Exchange 2000 Setup Tips

Setup Tips
Exchange 2000 has been out long enough that users have uncovered more than 160 bugs -- most of which, fortunately, are of a minor nature --  that have subsequently been confirmed by Microsoft. Here are some Setup Tips that will help you avoid problems.

1. Be sure to eliminate any trailing spaces or period (.) from the name of all files and folders on an Exchange Installable File System (IFS) volume. Otherwise, when you attempt to access the folder or file, you will get an error message and may be unable to delete the file or folder's parent folder. This is a known problem in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server.
2. Similarly, be sure your Exchange Organization or Site name does not contain an asterisk (*). Otherwise, you may receive an "Access Denied" error message when you access your Exchange folders using the Exchange Installable File System (IFS).
3. Set the name of any public folders that you create in the Newsgroup hierarchy so that they do not contain more than 32 characters. otherwise, the name will be truncated. This is because the maximum string length of a newsgroup title is 32 characters, but the maximum string length for a public folder title is 256 characters.
4. Foreign characters are also at the root of a mail delivery snag, encountered when the Exchange domain name in a Lotus Notes proxy address for Lotus Notes includes double-byte character set (DBCS) characters. In short, it doesn't work.
5. Environments in which there are both Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000 servers are a potential source of trouble, too. To avoid administration problems, use Microsoft Exchange System Manager to view the public folders, not the Administrator program from Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5. Indeed, conspiracy theorists might be inclined to believe that the handling of mixed sites is handled just poorly enough to ensure a complete and rapid migration of existing customers.
6. Another issue administrators in mixed Exchange 5.5 and 2000 environments may encounter occurs as a result of a still-unresolved glitch in Windows 2000 Server that can make Exchange 5.5 unavailable to Backup. Fortunately, there's a workaround. Whew!
7. Messages located in an information store container that displays the mailbox name, as opposed to the Inbox or another folder, can cause problems. When an Outlook Web Access (OWA) user attempts to reply to a message in such a location, the reply will not be posted and an error message appears instead. 
8. Admins should be sure to manually stop all services in a cluster before running Setup. Otherwise, Setup may stop responding. (Exchange 2000 supports clusters of up to four computers under Windows 2000 DataCenter Server.)
9. There are some other known clustering issues, for example when creating mail-enabled user accounts on an inactive cluster. Note also that you require full Exchange Administrator permissions to create Exchange Cluster Resources. Otherwise, you will encounter an unknown error condition.
10. Some of the problems in Exchange 2000 fall into the "common sense" variety, but are exacerbated by the fact that the server doesn't always handle problems elegantly. For example, when attempting to use the "MoveUser" function to move a mailbox from one Exchange 2000 server to another, you will encounter a fairly obtuse error message if the destination server has a store limit that is less then the required space needed to move the user's data. Hopefully, the solution here is obvious: don't scrimp.
11. It's probably safe to call Exchange Server a bit of a memory hog. However, the program can fail in unexpected ways if it runs out of memory or disk space. Again, don't scrimp. You should also be sure to install the latest Windows 2000 Service Pack to avoid failures when the server is under a heavy load and issues such as ones that may occur when a user is moved from one server to another or backing up data.
12. Windows 2000 includes a nifty Active Directory Migration tool (ADMT), used to migrate users, groups, and computers from a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based domain to a Microsoft Windows 2000-based domain. Note, however, that this tool can lock you out, by resetting the password to the Service Account Admin function, unless you use the Active Directory Users and Computers Microsoft Management Console (MMC) after the migration to reset the Service Account Admin password, by clearing the Must change password in the next logon check box.
13. Here's more fodder for the Justice Dept.: When you use any Web browser earlier than Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 to access a mailbox in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Outlook Web Access, you are unable to access the address book when composing new appointments or e-mail messages. In essence, the system pretty much forces users to use Microsoft's browsers for full functionality.
14. There are some potential conflicts that can occur if SQL Server 2000 is installed on the same computer as Exchange 2000.

Known Bugs and Annoyances

1. The Outlook Web Access (OWA) client is a handy feature that allows users to access their email with any Web browser (i.e., without requiring a MAPI email client), but there are some flaws in its current implementation. Users, for example, who attempt to view a message may not be able to tell if a message has been posted, or if the message has expired. As well, user-defined colors are not properly applied.
2. Another somewhat more serious glitch with the OWA occurs if you are organizer or recipient of a meeting request. When using an OWA client, you are not able to forward meeting requests or forms to another user. To work around this issue, another user must send the update.
3. Another OWA problem occurs if you have a recurring all-day event scheduled and are using IE5.0. In this case, the OWA client displays incorrect information, displaying only the first occurrence of the series. 
4. Indeed, OWA is shaping up to be the buggiest part of Exchange 2000. Yet another flaw may occur when you attempt to create a new folder with OWA. Instead of the desired result, you'll see "Error 405 Method Not Allowed" if the folder name is already being used. Other minor glitches occur every time you right-click or highlight a folder with IE5. These are only a few of literally dozens of OWA bugs, including a few that should have been show stoppers. Even the arrow keys and other keyboard shortcuts don't work right, and URLs that link to public folders are practically unusable, unless the user also has Outlook on his or her system (in which case they probably wouldn't be using OWA at all.) Even an action as common as using a subject line containing a colon (e.g., "RE:"), inserting an ampersand in a folder name or forwarding a post with an attachment can cause unexpected behaviors that could lead to user confusion and potentially expensive tech support calls.
5. Those seeking to set mailbox storage limits in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server will run into a potentially serious problem: a bug in the program allows POP3 and IMAP4 clients to still send mail even though they have reached or exceeded their storage limits.
6.  A few of the error messages reported by Exchange Server 2000 are unnecessarily alarming. In one case, a Microsoft KnowledgeBase article glibly states that an error log report of an alleged Catastrophic failure "is not actually a catastrophic failure," suggesting that the user "simply wait for everything to shut down successfully, then restart services if necessary." No prob.
7. Etc. See Microsoft.com's KnowledgeBase for a list of all known problems in Exchange Server 2000 

For Further Reading:

• PCBuyersGuide.com: An introduction to Exchange 2000 - Windows 2000's killer app?
• PCBuyersGuide.com: Exchange 2000 - part 2 - installation issues, official pricing and a look at some advanced features and useful add-ons.
• Microsoft.com: Q257184 XADM: How to Move Exchange Databases and Logs in Exchange 2000 Server
• Microsoft.com: Q260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack
• Inquiry.com: Ask the Exchange Pro
• Win2000mag.com: Exchange & Outlook Channel