The new ADC Tools functionality is especially useful for large, complicated Exchange environments. With the Ca_defaults.xml file, you can configure the default settings that the Connection Agreement Wizard will use when it creates the Connection Agreements. For example, you can set the default replication schedule to "Never" at first. This gives you a chance to review the new Connection Agreements before they are in use. After you confirm that the settings are correct, you can use the Activate_cas.vbs file to change the Connection Agreement schedule to "Always."
The Ca_defaults.xml file and the Activate_cas.vbs file are located in the folder where you installed the Exchange Server 2003 SP1 ADC. Typically, this is the
Drive:\Program Files\MSADC folder.
The Ca_defaults.xml file
You can edit the Ca_defaults.xml file to configure the default settings for Connection Agreements that are created by ADC Tools. When you create a new Connection Agreement by using ADC Tools, the Connection Agreement Wizard consults the Ca_defaults.xml file for default attribute values. The attribute values that are used to create the Connection Agreement in ADC Tools are replaced with the default attribute values that are specified in the XML file. The default Ca_defaults.xml file contains the following code.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
- <CADefaults>
<attribute name="msExchServer1DeletionOption" value="0">Use a value of 1 to file deletes from the AD from 5.5</attribute>
<attribute name="msExchServer2DeletionOption" value="0">Use a value of 1 to file deletes for 5.5 from the AD</attribute>
<attribute name="msExchAdcOptions" value="2052">Use a value of 2564 to create a flat hierarchy. Make sure your staging area
is a sub container of the domain. Not the domain.</attribute>
<attribute name="activationStyle" value="2">Use a value of 0 to schedule CAs as Never</attribute>
</CADefaults>
The following are the default attributes that are defined in the Ca_defaults.xml file.
- msExchServer1DeletionOption: You can use this attribute to configure the When replicating deletions from the Exchange directory deletion settings on the Deletions tab in the properties of the Connection Agreement. If you set this attribute to a value of 1, deletions are written to a file. This is the equivalent of the Keep the Windows deleted items and store the deletion list in the temporary LDF file setting. If you set this attribute to a value of
0, deletions are processed by using the default setting of Delete the Windows disabled user accounts, contacts, and groups.
- msExchServer2DeletionOption: You can use this attribute to configure the When replicating deletions from the Windows Active Directory deletion settings that appear on the Deletions tab in the properties of the Connection Agreement. If you set this attribute to a value of 1, deletions are written to a file. This is the equivalent of the Keep the Exchange deleted items and store the deletion list in the temporary CSV file setting. If you set the value to
0, deletions are processed by using the default setting of Delete the Exchange mailboxes, custom recipients, and distribution lists.
- msExchADCOptions: You can use this attribute to control the bitmapped options that are available to the Connection Agreement. The following table shows some of the components that may make up the total
bitmapped value:
Collapse this tableExpand this table
| 0x00000004 | Replicate secured objects from the Active Directory directory service. |
| 0x00000008 | This is an inter-organizational Connection Agreement. |
| 0x00000200 | Create a flat hierarchy. |
| 0x00000800 | Replicate memberships of hidden distribution lists. |
| 0x00001000 | On a two-way Connection Agreement, replicate from Windows first. |
A value of 2564 is
the sum of 2052 and 512. A value of 512 translates to the hexadecimal value 0x200. This indicates that a value of 2564 has the same options as a value of 2052, with the addition of
the "create a flat hierarchy" option. - activationStyle: You can use this attribute to configure the replication schedule for the new Connection Agreement. If this attribute is
set to the default value of 2, Connection Agreements are set to replicate with a schedule of "Always." You can change this value to
0 to configure the new Connection Agreement with a replication schedule of "Never." If you set this attribute to a value of 0, you can examine the new
Connection Agreements to make sure that they are correct before the Connection Agreements are run.
Attributes that you can set by using the Ca_defaults.xml file
You can set the value of the following attributes by using the Ca_defaults.xml file:
- activationStyle
- msExchADCObjectType
- msExchADCOptions
- msExchCASchemaPolicy
- msExchDoFullReplication
- msExchExchangeSite
- msExchHomeSyncService
- msExchIsBridgeheadSite
- msExchServer1AlwaysCreateAs
- msExchServer1AuthenticationCredentials
- msExchServer1AuthenticationType
- msExchServer1DeletionOption
- msExchServer1ExportContainers
- msExchServer1Flags
- msExchServer1ImportContainer
- msExchServer1IsBridgehead
- msExchServer1NetworkAddress
- msExchServer1PageSize
- msExchServer1Port
- msExchServer1SearchFilter
- msExchServer1SSLPort
- msExchServer1Type
- msExchServer2AuthenticationCredentials
- msExchServer2AuthenticationType
- msExchServer2DeletionOption
- msExchServer2ExportContainers
- msExchServer2Flags
- msExchServer2ImportContainer
- msExchServer2NetworkAddress
- msExchServer2PageSize
- msExchServer2Port
- msExchServer2SearchFilter
- msExchServer2SSLPort
- msExchServer2Type
- msExchSynchronizationDirection
- systemFlags
- versionNumber
Additional recommendations
After you customize the Ca_defaults.xml file, you can copy the file to the MSADC folder on every Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) computer that is running the ADC.
If you have to reinstall the Exchange Server 2003 ADC, make sure that you first copy the Ca_defaults.xml file to another location so that you can copy the file back to its original location after the reinstallation. Otherwise, a reinstallation of ADC will overwrite the Ca_defaults.xml file.
The Activate_cas.vbs file
The Activate_cas.vbs file is a Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) script. You can use the Activate_cas.vbs file to change the schedules of all Connection Agreements from "Never" to "Always." The script is useful if you want to reconfigure any
recipient Connection Agreements and public folder Connection Agreements that were created by using an
activationStyle attribute setting of 0
to a setting of 2.
To run the script, change directories to the folder where the Activate_cas.vbs file is located, and then type the following at a command prompt:
activate_cas NOW
Note The
NOW argument is case-sensitive.