Goodbye to my Dear Friend…
Today, I had to say goodbye to my best friend, Rhett. After being my best friend and companion for the past eight years, Rhett lost his fight with a cancerous tumor in his spleen. He was always there for me through the good and bad times and I knew that I could always count on him to raise my spirits. His departure leaves a hole in my heart that will not easily be healed.
Rhett: I know you are in a better place now. A place with an unlimited buffet of “Marrow Bones” and cute poodles that you can chase around. You know I’m going to miss you, but I’ll always have the memories that we made together. Farewell my friend… warm up a cloud for me.
PowerShell Quickie: Disable an Exchange Mailbox
Though this may very well be the shortest PowerShell Quickie that I could ever post, it might also be one of the most useful. Exchange administrators often have the need to disable a user’s mailbox for one reason or another, but having to use the GUI tools isn’t always the best use of time. Need to disable a user’s mailbox quickly from the command line? One very short line will do it:
Disable-Mailbox <mailboxID>Stuck in the Blizzard of ’08
Well, it was bound to happen. For the past couple of years, I have been one of the lucky ones that has been able to avoid airport weather delays, but not this time. The Blizzard of 2008 has me stuck in Columbus, Ohio for a minimum of two more days, and that is if there is an airline that can get me out by then.
Needless to say, the airport is closed, as is everything else within miles. So far, in Columbus alone, there have been almost 800 flight cancellations, so with thousands of stranded passengers, all I can do is wait. The snow is supposed to stop late this evening, so maybe things can start getting back to normal. Thanks Mother Nature…. I owe you one.
PowerShell Quickie: Disable ActiveSync for All Mailboxes
By default, the ActiveSync protocol is enabled for all users in an Exchange organization, whether or not they even have a mobile device. As a security precaution, you may want to disable the protocol for all mailboxes, and enable it only for select users. The following PowerShell Quickie will disable ActiveSync for all existing mailboxes:
get-Mailbox | set-CASMailbox -ActiveSyncEnabled:$FalseDon’t forget to go back and enable ActiveSync for any user that needs it!
New Feature: PowerShell Quickies
With the introduction of Windows Server 2008, more and more administrators are being introduced to the Windows PowerShell; Microsoft’s new command line shell and task-based scripting technology. Since the command line is sometimes a foreign concept to many Windows administrators, I would like to introduce a new series of “PowerShell Quickies.”
Every few days, I’m going to attempt to demonstrate a script or one-liner for a commonly performed task. I have quite a few already lined up for Windows Server, Active Directory, and Exchange and will post new ones as often as possible. Anybody have any special requests?
iPhones in the Enterprise? Coming Soon…
In a town-hall style meeting today, Apple announced their intentions of releasing version 2.0 of the firmware for the iPhone in June. This new firmware release would feature support for Microsoft Exchange’s ActiveSync protocol and several industry-standard corporate security standards. ActiveSync support will include not only ‘Push’ email for immediate delivery, but will also feature contact and calendar synchronization for Exchange users. iPhone 2.0 also offers certificates and identities, WPA2/802.1x support, enforced security policies, more VPN protocols, device configuration, and ‘remote wipe’ functionality to delete data on lost or stolen iPhones.
Since its release in June of 2007, the iPhone has been widely criticized for its lack of support of enterprise features. This announcement, though it comes as no surprise to many people, should now allow the iPhone to effectively compete against Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices in corporate settings. Like many others, I can’t wait to get my hands on iPhone 2.0!
Upcoming SharePoint Webinar
The most common questions that I receive about SharePoint are concerning the differences between Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Although they are companion products from Microsoft, the differences in their functionality appeal to different audiences.
On Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. EST., I will attempt to clarify the topic by presenting a free web seminar for ASPE Technology. There is no charge for this webinar and you can enroll by visiting ASPE’s web site.
Upcoming Schedule
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