Exchange 2016 CU1 has been released to the Microsoft download centre! Exchange 2016 has a different servicing strategy than Exchange 2007/2010 and utilises Cumulative Updates (CUs) rather than the Rollup Updates (RU/UR) which were used previously. CUs are a complete installation of Exchange 2016 and can be used to install a fresh server or to update a previously installed one. Exchange 2013 has the same servicing methodology.
This is build 15.01.0396.030 of Exchange 2016 and the update is helpfully named ExchangeServer2016-CU1.iso which allows us to easily identify the update. Details for the release are contained in KB 3134844.
Exchange 2016 CU1 contains AD Schema changes.
Update 17-3-2016 – Note that Exchange 2016 CU1 does not have the updated search service which can index of passive databases. That will be scheduled for a future CU.
Updates Of Particular Note
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Exchange 2016 Cumulative Update 1 reverses the Mailbox Anchoring changes which were introduced in Exchange 2013 CU11. These changes are outlined in the following blog article: Exchange Management Shell and Mailbox Anchoring. And removal of the changes is discussed in this post.
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Updated OWA S/MIME control – a SHA2 certificate is now now used. If a user has installed the old control, they must update to this new one.
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Exchange 2016 Cumulative Update 1 adds support for 17 additional languages in Outlook on the Web.
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CU1 is distributed as an ISO file. Did you notice the red underscore in the above screenshot? ISOs can be easily mounted by double clicking them.
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There is an underlying issue with .NET Framework when Exchange is installed on Windows Server 2012 R2. Only Exchange 2013 SP1 onwards are supported on Windows Server 2012 R2. Whilst the .NET team works the issue, a workaround is to execute this on the Exchange server:
“%windir%Microsoft.NETFramework64v4.0.30319ngen.exe update”
Errors and warnings encountered running this command can be safely ignored provided the final exit status code of 0 is reported in the output.
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Replay Lag Manager is enabled by default
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Lagged database copy play down can be delayed based on disk latency, thereby ensuring active users are not impacted
Issues Resolved
- KB 3139730 Edge Transport service crashes when you view the properties of a poison message in Exchange Server 2016
- KB 3135689 A custom SAP ODI URI is removed by ActiveSync from an email message in an Exchange Server environment
- KB 3135688 Preserves the web.config file for Outlook Web App when you apply a cumulative update in Exchange Server 2016
- KB 3135601 Cyrillic characters are displayed as question marks when you run the "Export-PublicFolderStatistics.ps1" script in an Exchange Server 2016 environment
- KB 3124242 Mailbox quota is not validated during migration to Exchange Server 2013 or Exchange Server 2016
Some Items For Consideration
Exchange 2016 CU1 follows the same servicing paradigm for Exchange 2013 which was previously discussed on the blog. The CU1 package can be used to perform a new installation, or to upgrade an existing Exchange Server 2016 installation to CU1. Cumulative Updates are well, cumulative. What else can I say…
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After you install this cumulative update package, you cannot uninstall the cumulative update package to revert to an earlier version of Exchange 2016. If you uninstall this cumulative update package, Exchange 2016 is removed from the server.
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Ensure that you consult with all 3rd party vendors which exist as part of your messaging environment. This includes archive, backup, mobility and management services.
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Ensure that you do not forget to install this update on management servers, jump servers/workstations and application servers where the management tools were installed for an application. FIM and 3rd party user provisioning solutions are examples of the latter.
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Ensure that the Windows PowerShell Script Execution Policy is set to “Unrestricted” on the server being upgraded or installed. See KB981474.
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Disable file system antivirus prior to installing.
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Once server has been restarted, re-enable file system antivirus.
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Note that customised configuration files are overwritten on installation. Make sure you have any changes fully documented!
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CU1 contains AD Schema updates for your organisation – please test and plan accordingly!
Please enjoy the update responsibly!
What do I mean by that? Well, you need to ensure that you are fully informed about the caveats with the CU and are aware of all of the changes that it will make within your environment. Additionally you will need to test the CU your lab which is representative of your production environment.
Cheers,
Rhoderick
