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HOW TO: Install Exchange Server 2013 on Windows Server 2012 R2 or VPS

By SolVPS | Published: October 1, 2015

This guide will install a full Exchange Server 2013 environment, with both mailbox and client access server roles.

While there are many possible deployment scenarios for Exchange Server, and many different options to configure it for your desired usage, we will provide an example of a barebones deployment in a generic, new Domain.

Supported Operating Systems and Hardware Requirements

This guide was written for, and tested on Windows Server 2012 R2. While Exchange 2013 is compatible with Server 2008 R2 and other versions of Windows Server, we suggest using a clean installation of the latest Server 2012 R2 release whenever possible. Suggested minimum hardware:

  • 20GB of free disk space
  • 4GB of system memory (RAM)

For production environments, Microsoft suggests a minimum of 30GB of storage and 8GB of memory for combined Mailbox + Client Access servers.

How to Install Active Directory and Exchange Pre-requisites

There are a number of pre-requisites that need to be installed before starting the Exchange Server 2013 installation. To get started, following the steps below:

1. Install .NET 4.5 (Microsoft Download Page)

2. Install Unified Communications Managed API 4.0 (Microsoft Download Page)

3. Add RSAT (Remote Tools Administration Pack). To install, open PowerShell and run the command below:

Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS

4. Restart the system.

5. Go to Server Manager > Add Roles/Features. Install the Active Directory Domain Services role.

  • Once installed, go to Server Manager > AD DS, Notice the ‘Configuration required…’ warning and click More… in the yellow bar.
  • Click on Promote this server to a domain controller. Select Add a new forest and enter your domain name (probably the one where you want to receive mail at, for example if you are setting up mydomain.com to host inboxes like admin@mydomain.com, then enter mydomain.com).
  • Proceed through the rest of the wizard with the default settings, entering a password. At the end of the setup wizard, click Install. The server will reboot automatically.

6. Open Command Prompt (Run > cmd) and navigate to the drive or directory containing the Exchange 2013 install media (use the “cd” command to move between directories). Run the command below:

Setup.exe /PrepareSchema /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

Ensure that the process completes successfully. Restart the system. Open Command Prompt again, and run the following command in the Exchange installation media directory, replacing <organization name> with your own:

Setup.exe /PrepareAD /OrganizationName:"<organization name>" /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

Ensure that the process completes successfully. Finally, run the following command in Command Prompt:

Setup.exe /PrepareAllDomains /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

7. Open PowerShell and copy the following command (all one line) to install additional required roles and features:

Install-WindowsFeature AS-HTTP-Activation, Desktop-Experience, NET-Framework-45-Features, RPC-over-HTTP-proxy, RSAT-Clustering, RSAT-Clustering-CmdInterface, RSAT-Clustering-Mgmt, RSAT-Clustering-PowerShell, Web-Mgmt-Console, WAS-Process-Model, Web-Asp-Net45, Web-Basic-Auth, Web-Client-Auth, Web-Digest-Auth, Web-Dir-Browsing, Web-Dyn-Compression, Web-Http-Errors, Web-Http-Logging, Web-Http-Redirect, Web-Http-Tracing, Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console, Web-Metabase, Web-Mgmt-Console, Web-Mgmt-Service, Web-Net-Ext45, Web-Request-Monitor, Web-Server, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Static-Content, Web-Windows-Auth, Web-WMI, Windows-Identity-Foundation

8. Restart the system.

How to Install Exchange Server 2013

We are now ready to launch the Exchange 2013 installer.

1. Navigate to the Exchange installation folder and double-click setup.EXE. The installer will run a pre-requisite check and hopefully confirm that the system is ready for the installation. In our demo installation, there was a non-critical warning about domain controller privileges. Carefully review any warnings or errors that may appear before proceeding.

2. Proceed with the installation. The install wizard will prompt you to select the Exchange roles to install (we installed both Mailbox and Client Access Server). After this, the wizard will begin installing the Exchange Server 2013 environment.

If all went well, Exchange Server 2013 is now installed on your server. Congratulations!

Configuring Exchange

Exchange can be configured and managed from the Exchange Administration Center (EAC). This utility is installed along with Exchange Server and can be found in the Start menu.

