of these technologies

 

 

Ignite guides are tutorials in video (point and click) format.

More information can be found here;

Internet Explorer 10 now available

Download available here;

PST Capture 2.0

PST Capture 2.0 includes the following improvements:

• Support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013
• Updated profile generation code to use Outlook Anywhere (RPC over HTTP).
• Fixed Exchange Online import failure issue when PST Capture is not installed on an Exchange server.
• Removed User Interface limit of 1,000 users when performing an import to Exchange Online.
• General performance improvements

More information can be found here; download here.

Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 Service Pack 3

Here are details about the new features included in Service Pack 3 for UAG 2010:

• Added support for new client devices
  
  • Windows 8 and Windows RT
    Forefront UAG 2010 SP3 supports Windows 8 and Windows RT client computers using Internet Explorer 10 and Internet Explorer 10 on the desktop. In addition, SP3 also supports the following client applications running on Windows 8 and Windows RT:
    • Mail: the built-in Mail application on Windows 8 / Windows RT computers can be used to connect to Exchange servers published through UAG 2010 SP3
    • Remote Desktop: UAG 2010 SP3 adds support for the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 8.0 client that is running on Windows 8
      
  • Windows Phone 8
    SP3 for UAG 2010 adds support for mobile phone devices running the Windows Phone 8 Operating System.

 

• Added client applications
  Forefront UAG 2010 SP3 adds support for the following client applications:
  • Office 2013: Forefront UAG 2010 SP3 supports the following Office 2013 client applications:
    •   Microsoft Outlook 2013
    •    Microsoft Word 2013
    •    Microsoft Excel 2013
    •    Microsoft PowerPoint 2013
      
  • Remote Desktop Client (RDC) 8.0: Forefront UAG 2010 SP3 supports the RDC 8.0 client that is running on Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (http://support.microsoft.com/KB/2592687)
    

 

• Application publishing
  Forefront UAG 2010 SP3 adds support for publishing the following server applications:
  •    Microsoft SharePoint 2013
  •    Microsoft Exchange 2013
    
    
• Fixes included in UAG SP3
  • Over 15 new fixes for customer reported issues. For details, please visit KB 2744025: Description of Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 Service Pack 3

More information can be found here; download here.

Lync 2013 Momentum

Microsoft are announcing 3 product enhancements that will accelerate Lync adoptability:

Lync and Skype connectivity. We’re proud to announce Lync-Skype connectivity for presence, IM and voice will be available to all Lync users by June. This move will begin to enable what we call B2X. B2X places the focus of business communication on enabling human interactions. B2X puts people first and looks at communications in a unified way, not as disparate technology silos focused on one task or protocol.

Lync Room System. Customer research showed most businesses were not getting the best experience from collaboration-enabled conference rooms. For example, it can take almost 15 minutes to start a meeting with video and content. Time is money and to make organizations more productive, today we are unveiling Lync Room System. Lync Room System makes it easy to share any content on your computer as naturally as you share video—and it is all automatically configured so you can start your meetings without technical difficulties. At today’s conference, Crestron, Lifesize, Polycom, and SMART announced their intent to bring Lync Room System products to market to meet the growing need for collaboration-enabled conference rooms.

Mobile app availability. Lync 2013 mobile apps for Windows Phone 8 and iOS will be available in early March, with Android coming roughly a month later. We’ve added VoIP and video over IP to all of the apps, and added the ability for iPad users to view shared desktop and application content in a Lync meeting. We’ve built these apps with real users’ needs in mind—and have even designed in features that preserve mobile battery life.

Microsoft is also committing to additional product delivery in the next 18 months:

Lync online/server updates. Lync Online updates will be delivered quarterly to enable rapid customer adoption, and we will release a new Lync server version in Q2 of 2014.

Enterprise voice in the cloud. Add enterprise voice support to Lync Online/Office 365.

Lync meetings. Add structured meeting support to Lync Online and the next version of Lync Server enabling remaining Live Meeting customers to fully transition to Lync.

More information can be found here;

Lync 2013 update: February 2013

Some people are referring to this as CU1; however as this is Lync Client only and not the server I’d rather call it an update.

The update comes in two forms, one is Lync specific while the other is Office 2013 related (don't ask me why!)

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Lyncloc
Download the x86 package now.
Download the x64 package now.

Msores
Download the x86 package now.
Download the x64 package now.

Fixes include;
· Enables users to hide offline contacts in the contact list.
· Enables users to receive buddy invites from untrusted networks.
  (Note this option is available under Alerts in Lync Options.)
· Improves the support for high dots per inch (DPI) displays, for Microsoft Narrator, and for other  accessibility features.
· Fixes bugs that are related to Location sharing and settings.
· Fixes bugs that are related to Tabbed Conversations.
· Enables participants to join online meetings by dialling out to their telephone number if online meetings are scheduled by a non-audio-enabled Lync 2013 user.
· Improves the handling of devices that have both a front-facing and rear-facing camera.
· Improves the user experience when you join a Lync meeting in a Lync Room System-enabled room.

