Exporting and Importing Edge Transport Server Settings
Exporting the Edge Transport configuration from one server for use on another has two apparent benefits:
This section focuses
on exporting the Edge Transport configuration for use in these
scenarios.
Note
Exporting
and importing the Edge Transport server configuration does not include
the Edge subscription file used by a Hub Transport server for EdgeSync
replication. When importing the Edge configuration data to a new or
restored server, ensure the Edge Transport server has a subscription on
the Hub Transport server and that EdgeSync is properly replicating.
Exporting the
Edge Transport server configuration requires the use of a script
included with Exchange Server 2010 when the Edge Transport server role
is selected during installation. The
script exports the configuration to an XML file, which can later be
used to restore the configuration to the same system or another. The
name of this script is ExportEdgeConfig.ps1 and is located in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Scripts\ folder on the Edge Transport server. The ExportEdgeConfig.ps1 script is executed through the Exchange Management Shell using the ExportEdgeConfig command.
Importing the Edge configuration data works in a similar manner, using the ImportEdgeConfig command. The name of this script is ImportEdgeConfig.ps1 and is located in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Scripts\ folder on the Edge Transport server. The ImportEdgeConfig.ps1 script is executed through the Exchange Management Shell using the ImportEdgeConfig command.
Exporting Edge Transport Server Configuration
Exporting the Edge
Transport server configuration is a four-step process. The steps to
export and import Edge Transport server configuration settings are shown
next:
1. | Copy the ExportEdgeConfig.ps file from the C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Scripts\ folder to the root of your user profile on the Edge Transport server (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\ExportEdgeConfig.ps).
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2. | Open the Exchange Management Shell and run the following command:
./ExportEdgeConfig –cloneConfigData:"C:\temp\CloneConfigData.xml"
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3. | If the export is successful, a confirmation message appears, showing the location of the exported file.
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4. | Copy the file to a location where it can be imported by an Edge Transport server.
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Note
The CloneConfigData.xml
is intended for use on a server with a clean installation of Exchange
Server 2010 under the Edge Transport role—with the same name as the
server from which the file was exported.
The following items are exported to file:
Log paths for receive and send protocols, pickup directory, and routing table
Message tracking log path
Status and priority of each transport agent
Send and Receive Connector information
Accepted and remote domain configurations
IP Allow and IP Block List information (Provider Lists are not included)
Content filtering configuration
Recipient filtering configuration
Address rewrite entries
Attachment filtering entries
Importing Edge Transport Server Configuration
After you’ve
exported the Edge Transport server configuration information, you can
store the information should you ever need to rebuild the Edge server
again, or you might need to configure a secondary Edge server with the
exact same configuration settings. The import process brings in the
saved configuration settings to a freely installed Edge Server
configuration.
To import the Edge Transport server configuration to a system, do the following:
1. | Copy the ExportEdgeConfig.ps file from the C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Scripts\ folder to the root of your user profile on the Edge Transport server to which you are importing the CloneConfigData.xml file (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\ExportEdgeConfig.ps).
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2. | Copy the CloneConfigData.xml file you created during the export process to a location on the server (for example, C:\temp\CloneConfigData.xml).
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3. | Launch the Exchange Management Shell.
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4. | Run the ImportEdgeConfig command to validate the configuration file and create an answer file (CloneConfigAnswer.xml).
./importedgeconfig -CloneConfigData:"C:\temp\CloneConfigData.xml" -IsImport $false -CloneConfigAnswer:"C:\temp\CloneConfigAnswer.xml"
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5. | A confirmation message is displayed if the answer file was properly exported.
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6. | Open the CloneConfigAnswer.xml
file that was created in the previous step. If the file is blank, the
configuration is correct and no modification is necessary. If any
configuration items cause a discrepancy, they will be included in the
answer file and must be modified for the correct configuration (for
example, server name, invalid SMTP Connector IP address, log file path,
and so on). Save your changes.
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7. | After you have reviewed and made any necessary modifications to the answer file, you must import both the CloneConfigData.xml file and the modified CloneConfigAnswer.xml file. The following syntax is for the ImportEdgeConfig command to accomplish this: Note
If the answer file is blank, the configuration is correct and can be used and there is no need to import the answer file.
./importedgeconfig -CloneConfigData:"C:\temp\CloneConfigData.xml" -IsImport $true -CloneConfigAnswer:"C:\temp\CloneConfigAnswer.xml"
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8. | After the XML file(s) have been imported, a message stating “Importing Edge Configuration Information Succeeded” appears.
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9. | Configure and run EdgeSync and ensure replication is occurring successfully.
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Export the
Edge Transport server configuration file and test importing it on a
regular basis, especially when multiple changes have been made to the
Edge Transport server and to ensure the configuration will work in the
event of a disaster or outage. Network Load Balancing and other
mechanisms can also help offset the impact of a disaster or system
outage.
Viewing Antispam Reports Using Included PowerShell Scripts
The Edge Transport
server includes several antispam reports that contain information about
the top blocked items, such as IP addresses, domains, and senders, how
frequently those items are blocked, how many times those items have been
blocked, and who in the organization receives the most spam. The
information contained in these reports can assist administrators in
fine-tuning the spam-filtering agents to achieve a higher level of spam
detection while simultaneously reducing the number of false positives.
Antispam reports can only
be generated using an Exchange Management Shell command. Each shell
command will parse the logs files to create a report. The logs for each
Antispam agent are stored in C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\TransportRoles\Logs\.
To run any of the following scripts to generate the respective Antispam report, perform the following steps:
1. | Launch the Exchange Management Shell on the Edge Transport server.
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2. | Change to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\v14\Scripts\ folder using the command cd $exscripts.
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3. | Enter a ./ and the name of the script for the Antispam report you want to review:
./Get-AntispamTopBlockedSenderDomains
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A handful of
PowerShell scripts are included with Exchange Server 2010 to generate
Antispam reports from the log files. Some of the default scripts are as
follows:
Get-AntispamFilteringReport— Generates a report displaying a summary of messages that have been rejected by connection, command, or filtering agent.
Get-AntispamSCLHistogram— Generates a report summarizing the amount of email identified with each SCL threshold (1 to 9 total).
Get-AntispamTopBlockedSenderDomains— Generates a report summarizing how many times and how frequently a domain has been blocked.
Get-AntispamTopBlockedSenderIPs— Generates a report summarizing how many times and how frequently an IP address of a sending mail server has been blocked.
Get-AntispamTopBlockedSenders— Generates a report summarizing how many times and how frequently a sender’s email address has been blocked.
Get-AntispamTopRecipients— Generates a report summarizing spam volume for recipients and the amount of spam messages received.
