How Outlook Client Connects To An Exchange 2013 Mailbox
Let us take a look as to how an Outlook client connects to an Exchange 2013 mailbox.
Outlook queries Active Directory for SCP record, which is the AutoDiscoverServiceInternalURI set by the Exchange administrator. Active Directory hands back the autodiscover url and the Outlook client connects to the autodiscover service and gets the information for all the Exchange urls.
Assuming that the CAS servers are load balanced using NLB or HLB, Outlook connects to one of the CAS servers. The following happens after that. (The below diagram is from one of the TechED NA Exchange session).
CAS servers authenticates the incoming connection.
Once the user is authenticated, CAS looks up where the user mailbox is.
CAS server finds which mailbox database hosts the mailbox for the user and in turn finds which server hosts the active copy of that mailbox database by querying the Active Manager.
CAS proxies the connection back to the mailbox server which is hosting the active copy of that mailbox database.
For any mailbox connectivity, the user is always served by the server that hosts the active database copy. CAS only authenticates and proxies the connection.
Next time a connection is initiated by the same user, any one of the CAS server will pickup the connection and proxies it back to the relevant mailbox server. As all CAS servers will have the same certificate, the user will not be prompted again for credentials.
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all my clients suddenly stopped connecting to the mail server. even from mobile devices. we did not make any changes when this happened. we have over 10,000 clients. no error messages more than cannot connect to server
I have been uneventful in manually adding the server name for manual setup of the mail profile for Outlook 2013 since we recently upgraded to Exchange 2013. I can use autodiscover just fine, and I can add mailboxes automatically or by using the new button for adding an account to an existing email setup; but previously I was able to do this manually by selecting the server, and the email. I have tried with the mailbox guid @primarydomain.org (our primary domain) and it will not work as in previous versions 2010, 2007, etc.. What am I missing?
We see this message: “Outlook cannot log on. Verify you are connected to the network and are using the proper server and mailbox name. The connection to Microsoft Exchange is unavailable. outlook must be online or connected to complete this action”
I need your help, in Configuring Outlook 2010 with Exchange Server 2013.
Is there any post installation tasks that needs to be completed at Server side or any certificates needs to be installed at server side. since i am getting the below error when trying to configure the mailbox in Outlook 2010.
‘The connection to the Microsoft Exchange is unavailable. Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action’
But I am able to connect to mailbox via OWA and able to send / receive mails.
You need Outlook 2010 SP1 with November 2012 Cumulative Update as a minimum to connect to 2013.
Yes, you need certs as well, but that shouldn’t stop you from connecting (you will get certificate prompts though).
Very interesting thanks!
When you create an Outlook profile with a different user than the current logged Windows user, Outlook can not use autodiscover. For example, you open your Windows session with Rajith, but you need to test Harry Profile.Do you know how you can do? Becase of new Outlook reference, it seems to be complicated (configure manually Outlook anywhere, precise GUID for server, etc.)
Windows Copilot is Microsoft’s take on making life easier for Windows users using the power of AI. This article explains how to disable the feature using Intune, if your organization is not ready yet to walk into the AI world.
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Disable Windows Copilot Using Intune
We need to create a Configuration Profile for Windows devices in the Intune portal to disable Windows Copilot. Below are the steps that we need to create the profile.
Launch the Intune Portal and login as a Global Admin or Intune Admin.
Navigate to Devices -> Windows -> Configuration Profiles.
Click on Create -> New Policy.
Select Windows 10 & later as the platform and Settings Catalog as the profile type & click on the Create button.
Give the policy a meaningful name & description and click Next.
Within the configuration settings, click on the Add Settings option.
Search for ‘copilot’, Windows AI will come up as the category. Click on Windows AI and the Turn off Copilot in Windows (User) setting will come up. Check the box and click Next.
Specify scope tags if required and click Next.
Select who this policy should apply to in the Assignments section. I have selected to add all users. If you want to test the setting, you can create a test group and select that group here.
Similarly, you can also exclude certain group from disabling AI (say IT team) if required.
A summary of selected settings will be displayed. Click on the Create button to setup the policy to disable Windows Copilot.
Wait for the replication to complete in the cloud backend and login to your machine. Your chatty Copilot should now be disabled.
Disable Windows Copilot On Windows 11 Pro
Follow the steps below to disable Copilot on a personal Windows 11 Pro machine (say your own laptop).
Search for ‘group’ in Windows 11 and click on Edit Group Policy option.
Navigate to User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Copilot.
Double click on Turn off Windows Copilot setting on the right pane.
Select Enabled and click OK.
Close the Group Policy Editor. This will disable Windows Copilot on a Windows 11 Pro machine.
Summary
We have learned to disable Windows Copilot using Intune and Group Policy on Windows 11 machines.
Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section.
Domain controllers are the backbone of any Active Directory domains in the Microsoft world. Any Windows server can be promoted to be a domain controller. In this article, we will go through the steps of promoting a Windows 2025 Server to be a domain controller.
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Windows Server 2025
The latest version of the server operating system has been named Windows Server 2025. You can start with a 2025 Server & create an AD domain or you can promote a member server that is already a part of a domain.
If you have been working with Windows servers long enough, everything starts with the Server Manager app. Promoting a server to a domain controller is no different.
Launch ‘Server Manager’ & click on Add roles and features.
You land on the summary page that explains what is required to run this wizard successfully. Click Next.
Select Role-based or Feature-based installation and click Next.
Select the server that needs to be promoted and click Next.
Select Active Directory Domain Services (second option) and click on Add Features.
