Leading on where the previous post left off, here are the Exchange 2010 tips of the day from number 26 to 50.
For the related articles in this series please see:
Tip of the day #26:
Forget a property name? Not a problem because you can use wildcard characters to retrieve all properties that match the part of the name that you specify:
Get-Mailbox | Format-Table Name,*SMTP*
Tip of the day #27:
Want to work with data contained in a CSV file? Use Import-CSV to assign the data to an object. For example, type:
$MyCSV = Import-CSV TestFile.CSV
You can then manipulate the data easily in the Exchange Management Shell. For example, if there is a column called Mailboxes in the CSV data, you can use the following commands to sort or group the data by the Mailboxes column:
To sort: $MyCSV | Sort Mailboxes
To group: $MyCSV | Group Mailboxes
Tip of the day #28:
This command spins through all your mailbox servers and reconnects all the uniquely identified but disconnected mailboxes in any one of the mailbox stores:
$Servers = Get-ExchangeServer
$Servers | `
Where { $_.IsMailboxServer -Eq '$True' } `
| ForEach { Get-MailboxStatistics -Server $_.Name `
| Where { $_.DisconnectDate -NotLike '' } `
| ForEach { Connect-Mailbox -Identity `
$_.DisplayName -Database $_.DatabaseName} }
Tip of the day #29:
Tab completion reduces the number of keystrokes required to complete a cmdlet. Just press the TAB key to complete the cmdlet you are typing. Tab completion kicks in whenever there is a hyphen (-) in the input. For example:
Get-Send<tab>
should complete to Get-SendConnector. You can even use wildcards, such as:
Get-U*P*<tab>
Pressing the TAB key when you enter this command cycles through all cmdlets that match the expression, such as the Unified Messaging Mailbox policy cmdlets.
Tip of the day #30:
Tab completion reduces the number of keystrokes required to complete a cmdlet. Just press the TAB key to complete the cmdlet you are typing. Tab completion kicks in whenever there is a hyphen (-) in the input. For example:
Get-Send<tab>
should complete to Get-SendConnector. You can even use wildcards, such as:
Get-U*P*<tab>
Pressing the TAB key when you enter this command cycles through all cmdlets that match the expression, such as the Unified Messaging Mailbox policy cmdlets.
Tip of the day #31:
Tab completion reduces the number of keystrokes required to complete a cmdlet. Just press the TAB key to complete the cmdlet you are typing. Tab completion kicks in whenever there is a hyphen (-) in the input. For example:
Get-Send<tab>
should complete to Get-SendConnector. You can even use wildcards, such as:
Get-U*P*<tab>
Pressing the TAB key when you enter this command cycles through all cmdlets that match the expression, such as the Unified Messaging Mailbox policy cmdlets.
Tip of the day #32:
Tab completion reduces the number of keystrokes required to complete a cmdlet. Just press the TAB key to complete the cmdlet you are typing. Tab completion kicks in whenever there is a hyphen (-) in the input. For example:
Get-Send<tab>
should complete to Get-SendConnector. You can even use wildcards, such as:
Get-U*P*<tab>
Pressing the TAB key when you enter this command cycles through all cmdlets that match the expression, such as the Unified Messaging Mailbox policy cmdlets.
Tip of the day #33:
Want to create a group of test users in your lab? Use this command:
1..100 | ForEach { Net User "User$_" MyPassword=01 /ADD /Domain; Enable-Mailbox "User$_" }
Tip of the day #34:
Like the Exchange Management Shell Tip of the Day? Try this:
Get-Tip
Tip of the day #35:
Want to change the authentication settings on an Outlook Web Access virtual directory? Try the following command as an example. It changes authentication from forms-based authentication to Windows authentication:
Set-OwaVirtualDirectory -Identity "OWA (Default Web Site)" -FormsAuthentication 0 -WindowsAuthentication 1
Tip of the day #36:
Want to set the properties on all or some Outlook Web Access virtual directories? Pipe the output of Get-OwaVirtualDirectory to the Set-OwaVirtualDirectory cmdlet. For example, the following command sets the Gzip level for all Outlook Web Access virtual directories:
Get-OwaVirtualDirectory | Set-OwaVirtualDirectory -GzipLevel High
Tip of the day #37:
Want to remove an ActiveSync device from a user's device list? Type:
Remove-ActiveSyncDevice
This cmdlet can be helpful for troubleshooting devices that don't synchronize successfully with the server.
Tip of the day #38:
Want to clear all data from a mobile device? Use:
Clear-ActiveSyncDevice
Specify a time of day to clear the device, or let the task complete the next time that the device connects to the server
.