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This guide is based on Microsoft’s documentation for Exchange 2013 install preparation and deployment:

  • https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb691354(v=exchg.150).aspx
  • https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125224(v=exchg.150).aspx
Posted in Guides & How To's, Tech Support, VPS Hosting, Windows Server, Windows VPS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Updates to Windows and Linux VPS Pricing/Packages

By SolVPS | Published: September 30, 2015

This week we have rolled out some small adjustments to our lineup of pre-built Windows VPS and Linux VPS instances.

The new pricing is nearly equivalent per-unit of RAM (memory), SSD Storage (disk), and CPU cores (processor), but we have adjusted our pre-built packages with the goal of offering more convenient packages.

Windows VPS packages are now:

  • Micro VPS: 256MB RAM / 15GB SSD Storage / 1 CPU Core
  • Lite VPS: 512MB RAM / 20GB SSD Storage / 1 CPU Core
  • Basic VPS: 1GB RAM / 25GB SSD Storage / 2 CPU Cores
  • Advanced VPS: 2GB RAM / 40GB SSD Storage / 2 CPU Cores

Pricing has been reduced for all of these packages! For more details, see Windows VPS Hosting.

We also have some new, performance-oriented packages coming soon:

  • M1 VPS: 2GB RAM / 40GB SSD Storage / 2 CPU Cores
  • M2 VPS: 4GB RAM / 50GB SSD Storage / 4 CPU Cores
  • M3 VPS: 8GB RAM / 60GB SSD Storage / 4 CPU Cores

Configure a VPS with resources of your choice using the Custom VPS builder:

 

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How to Change RDP Screen Resolution on Windows VPS or Server

By SolVPS | Published: September 8, 2015

While using Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) with a remote Windows VPS or Windows server, many users are unaware that the session can be customized with many different options according to the user’s needs. One common setting is to change the remote session’s resolution.

Because the remote desktop is rendered locally on your PC or thin client, the screen resolution can be set to any resolution up to the size of your local screen (or full screen).

How to Change RDP Screen Resolution

To set the screen resolution in RDC, choose “Show Options” before connecting to the RDP session:

Screen Shot 2015-09-08 at 10.41.09 AM

The settings panel will expand, with multiple tabs to select options for the RD session. Choose the Display tab. Here, you can change the resolution (screen size) that will be rendered when you connect to the remote desktop:

Screen Shot 2015-09-08 at 10.41.51 AM

Choose a setting that is convenient for your local screen size. We suggest 1280×800 or slightly larger if possible.

NOTE: This setting also exists in Microsoft RDC for Mac OS X, CoRD, 2x Client, and other RDP clients.

Posted in Guides & How To's, Tech Support, VPS Hosting, Windows Server, Windows VPS | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Generate a CSR on Windows Server 2012 or 2008 for a SSL Certificate

By SolVPS | Published: August 26, 2015

Need to generate a certificate signing request (CSR) for a commercial SSL, like one purchased from GoDaddy, Namecheap, or another external SSL provider? Read below to generate the correct CSR on a system running Windows Server.

How to Generate a CSR on Windows Server 2012 R2

Navigate to Start > Run and run mmc.exe. In the console, go to File > Add/Remove Snap-in… 

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.02.57 PM

In the left pane, select Certificates and Add > to the right pane. Choose to always manage Computer account. Click OK.

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.03.29 PM

Expand the Certificates tree and Right click Personal > All Tasks > Advanced Options > Create Custom Request…

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.04.07 PM

Follow the first few prompts, entering any information requested. Choose (No template) Legacy key when prompted and ensure the Request format is set to PKCS #10.

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.04.43 PM

On the next pane, click Details and then Properties.

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.06.13 PM

In the General tab, Enter a nickname and description for your certificate.

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.06.56 PM

In the Subject tab, add the following properties with values filled in for the domain name you want to secure with SSL: Common Name, Organization, Organizational Unit, Locality, Country

Note: Locality must be a full name (e.g. “California”), and Country must be a 2-letter country code (e.g. “US”).

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.08.41 PM

In the Extensions tab, add Server Authentication and Code Signing to the right-side pane.

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.09.46 PM

In the Private Key tab, expand the Key options section, choose Key size: 2048 and tick Make private key exportable.

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.10.33 PM

Finally, choose a location to save your CSR. Click Finish to generate the request and save the file.

