Keeping your Windows servers running in the On-Premises environment up to date and especially those running open to the Internet Exchange Server It is more important than ever to update your servers on time.
Although it is difficult to switch to Exchange Server with a CU or SU package, it is essential that we do this for the security and stability of the system. Microsoft is constantly bringing innovations to Exchange Server to make these processes easier and less time-consuming. After HAFNIUM, you need to take some time to update your Exchange servers. : )
Microsoft Exchange Server SU made a simple change to the way it delivers updates.
SU packages released before this had to be installed via CMD opened as administrator. Yes, a Windows Installer file can be installed even if you do not run it via CMD, but unfortunately this is not the recommended installation method.
Microsoft has now started offering SU packages in two different ways.
For manual installations it automatically presents itself as a .exe that runs as run as administrator
Windows Installer will present it as .msp file for automatic installations
It continues to release the .msp file via the Windows Update Catalog.
New EXE Package
The new SU is published as .EXE and automatically inherits the necessary permissions. When you start the exe package, the exe file starts to be extracted to the temporary folder and the installation process is started automatically. Whether the installation process is successful or not, the files extracted to the temporary file are deleted afterwards.
During the installation process, LOG files are kept in the Logging - Update folder in the Exchange installation directory. The installation file is used to determine the location of the Exchange Server installation directory. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftExchangeServerv15Setup under "MsiInstallPath” queries the registry value.
If Exchange Server cannot determine the installation path, log files % Temp%Exchange UpdateLogging below msi ve exe written to subfolders.
If it cannot write log files, Application logs an exception in the event log. If you cannot find any log files related to the Exchange Server SU or HF installation, use the Event Source Exchange SU Installer Check the Application event log for events with . These events should indicate why the logs could not be written.
The most common events logged by the exe wrapper are:
| Log entry (What we log) | Explanation (What it means) |
| INFO: Copying temporary files to {0}. | The temporary .msp file is copied to a temporary folder. |
| INFO: Deleting temporary files {0}. | Unpacked .msp file deleted before/after installation. |
| INFO: Exchange Server Update is being installed. | Occurs when the installation of the .msp file is initiated. |
| COMPLETED: The Exchange Server Update installed successfully. | The Exchange Server update was installed successfully. |
| ERROR: The extracted files could not be found at {0}. | The unpacked .msp file could not be found and therefore the installation failed. |
| WARNING: The Exchange Server Update requires a reboot to complete installation. | The installation was successful and a reboot is pending to complete the process. |
| ERROR: Exchange Setup couldn't extract the contents of the patch file. More information: {0}. | An error occurred while extracting the temporary .msp file. An exception message is also logged. |
| ERROR: While installing the Exchange Server Update, error {0} occurred. | An error occurred during installation. The error code is logged. |
Command Line Usage
The new update package supports command-line parameters that can be used to install these Exchange updates in unattended mode or as part of your own automation. Here are the most common ones:
| parameters | Price | msiexec |
| / passive | Specifies unattended mode, where the installation only shows a progress bar. Note: Using this switch will automatically restart the server if a reboot is required for the update. | msiexec /p filename.msp /passive /l*vx |
| / silent | Specifies silent mode – no user interaction required. Note: If a reboot is required for the update, using this switch will automatically reboot the server. | msiexec /p filename.msp /quiet /l*vx |
| / help | Shows all available parameters. | msiexec /help |
