Released: June 2017 Quarterly Exchange Updates

The latest set of Cumulative Updates for Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2013 are now available on the download center. These releases include fixes to customer reported issues, all previously reported security/quality issues and updated functionality.

Updated functionality in Cumulative Update 6

With Cumulative Update 6 we are adding two highly anticipated features; Sent Items Behavior Control and Original Folder Item Recovery. These features are targeted to Exchange Server 2016 only and will not be included in Exchange Server 2013. Exchange Server 2013 already has its own implementation of Sent Items Behavior Control which is different than the version we are releasing today. The Cumulative Update 6 behavior is more closely aligned with how this worked in Exchange Server 2010. Due to architectural differences, the configuration of this feature is not retained if mailboxes are moved between Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2016 or between Exchange Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2016.

Latest time zone updates

All of the packages released today include support for time zone updates published by Microsoft through May 2017.

TLS 1.2 Exchange Support Update

We previously announced that Cumulative Update 6 would include support for TLS 1.2. The updates released today do have improved support for TLS 1.2 but we are not encouraging customers to move to a TLS 1.2 only environment at this time. We are working with the Windows and .Net teams to make configuring TLS 1.2 a more streamlined experience. Customers should continue to watch this space and be prepared to deprecate TLS 1.0 and 1.1 in the near future.

.Net Framework 4.7 compatibility with these releases

The Exchange team is still completing validation of the June releases with .Net Framework 4.7. We have not found any compatibility issues at this time, but are asking customers to delay using .Net Framework 4.7 until we have completed our validation. Once this validation is complete we will provide further guidance on .Net Framework 4.7 and Exchange Server.

Release Details

KB articles that describe the fixes in each release are available as follows:

• Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 6 (KB4012108), Download, UM Lang Packs
• Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 17 (KB4012114), Download, UM Lang Packs

Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 6 does include new updates to Active Directory Schema. If upgrading from an older Exchange version or installing a new server, Active Directory updates may still be required. These updates will apply automatically during setup if the logged on user has the required permissions. If the Exchange Administrator lacks permissions to update Active Directory Schema, a Schema Admin must execute SETUP /PrepareSchema prior to the first Exchange Server installation or upgrade. The Exchange Administrator should execute SETUP /PrepareAD to ensure RBAC roles are current. Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 17 does not include updates to Active Directory, but may add additional RBAC definitions to your existing configuration. PrepareAD should be executed prior to upgrading any servers to Cumulative Update 17. PrepareAD will run automatically during the first server upgrade if Exchange Setup detects this is required and the logged on user has sufficient permission.

Additional Information

Microsoft recommends all customers test the deployment of any update in their lab environment to determine the proper installation process for your production environment. For information on extending the schema and configuring Active Directory, please review the appropriate TechNet documentation. Also, to prevent installation issues you should ensure that the Windows PowerShell Script Execution Policy is set to “Unrestricted” on the server being upgraded or installed. To verify the policy settings, run the Get-ExecutionPolicy cmdlet from PowerShell on the machine being upgraded. If the policies are NOT set to Unrestricted you should use the resolution steps in KB981474 to adjust the settings. Reminder: Customers in hybrid deployments where Exchange is deployed on-premises and in the cloud, or who are using Exchange Online Archiving (EOA) with their on-premises Exchange deployment are required to deploy the most current (e.g., 2013 CU17, 2016 CU6) or the prior (e.g., 2013 CU16, 2016 CU5) Cumulative Update release. For the latest information on Exchange Server and product announcements please see What's New in Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2016 Release Notes. You can also find updated information on Exchange Server 2013 in What’s New in Exchange Server 2013, Release Notes and product documentation available on TechNet.

Note: Documentation may not be fully available at the time this post is published.

Post release update concerning Cumulative Update 5

Several customers have reported problems with 3^rd party solutions which provide brick level backup or single mailbox recovery as a reported feature after installing Cumulative Update 5. Cumulative Update 5 included an update to our database schema which caused some of these products to not function as they had previously. That change carries forward into Cumulative Update 6 as well. The practice of updating the database schema has long been in place with Exchange Server. Microsoft has urged developers to not consider the schema to be immutable nor to program against it. The schema is not publicly defined and is a structure internal to the operation of Exchange Server. Access to store level objects is provided through publicly documented interfaces and structures only. The Exchange Team