A new option is available for hiding offline contacts;



which adds the following Tab (Lync Client needs restarted after update)



More information can be found here;

Update Rollup 6 for Exchange Server 2010 SP2 and Exchange 2007 SP3 RU10

Update Rollup 6 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2

Update Rollup 10 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3

Update Rollup 6 for Exchange Server 2010 SP2:

This update contains a number of customer reported and internally found issues. In particular we would like to specifically call out the following fixes which are included in this release:

Note: Some of the following KB articles may not be available at the time of publishing this post.

2489941 The "legacyExchangeDN" value is shown in the "From" field instead of the "Simple Display Name" in an email message in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

2779387 Duplicated email messages are displayed in the Sent Items folder in a EWS-based application that accesses an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox server

2751581 OAB generation fails with event IDs 9126, 9330, and either 9338 or 9339 in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

2784081 Store.exe process crashes if you add certain registry keys to an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox server

Update Rollup 10 for Exchange Server 2007 SP3:

This update contains a number of customer reported and internally found issues. In particular we would like to specifically call out the following fixes which are included in this release:

2783779 A hidden user is still displayed in the Organization information of Address Book in OWA in an Exchange Server 2007 environment

Note: Exchange 2007 SP3 RU10 allows Exchange 2007 servers to coexist with Exchange 2013 CU1, which is also scheduled to be released in Q1 2013. Customers can test and validate this update in a representative lab environment prior to rolling out in their production environments as an important coexistence preparatory step before introducing Exchange Server 2013 CU1.

More information can be found here; as always with Exchange Updates please read the comments before installing!

Exchange 2010 SP3

Exchange Server 2010 SP3 has now been released; benefits are:

Exchange 2013 Coexistence supportYou must install Exchange 2010 SP3 if you want to run Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 in a coexistence mode. You can't perform an in-place upgrade from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013. However, you can install an Exchange 2013 server into the existing Exchange 2010 organization after you install Exchange 2010 SP 3.

After you perform this procedure, your organization will be running in a coexistence mode. You can maintain this mode indefinitely, or you can immediately complete the upgrade to Exchange 2013 by moving all resources from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013, and then decommissioning the Exchange 2010 servers. For more information about how to upgrade to Exchange 2013, see Upgrade from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013.
Sent Items Management feature
Exchange 2010 SP3 introduces the Sent Items Management feature to Office Outlook Web Access (OWA). The Sent Items Management feature provides control over whether an item that is “sent as” you, or “on behalf of” you, is copied to your Sent Items folder and to the sender’s Sent Items folder. Before Exchange 2010 SP3, messages that are “sent as” you or “on behalf of” you are copied only to the sender's Sent Items folder.
You can configure the Sent Items Management feature in OWA on the Options page. After Exchange 2010 SP3 is installed, the Sent Items Options settings will be available on the Options page in OWA. (This was included in a previous CU, hopefully its working now!)

Windows Server 2012
Exchange 2010 SP3 can be used together with Windows Server 2012. For more information about operating system supportability, see Exchange Server Supportability Matrix.
More information can be found here; download SP3 here.
(Going on previous experience unless you need SP3, wait a few weeks just in case.  The reliability of recent CU’s have been less than stellar)

Update - Exchange 2013 co-existence requires Exchange 2013 CU1 which is scheduled to be released Q1 2013 (doh!).

More information can be found here;

Exchange Server 2013 Servicing (patching cycle)

The Exchange Team have written an article here that explains the changes to patching Exchange Server 2013; updates are now quarterly with each cumulative update (cu) being a full Exchange Server release.

The primary benefits to customers with this approach include:

• Predictable release cadence – CU’s will be delivered on a pre-determined schedule four times a year allowing customers to plan their deployments more deliberately. Lync and SharePoint also release CU’s at a regular cadence.
• Dedicated security releases – Independent security releases will allow customers to quickly install an update with confidence knowing that only the fixes which address a particular problem will be included. In the event there are multiple security releases required for a particular CU, all fixes will be delivered in a single package simplifying the deployment of multiple security fixes.
• Datacenter scale validation – On-Premises and Hybrid customers will be able to deploy CU’s knowing that the same code is already deployed in the Exchange Online service and has been validated against millions of mailboxes in the world’s largest and most demanding Exchange installation.
• Improved support for hybrid deployments– System requirements will be better aligned because the on-Premises server and datacenter servers will be running identical code.
• More rapid changes to language resources – In the RU model, language modifications to releases were limited to Service Pack releases. With the CU model, updates to language resources will be available in each release.

Still no word on SP3 for Exchange 2010!

Microsoft Surface Getting Started Guide

Microsoft has released a Getting started guide for Surface RT/PRO; contents below.

· Contents
· Meet Surface
· Setup
· Introducing Surface
· Get to know the new Windows
· Get to know Surface
· Keyboard, mouse, and pen
· All about apps
· Accounts
· Sign in
· Personalizing Surface
· Connect devices
· Storage, files, and backup
· Networking
· Surface and Windows Updates
· Clean and care for Surface
· That’s it!

Download the guide here;