Exchange 2013

Exchange Server 2013

DAG Add Database Copy Error: RPC unavailable 0x800706BA

Issue: when adding a new database copy to an Exchange 2013 DAG you receive the following error: error WMI exception occurred on server 'EXCH02.enterpriseit.co': The RPC server is unavailable. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x800706BA) Cause: As stated this error is caused by RPC communication issues between the Exchange DAG members.  Likely ports in the 6001-6032 range are being blocked. Resolution: You will need to proceed to troubleshooting RPC unavailable 0x800706BA on Windows Server.  The Read more [...]

Exchange 2013 Datacenter Activation Coordination (DAC) Mode

Datacenter Activation Coordination (DAC) Mode is a property of an Exchange DAG that is used to prevent 'split-brain' syndrome where multiple members activate their databases without knowing whether or not the other members have their databases mounted. What happens when DAC mode is enabled and set to 'dag only': After a failure of Exchange, Exchange will use the DACP protocol to determine the current state of a DAG and whether the databases should be mounted on a server.  DAC mode requires Read more [...]

How to install Exchange 2013 CU21 step-by-step

Issue: You need to deploy Exchange 2013 CU21. Solution: The following step by step instructions will guide you through the Exchange 2013 installation process.  This will be a new installation of Exchange 2013 using the CU21 media. 0) If you haven't already done so, you first need to install the Exchange 2013 pre-requisites and prepare the AD Schema for Exchange 2013 CU21. 1) Download Exchange CU21, here is a convenience link to download the latest version of Exchange 2013. 2) Execute the downloaded Read more [...]

CU5 upgrade can’t continue because powershell has open files

Issue: While installing Exchange 2013 CU5 you receive the following error message: "Setup can't continue with the upgrade because the powershell has open files.  Close the process, and then restart Setup." Solution: I didn't have powershell running, and could not easily locate the process and didn't want to start killing processes so I rebooted the server and then re-tried setup and the powershell error did not show up again.  If you determine what process causes this, please post it in Read more [...]

Upgrade existing Exchange 2013 installation to CU21 step-by-step

Issue:  You need to confidently upgrade an existing Exchange 2013 environment to the latest version of Exchange 2013, CU21. According to Microsoft you can upgrade from any version of Exchange 2013 to Exchange 2013 CU21. Upgrade to CU21 Step by Step: 1) Follow this link to download the latest version of Exchange 2013. Note: if you are running a DAG, review this article: How to install Exchange CU updates on a DAG. 2) Execute the downloaded file on the first Exchange server you will be upgrading Read more [...]