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 7.11.12 PM

You can now copy the text in C:\cert.csr to your SSL provider to begin the SSL signing process.

This guide applies to:

  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
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Mod_security: How to Whitelist an IP Address (Linux/cPanel/ModSec)

By SolVPS | Published: August 26, 2015

Mod_Security is a web firewall module for Apache web servers that provides an excellent first line of defense against web-based attacks and exploits. We will cover installation and configuration of mod_security in a future article, but if you already have mod_sec installed, read on.

Whitelist an IP Address in Mod_Security Configuration

With a good, strict ruleset for mod_security, the firewall may occasionally block you as a false positive when trying to post certain content to the server. A simple solution is to add your PC or workstation’s public IP address to the mod_security whitelist, avoiding the need to temporarily disable mod_security rule enforcement.

First, find your modsec2.whitelist.conf configuration file. On cPanel/WHM servers using ConfigServer’s ModSec Control plugin, use the plugin interface in WHM to locate and edit modsec2.whitelist.conf. On other Linux servers, the file name will contain whitelist.conf.

Add this line to to configuration file and save:

SecRule REMOTE_ADDR "^192\.168\.200\.201$" phase:1,log,allow,ctl:ruleEngine=Off,id:999945

Take care to replace the IP address numbers with your own IP address. You can enter “what is my IP” on Google if you’re unsure.

With this rule in place, no mod_sec rules will be checked for your IP address.

Posted in Guides & How To's, Linux VPS, Security, VPS Hosting | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Response

How to Disable cpHulk (cPanel Firewall) from SSH or WHM

By SolVPS | Published: August 19, 2015

WHM/cPanel comes with a built-in firewall called cpHulk, with advanced protection for blocking brute force attacks and other intrusion attempts. Unfortunately, cpHulk will sometimes lock out the owner of the server, so he can’t log in to WHM.

How to Disable cpHulk from SSH (Shell)

If you are able to log in via shell (SSH), run the following commands to disable cpHulk and allow logins to WHM:

/usr/local/cpanel/etc/init/stopcphulkd

rm -f /var/cpanel/hulkd/enabled

How to Permanently Disable cpHulk from WHM

If you would like to permanently disable cpHulk, follow the steps below to disable cpHulk from the WHM administrator panel. Permanently disabling cpHulk firewall is not recommended for server security.

  1. Log in to WHM at: https://1.1.1.1:2087 (where your cPanel server’s IP address replaces 1.1.1.1)
  2. Search for “cpHulk” in the left bar.
  3. In the cpHulk control panel, move the switch from On to Off to disable cpHulk protection.

From this panel you can also whitelist IP addresses, such as your home IP address or office IP address, to avoid being accidentally locked out in the future.

This article applies to…

  • Linux servers and Linux VPS instances running cPanel/WHM

 

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Top 3 Free Antivirus Compatible with Windows Server or VPS (Updated 2017)

By SolVPS | Published: August 18, 2015

We recommend running an anti-virus/anti-malware application on all Windows machines, with Windows servers no exception. Below are our picks of the top free anti-virus programs for Windows Server editions. We have installed and tested each one to ensure they are compatible with Windows Server.

Immunet is a free AV for Windows Server that utilizes real-time cloud analytics drawn from millions of end-users to provide cutting edge virus detection. It is based on Clamwin, the Windows port of renowned open-source antivirus ClamAV. Works with Windows Server.

In our tests, Immunet detected and removed threats more effectively than any other solution. In addition to on-demand full scans, Immunet provides an unobtrusive real-time antivirus and quarantine that does not interfere with remote desktop (RDP), or with other antivirus programs.

Despite its outdated interface (as of writing in 2017), all of these benefits result in our recommendation of Immunet as the best free anti-virus for Windows Server.

Download: http://www.immunet.com

Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ is supported by a trusted security company (Lavasoft), and includes live file checking and web protection in addition to anti-virus and -malware scanning. It works well with Windows Server editions, in addition to home versions of Windows.

The Free Antivirus+ edition is a perpetual free version of the Antivirus. Works with Windows Server.

Download: http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Malwarebytes is another trusted and long-standing program, and is specifically an anti-malware tool, which can be used alongside anti-virus applications.

The free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is easy to install on all versions of Windows, including Windows Server editions. Works with Windows Server.

Download: https://www.malwarebytes.org/downloads/

Runners Up: Windows Defender & Microsoft Security Essentials

Windows Defender is included by default with editions of Windows newer than Windows Server 2012 R2 / Windows 8. It provides real-time filesystem scanning, and is usually running in the background of your Windows server or VPS, unless specifically disabled. This software helps identify and remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Download: Included with Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10.

For versions of Windows Server older than Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft Security Essentials is a very good security package distributed by Microsoft, compatible with all pre-Windows 8 versions of Windows. It’s easy to install, runs quietly, and integrates seamlessly with your Windows installation, getting updates directly from Windows Update.

Download: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download

Non-working Software

Unfortunately, the following popular antivirus applications do not work with Windows Server operating systems:

  • AVG Antivirus
  • Avast Antivirus
  • Comodo Antivirus
Posted in Featured Guides, Guides & How To's, Security, Tech Support, VPS Hosting, Windows Server, Windows VPS | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 20 Responses

How to Install DirectX 9 / 9.0c on Windows XP or Server 2003 R2

By SolVPS | Published: August 3, 2015

It’s easy to install DirectX 9 on a legacy Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 R2 system using the official Microsoft end-user installation package.

To install, download the DirectX 9 Installer directly from Microsoft from the following page: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=317

Run the downloaded file to extract the package contents. In the folder where the contents were extracted, run DXSETUP.exe.

This guide applies to:

  • Windows XP (SP3)
  • Windows Server 2003 R2
Posted in Guides & How To's, Tech Support, VPS Hosting, Windows Server, Windows VPS | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Hide Apache and PHP Version in HTTP Headers (Linux VPS/Server)

By SolVPS | Published: July 25, 2015

In this security-related guide, we will show you how to disable Apache and PHP versions from being disclosed in HTTP headers. While not a security threat itself, by default Apache sends version info about the software running on the server in every HTTP header. An “investigative user” could use this information to determine that your server is running Apache, PHP, and OpenSSL, in addition to the specific releases of each software. To hide this info from users, you will need to modify httpd.conf and php.ini.

How to Hide Apache and PHP Versions in HTTP Headers

1. First, log in to your Linux server or VPS via shell (SSH) with root privileges. 2. Locate your httpd.conf file, the main configuration file for Apache, sometimes called apache2.conf. Add the following lines to the bottom of the file:

ServerTokens ProductOnly

ServerSignature Off

3. Locate your php.ini file, the main configuration file for PHP. Search for the directive “expose_php” and change it from On to Off. 4. Restart Apache by running one of the following commands as needed: service httpd restart

/etc/init.d/apache2 restart

That’s it! You can test the modification in 2 ways:

  • Navigate to a random, non-existent page on your website, in order to generate a 404 error. The server signature including version info should not be printed at the bottom of the error.
  • In a terminal or command prompt, run “telnet www.yoursite.com 80”. When it connects, type “HEAD / HTTP/1.0″ and press Enter once or twice. The server signature including version info should not be returned, and the connection will close after several seconds.

This guide applies to:

Posted in cPanel/WHM, Guides & How To's, Linux VPS, Security, Tech Support, VPS Hosting | Tagged , , , , | 2 Responses

Debian VPS Hosting with Debian 8 Jessie, 7 Wheezy, 6 Squeeze

By SolVPS | Published: July 23, 2015

Debian VPS hosting is available to deploy in seconds, in both New York City and London.

We support the latest Debian releases:

Our VM hosting platform is designed for performance. All storage is hosted on pure SSD storage arrays, not just ‘SSD cached’ or ‘accelerated’ storage as many hosts offer. We use the latest Xeon CPUs and server-grade memory, each allocated to VPS instances in private, reserved pools. Take advantage of the power of dedicated hosting, without the high cost.

  • 1Gbps (1000Mbit) internet connection provided to each Linux VPS instance.
  • Each instance controls 100% dedicated memory and storage resources.
  • Pure SSD (solid-state) storage allows extremely fast system I/O.
  • Each Linux VPS runs a fully independent Linux kernel.

Check out our Linux VPS hosting packages now, starting from only $5. Debian is available to select as an Operating System choice during server configuration. Or, click here to go directly to New Server Configuration with Debian pre-selected.

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