Tip of the day #39:
Want to see a list of all devices that synchronize with a user's mailbox? Type:
Get-ActiveSyncDeviceStatistics
A variety of information is returned including device name, operating system, and last sync time.
Tip of the day #40:
Has one of your users asked you to recover their mobile device synchronization password? To return the user's password, type:
Get-ActiveSyncDeviceStatistics -ShowRecoveryPassword
Tip of the day #41:
Want to move your database path to another location? Type:
Move-DatabasePath -EdbFilePath DestFileName
To change the file path setting without moving data, use this command together with the ConfigurationOnly parameter. This command is especially useful for disaster recovery. Caution: Misuse of this cmdlet will cause data loss.
Tip of the day #42:
Need an easy way to add a new primary SMTP address to a group of mailboxes? The following command creates a new e-mail address policy that assigns the @contoso.com domain to the primary SMTP address of all mailboxes with Contoso in the company field:
New-EmailAddressPolicy -Name Contoso -RecipientFilter {Company -Eq "Contoso"} -EnabledPrimarySMTPAddressTemplate "@contoso.com"
Tip of the day #43:
Want to retrieve a group of objects that have similar identities? You can use wildcard characters with the Identity parameter to match multiple objects. Type:
Get-Mailbox *John*
Get-ReceiveConnector *toso.com
Get-JournalRule *discovery*
Tip of the day #44:
Want to configure a group of objects that have similar identities? You can use wildcard characters with the Identity parameter when you use a Get cmdlet and pipe the output to a Set cmdlet. Type:
$Mailboxes = Get-Mailbox *John*
$Mailboxes | Set-Mailbox -ProhibitSendQuota 100MB -UseDatabaseQuotaDefaults $False
This command matches all mailboxes with the name John in the mailbox's identity and sets the ProhibitSendQuota parameter to 100MB. It also sets the UseDatabaseQuotaDefaults parameter to $False so that the server uses the new quota you specified instead of the database default quota limits.
Tip of the day #45:
Forgot what the available parameters are on a cmdlet? Just use tab completion! Type:
Set-Mailbox -<tab>
When you type a hyphen (-) and then press the TAB key, you cycle through all the available parameters on the cmdlet. Want to narrow your search? Type part of the parameter's name and then press the TAB key. Type:
Set-Mailbox -Prohibit<tab>
Tip of the day #46:
Want to add an alias to multiple distribution groups that have a similar name? Type:
$Groups = Get-DistributionGroup *Exchange*
$Groups | Add-DistributionGroupMember -Member kim
This command adds the alias kim to all distribution groups that contain the word Exchange.
Tip of the day #47:
Want to record exactly what happens when you're using the Exchange Management Shell? Use the Start-Transcript cmdlet. Anything that you do after you run this cmdlet will be recorded to a text file that you specify. To stop recording your session, use the Stop-Transcript cmdlet.
Notice that the Start-Transcript cmdlet overwrites the destination text file by default. If you want to append your session to an existing file, use the Append parameter:
Start-Transcript c:\MySession.txt -Append
Tip of the day #48:
Do you have a user who has network access but maintains an external mail account outside your Exchange organization? With Exchange Server 2010, you can now create mail-enabled users that are regular Active Directory accounts, but also behave like mail-enabled contacts. By using the Enable-MailUser cmdlet, you can add e-mail contact attributes to any existing Active Directory user who doesn't already have a mailbox on an Exchange server. Users in your Exchange organization will then be able to send e-mail messages to that user's external mail account. Type:
Enable-MailUser -Identity <Active Directory Alias> -ExternalEmailAddress <Destination SMTP Address>
Tip of the day #49:
Want to change the default prohibit send quota for a mailbox database? Type:
Set-MailboxDatabase <Mailbox Database Name> -ProhibitSendQuota <New Quota Size> -UseDatabaseQuotaDefaults $False
You can specify a bytes qualifier when you use the ProhibitSendQuota parameter. For example, if you want to set the prohibit send quota to 200 megabytes, type:
Set-MailboxDatabase <Mailbox Database Name> ProhibitSendQuota 200MB -UseDatabaseQuotaDefaults $False
You can also configure the IssueWarningQuota parameter and the ProhibitSendReceiveQuota parameter in the same way.
Tip of the day #50:
Want to know what version of Exchange Server each of your servers is running? Type:
Get-ExchangeServer | Format-Table Name, *Version*
Cheers,
Rhoderick
