Exchange Calendar Tool *READ If you are going to use it* 1

[TecGuy]

Greetings Everyone,

I justed wanted to share my experience with the Daylight Saving Time updated provided by Microsoft.

We are running
Windows 2003 server running Exchange 2003.
Active Directory 2003
All workstations are Windows XP


Let me give you a tip here. We had 1,500 PC's that needed to be updated with the DST patch as well as all of our servers. MAKE SURE- if your using Microsofts method to deal with DST that you run the Exchange Calendar tool Right after patching your Servers and Workstations.

WHY?

Once the patch is applied to the servers and workstations if a new meeting request is scheduled it is accurate and doesn't need to be fixed using the exchange calendar tool.


The prolem is, If take to long to run the Exchange calendar tool after you patch the OS and Servers. Any meeting that was scheduled after the OS patch(which is now correctly setting the meeting times because of the OS patches) Will be off once the Exchange calendar tool runs. The exchange caledar tools treats everything in the new DST period as being off.


EX: system 1 patched on Monday - Exchange tool ran on thursday. Any meeting requests that were schedule in between the time the OS was patched and the Exchange Server tool was run. Will be moved by the exchange tool and cause those meetings to be off. While all other meetings are adjusted properly.


So if your going to go this method. Be sure to updated the workstations and run the Exchange tool ASAP. To avoid any conflicts.

 

[ShackDaddy]

If you DIDN'T run the rebasing tool right after Microsoft pushed the DST patch out (and maybe your WSUS autoaccepted it), there are still some options for dealing with the last couple of weeks of new appointments that have been added between the patch being applied and your own rebasing efforts beginning. If you upgrade your Outlook Calendar Update Tool to version 2.0 by installing the hotfix (KB933146), there is a switch that you can use to only update appointments that were created before the general DST patch was installed. Read more about KB933146 for more information.

If, rather than using the Exchange Calendar Update Tool, you have provided your users with the Outlook Update Tool and they aren’t paying attention, they’ll mess themselves up too, unless they have the v.2 update and are running the tool with the /ONLYCREATEDPREPATCH switch. You may be able to put the tool on a network share and have them access it via a batch file that includes the switch.

FWIW, I've written a walkthrough for how I use the Exchange Calendar Update Tool on SBS networks that are larger than 30 users. Part of my process accounts for the fact that I'm late to the party as far as running the rebasing tool and that I've got to try not to screw up the appointments that were added more recently than February 17th, when most of my client networks installed the DST patch.

http://www.shackelfordconsulting.com/2007/03/using-exchange-calendar-update-tool-for.html

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting