Update Rollup 3 for Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Features and updates that are included in this update

Feature 1

The "DNS auto-detect and configure" feature is turned on after Connector is installed on clients. This feature tries to find the server that is running Windows Server 2012 Essentials, and then it uses the server’s address as the client's DNS address. This may temporarily disconnect the Internet connection in some network environments.

Update Rollup 3 introduces some new solutions to skip DNS auto-detect and configuration on the clients. To do this, see the following.

Note These solutions require you to have a solid knowledge of Windows Server Essentials networking configurations. After you apply these solutions, the administrator must manually configure the networks to make sure that the Windows Server Essentials functionalities work correctly.

• To skip the automatic DNS detection on a client that is managed by Windows Server Essentials, run the following command on the client computer from an elevated command prompt:

  reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Server\Networking\ServerDiscovery" /v SkipAutoDNSServerDetection /t REG_SZ /d true 

  
  Note If you want this functionality to be effective immediately, restart the Windows Server LAN Configuration service or the client computer.
  
• You can also change the behavior of all clients that are managed by a Windows Server Essentials server. To do this, run the following command on the Windows Server Essentials server from an elevated command prompt:

  reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Server\Networking\ClientDns" /v SkipAutoDnsConfig /t REG_DWORD /d 1 

  
  Note After this solution is applied, all clients that are connected to the Windows Server 2012 Essentials server skip the DNS configure feature. The existing clients that were connected to the Windows Server 2012 Essentials server before this change must reinstall the Connector and then reconnect to the Windows Server 2012 Essentials server.
  
• After Update Rollup 3 is installed, all the clients that are joined to the Windows Server Essentials server automatically skip DNS detection. The existing clients that were connected to the Windows Server Essentials server before the update rollup was installed must reconnect to the Windows Server 2012 Essentials server.

Feature 2

Update Rollup 3 contains new Best Practice Analyzer (BPA) rules. The rules check the known ports that are reserved by Windows Server Essentials.

The following ports are reserved by Windows Server 2012 Essentials.If any of these ports are being used by applications other than these programs, Windows Server Essentials functionalities may not work correctly. In Update Rollup 3, a new rule is added to the BPA.  

Title

Ports that are unavailable for use by Windows Server Essentials

Issue

Windows Server Essentials uses ports 3389, 6602, 8912, 65500, and 65520 for various functionalities. One or more of these ports are currently reserved by other applications.

Impact

Windows Server Essentials uses the following ports: 3389, 6602, 8912, 65500 and 65520.

• Port 3389 is used to allow access over RDP to the server that is running Windows Server Essentials.
• Port 6602 is used for communication between the server and client computers.
• Port 8912 is used for backing up client computers.
• Port 65520 is used for connections with computers that are running Macintosh.
• Port 65500 is used for remote connections.

If one or more of these ports are already used by other processes or applications, the corresponding Windows Server Essentials functionalities do not work correctly.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, do one of the following:

• Assign the application to a different port than the ports that are being used by Windows Server Essentials functionalities.
• Uninstall any applications that use any ports that are required by Windows Server Essentials functionalities.

Note There is a known issue of this new feature in this update rollup. If backup port 8912 is being used by another application, the warning is not be generated as expected. This issue will be fixed when Update Rollup 3 RTM is released. 

Update 1

This update rollup introduces a new branding name for the Microsoft Azure Backup integration add-in.

Major issues that are resolved by this update

Issue 1

Windows Server Essentials Group Policy settings do not work in Windows 8.1.  

Issue 2 

Client Backup stops at the "In progress" status when the destination disk is full.

Issue 3

When you run Microsoft Office 365 Windows PowerShell cmdlets by using non-administrator permission, Windows Server Office 365 Integration Service crashes.

Issue 4

When you delete users who have a Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 mailbox assigned, the Windows Server On-Premises Exchange Integration Service crashes.

Issue 5

Assume that an Office 365 user tries to change their password. If the password cannot synchronize to the Office 365 servers, the user cannot change his or her password.

Issue 6

Assume there is a situation in which the password synchronization service is stopped. When password synchronization is tried, the synchronization failure is not reported.

Issue 7

Windows Server Password Synchronization Service crashes when the service evaluates password synchronization alerts.

Issue 8

After update 2804583 is installed, mailbox management of web APIs does not work.

Issue 9

When Windows Server 2012 Essentials is installed on a remotely administered server, an incorrect time zone is used.

Issue 10

The Remote Web Access (RWA) File Sharing folder and media page do not work correctly.

Issue 11

User State Migration Tool is not updated for the Windows 8.1 client.

Issue 12

When the name of a certificate does not match the fully qualified domain name (FQDN), ARRConfig does not provide a clear error message.

Update information

How to obtain this update

Windows Update

This update is available from Windows Update.

Prerequisites

To apply this update, you must be running Windows Server 2012 Essentials.

Registry information

To apply this update, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this update.

Update replacement information

This update does not replace a previously released update.

Removal information

To remove this update, use the Programs and Features item in Control Panel. Additionally, you must separately uninstall the client-side package on all client computers.