Exchange 2019 CU7 has been released to the Microsoft Volume Licensing Center! Exchange 2019 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 2019 and can be used to install a fresh server or to update a previously installed one. Exchange 2013 and 2016 have the same servicing methodology.
Details for the release are contained in KB 4571787.
After updating to this cumulative update, in some cases you might see the string " " in the body of an item that has been moved between folders or mailboxes using Outlook in Online Mode
Updates Of Particular Note
4576652 Updates for Exchange Server 2019 Sizing Calculator version 10.5
4570254 MSExchangeMapiMailboxAppPool causes prolonged 100% CPU in Exchange Server 2019
4576651 Can't join Teams meetings from Surface Hub devices after installing Exchange Server 2019 CU5
An in addition, the September 2020 security fixes discussed here are also included.
Note that there are some known issues when preparing AD which are discussed in the release KB. There are additional operations required for multiple domain environments where /PrepareAD needs to be executed manually in the other domains.
Note as of September 2020 the Exchange 2019 sizing calculator can be downloaded manually from: https://aka.ms/excalc
Previously it was only available via the Exchange 2019 CU media.
Issues Resolved
This cumulative update also fixes the issues that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:
4570248 Get-CASMailbox uses wrong LDAP filter for ECPEnabled in Exchange Server 2019
4576652 Updates for Exchange Server 2019 Sizing Calculator version 10.5
4570252 Intermittent poison messages due to NotInBagPropertyErrorException in Exchange Server 2019
4576649 System.InvalidCastException when you change passwords in Outlook on the web in Exchange Server 2019
4570251 Inbox rule applying a personal tag doesn't stamp RetentionDate in Exchange Server 2019
4570245 ESEUtil /p fails if any long value (LV) is corrupted in Exchange Server 2019
4570255 NullReferenceException occurs when running TestFederationTrust in Exchange Server 2019
4576650 Can't add remote mailbox when setting email forwarding in Exchange Server 2019 Hybrid environment
4570253 CompletedWithErrors without details for mailbox migration batches in Exchange Server 2019
4570247 CSV log of Discovery export fails to properly escape target path field in Exchange Server 2019
4570246 EdgeTransport crashes with Event ID 1000 (exception code 0xc00000fd) in Exchange Server 2019
4570254 MSExchangeMapiMailboxAppPool causes prolonged 100% CPU in Exchange Server 2019
4563416 Can't view Online user free/busy status in Exchange Server 2019
4576651 Can't join Teams meetings from Surface Hub devices after installing Exchange Server 2019 CU5
4577352 Description of the security update for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 and 2016: September 8, 2020
Some Items For Consideration
Exchange 2019 follows the same servicing paradigm for Exchange 2013 and 2016 which was previously discussed on the blog. The CU package can be used to perform a new installation, or to upgrade an existing Exchange Server 2019 installation to this CU. Cumulative Updates are well, cumulative. What else can I say…
Customers with a hybrid Exchange deployment, must keep their on-premises Exchange servers updated to the latest update or the one immediately prior ( N or N-1).
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Test the CU in a lab which is representative of your environment
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Review this post to also factor in AD preparation which is to be done ahead of installing the CU onto the first Exchange server
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Follow your organisation’s change management process, and factor the approval time into your change request
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Provide appropriate notifications as per your process. This may be to IT teams, or to end users.
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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. If you uninstall this cumulative update package, Exchange is removed from the server.
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Place the server into SCOM maintenance mode prior to installing, confirm the install then take the server out of maintenance mode
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Place the server into Exchange maintenance mode prior to installing, confirm the install then take the server out of maintenance mode
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I personally like to restart prior to installing CUs. This helps identifies if an issue was due to the CU or happened in this prior restart, and also completes any pending file rename operations. 3rd party AV products are often guilty of this
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Restart the server after installing the CU
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Ensure that all the relevant services are running
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Ensure that event logs are clean, with no errors
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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 this article on setting PowerShell to Unrestricted.
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Disable file system antivirus prior to installing. Do this through the appropriate console. Typically this will be a central admin console, not the local machine.
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Verify file system antivirus is actually disabled
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Once server has been restarted, re-enable file system antivirus.
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