Go with the default options for features that need to be installed.
A summary of AD DS pops up next, click next to continue.
Select Restart the server automatically if required and click Install.
You get to keep an eye on the progress of the installation.
Once the role has been installed, you will find an exclamation mark on the top right corner of the Server Manager. Click on that and select Promote this server to be a domain controller.
You get an error straight away (which you have never seen before) – Error determining whether the target server is already a domain controller. Role change is in progress or this computer needs a restart.
We never needed to restart the server after installing the role in the DC promotion process. Given that it is an insider build of Server 2025, I am hoping that this will get fixed before the public release.
Restart the server, launch Server Manager and click on the Promote this server to be a domain controller option again.
I am setting up a brand new AD forest and hence I select the third option (Add a new forest) and enter my root domain name.
Next window brings the option to set your forest & domain functional level and the DSRM password. In the insider build, it shows what looks like a variable (the Windows server version on which the you are working).
You can leave the default options in the DNS options wizard and click next.
Enter the netbios name of the domain in the next window and click next.
You can stick with the default paths for the AD database, log & sysvol folder or pick a location of your choice.
Review the selections that you have made so far and click next.
Wait for the green check mark on the prerequisites page and click next.
Click Install in the final window & wait for the magic to happen. Once the machine gets restarted (which it will do automatically), you will have a brand new domain controller based on Windows Server 2025.
Summary
Promoting a Server 2025 to a domain controller follows pretty much the same steps as previous operating systems. The Insider build has few errors that needs to be fixed, but hey, it is an insider build!
Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section.
Microsoft has released an insider preview of it’s next server operating system named Windows Server 2025. We will have a look at the installation steps involved in setting up a 2025 server.
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Windows Server 2025
Microsoft has gone with the same look and feel of Windows 11 operating system in it’s current server operating system – Windows Server 2025. As the product is in insider preview, there might be slight changes before it hits the public shelves.
It is refreshing to see a ‘modern’ feel in the installation process of a server operating system. Gone are the days where the installation of a consumer based OS felt much better compared to it’s server counterpart.
Installing Windows Server 2025
Let’s take a look at the steps involved in setting up a Windows Server 2025 machine. First step is to download the ISO from the Windows Insider portal.
Next step is to boot the virtual / physical machine from the ISO which will kick off the installation of Server 2025.
First option to select is the language settings. Pick the one based which relates to you and click next.
Select the keyboard settings in the next screen and click next.
You get the option to select whether you want to Install Windows Server or Repair the installation. The bottom left corner also has the option to go to the previous version of setup.
You are asked to enter the product key, which is available in the Windows Insider portal.
Next option to choose is the type of image you want to install – Windows 2025 core or full blown desktop experience.
You need to agree to the licensing terms to move forward in the next step.
Select the partition on which the server OS should be installed and click next. You also have the option to slice the partitions the way you see fit in the same screen.
The Ready to Install window comes up, click the install button.
Installation of Server 2025 is underway and you get to see the progress.
Once the installation is complete, you need to enter an administrator password of your choice to finalize the setup.
And there you go! You see a Windows 11 login screen staring at you ;-)
After logging in, you get to set the options around sending diagnostic data to Microsoft, which I always set as ‘required only’.
The Windows Server 2025 desktop looks similar, doesn’t it? ;-)
The Windows Server 2025 has the same look and feel as a Windows 11 operating system. The installation options also provide that modern ‘feel’ and makes it a bit soothing to the eyes!
Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section.
Rajith Enchiparambil
Hello! I am Rajith & work as a Cloud Architect in London. I love writing "how to" articles about Microsoft 365, Azure, PowerShell & AWS. Follow me on LinkedIn for article updates.
all my clients suddenly stopped connecting to the mail server. even from mobile devices. we did not make any changes when this happened. we have over 10,000 clients. no error messages more than cannot connect to server
am desperate
Hi Lanre,
Which version of Exchange & Outlook do you have?
I have been uneventful in manually adding the server name for manual setup of the mail profile for Outlook 2013 since we recently upgraded to Exchange 2013. I can use autodiscover just fine, and I can add mailboxes automatically or by using the new button for adding an account to an existing email setup; but previously I was able to do this manually by selecting the server, and the email. I have tried with the mailbox guid @primarydomain.org (our primary domain) and it will not work as in previous versions 2010, 2007, etc.. What am I missing?
We see this message: “Outlook cannot log on. Verify you are connected to the network and are using the proper server and mailbox name. The connection to Microsoft Exchange is unavailable. outlook must be online or connected to complete this action”
Hi Jose,
I need your help, in Configuring Outlook 2010 with Exchange Server 2013.
Is there any post installation tasks that needs to be completed at Server side or any certificates needs to be installed at server side. since i am getting the below error when trying to configure the mailbox in Outlook 2010.
‘The connection to the Microsoft Exchange is unavailable. Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action’
But I am able to connect to mailbox via OWA and able to send / receive mails.
Please help!
Hi Mahesh,
You need Outlook 2010 SP1 with November 2012 Cumulative Update as a minimum to connect to 2013.
Yes, you need certs as well, but that shouldn’t stop you from connecting (you will get certificate prompts though).
Very interesting thanks!
When you create an Outlook profile with a different user than the current logged Windows user, Outlook can not use autodiscover. For example, you open your Windows session with Rajith, but you need to test Harry Profile.Do you know how you can do? Becase of new Outlook reference, it seems to be complicated (configure manually Outlook anywhere, precise GUID for server, etc.)