The 64-bit version of the directory synchronization tool is now available. The 64-bit version now uses Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) 2010 as the underlying synchronization engine. FIM is installed silently when you run Setup.
To download the 64-bit version of the directory synchronization tool from the Office 365 portal: Continue reading
Great post on The Exchange Team Blog that speaks to Exchange 2010 Transaction Log Capacity Planning. The post can be found here.
The Office 365 Technical Blog has a post that covers Directory Synchronization in Office 365. More specifically, the post explains the filtering built into the Microsoft Online Services Directory Synchronization Tool, the filtering criteria used by the tool, and why custom filters are not supported. The post can be read here.
Microsoft has released a DIY Troubleshooting Support Tool for Office 365. The DIY Troubleshooter offers a refined set of options to guide you to a resolution as quickly and painlessly as possible. The Troubleshooter pinpoints key technical support issues and provides immediate solutions without the need to post questions to the community or submit a support request ticket. The tool’s cool and modern interface conveniently displays hundreds of possible help and support assets (i.e. Help topics, KB articles, videos, wikis, blog posts) from within the Office 365 suite. As you move through a list of troubleshooting options, the tool dynamically displays funneled-down content to lead you towards the answers you need. The DYI Troubleshooter is available for Office 365 for professionals and small businesses and for Office 365 for enterprises and can be found here.
Kumar Venkateswar, a senior product manager on the Office 365 Technical Product Management team, explains Service Availability in Office 365 in a post on the Office 365 Technical Blog. His post covers the availability features that distinguish Office 365 from on-premises systems that are based on Exchange 2010 Server, SharePoint 2010 Server, and Lync 2010 Server. Office 365 provides these high availability features:
Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in Windows Server 8 includes several management enhancements. One of which, is the ability to use the Active Directory Administrative Center to restore objects in the Recycle Bin. What follows is a sneak peak at using the Active Directory Administrative Center in the Developer Preview of Windows Server 8 to restore objects that reside in the Recycle Bin.
As you may already know, Microsoft released a Developer Preview for Windows Server 8. Although the Developer Preview is not feature complete, there are several changes and new features. In terms of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), the way in which AD DS is installed has also changed (for the better). Some examples of the changes to the installation include:
What follows is a step-by-step guide to installing AD DS using the Developer Preview of Windows Server 8.
Microsoft has introduced an update to OWA in Exchange Online that now integrates the Office Web Apps into the attachment previewing experience for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. Along with continued PDF support, this means Exchange Online users get high-fidelity previews of Office documents on the web, in exactly the same format they were created.
Click on the “Open as web page” link you see next to Office document attachments to start using this feature in Exchange Online today.
RIM has launched an open beta of BlackBerry® Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365 – a new RIM-hosted cloud-based service for businesses to extend Microsoft Exchange Online to BlackBerry® smartphones and self-manage their BlackBerry deployments in the cloud. You can see RIM’s press release here.
BlackBerry® Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365 is available at no additional cost to current enterprise subscribers of the Office 365 suite or standalone Exchange Online. The service works with BlackBerry smartphones on business or consumer data plans. The service offers BlackBerry access to Microsoft Exchange Online email, calendar, and contacts. And IT administrators can provision, manage, and secure their organization’s BlackBerry phones from a convenient web-based console.
Microsoft Office 365 customers can sign up for the BlackBerry Business Cloud Services beta at www.blackberry.com/beta/businesscloud.
Microsoft has released Update Rollup 1 for AD FS 2.0. This update resolves a handful of known issues, but it also introduces new capabilities, two of which are specific to Office 365. Specifically: Continue reading
I ran across a good Wiki that explains Federation in Office 365 and Exchange. The Wiki covers:
The Wiki provides a good understanding of Federation in Office 365 and Exchange and links to more details. The Wiki can be found here
Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine the total economic impact and potential return on investment (ROI) that SMBs may realize by deploying Office 365, consisting of Office Professional Plus (as a subscription), Exchange Online (with Forefront Online Protection for Exchange), SharePoint Online, and Lync Online.
Office 365 delivered an ROI of 321% with a payback period of 2 months for the composite midsize organization. Office 365 improves productivity, provides IT peace of mind, and reduces TCO compared to a similar on premises implementation.
The full TEI study can be found here.
The Exchange Team Blog posted a good article that Demystifies Exchange 2010 SP1 Virtualization. The article covers:
This download includes the Exchange Server Active Directory Schema Reference, which provides information about the changes that Microsoft Exchange Server makes to the Active Directory schema when it is installed. The Exchange Server Active Directory Schema Changes Reference includes changes made by Exchange Server 2010 SP1, Exchange Server 2010 SP2, Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2007 SP3, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007, and Exchange Server 2003.
The Exchange Server Active Directory Schema Changes Reference can be downloaded here.
Microsoft has released a white paper that discusses the considerations when migrating from Exchange Public Folders to Office 365. This is especially important since Exchange Online does not support customer usage scenarios for Public Folders.
The white paper can be found here.
Microsoft has released an update to the Active Directory Monitoring Pack for System Center Operations Manager.
This release focuses fixing problems reported by customers. The accompanying guide mentions:
The update can be found here.
Microsoft recently released the Developer Preview of Windows Server 8. As I have been looking into Windows Server 8, I came across some good resources. For those interested, here’s what I found so far:
The Building Windows 8 blog, which is a great resource for learning about and keeping up with Windows 8, has a post that speaks to running the Windows 8 Developer Preview in a virtual environment. The post lists the following assessment:
Functional:
Non-functional:
The post can be read here.
I came across an article on Windows IT Pro that provides a good overview of the new Active Directory features in Windows Server 8. The article can be read here.
I ran across a post on the Unified Communications Group Team Blog that speaks to the US Army’s Pilot of Lync, which was conducted by the US Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC CD2). The post, which quotes a CERDEC article, mentions some interesting use cases for Lync within the US army, such as:
Microsoft recently updated the Exchange Server Deployment Assistant to include “Cloud Only” Deployments. Effectively, you can now feed the Exchange Server Deployment Assistant some inputs regarding your current environment, and it will guide you to documentation on moving to Office 365.
Microsoft Press recently released a free eBook on Office 365 for small businesses. The description that I found is as follows:
This new eBook, written by Katherine Murray, is about cloud solutions for small businesses. It focuses on the Office 365 core software services (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Web Apps, and Lync Online. It demonstrates ways that you can create, manage, and lead teams effectively using the Office 365 communications and collaboration tools.
The announcement, and additional information on the eBook, can be found here. The Office 365 eBook be downloaded here.
There’s a Wiki Post that details the steps to bulk create external contacts in Exchange Online. The three-step process consists of:
For detailed steps, check out the Wiki Post here.