Exchange Team Blog: Important update available for Exchange Server 2013 hybrid deployments

An important update is now available to resolve issues customers are currently experiencing when using the Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW) to create a new or manage an existing hybrid deployment with Microsoft Exchange Server 2013.

If you currently have an Exchange 2013-based hybrid deployment configured, you will not notice any issues unless you rerun the HCW as part of updating or managing your existing hybrid features. Unless you need to reconfigure your hybrid deployment, you can simply wait for the next update of Exchange Server 2013 (Cumulative Update 6) to correct this issue with the HCW.

For Exchange 2013 organizations creating new or managing an existing hybrid configuration with the HCW, the following HCW error message indicates you are experiencing the issue this update addresses:

Subtask CheckPrereqs execution failed: Check Tenant Prerequisites Deserialization fails due to one SerializationException: Microsoft.Exchange.Compliance.Serialization.Formatters.BlockedTypeException: The type to be (de)serialized is not allowed: Microsoft.Exchange.Data.Directory.DirectoryBackendType

If you experience this issue, contact Microsoft support to obtain the fix as documented in KB2988229. This fix requires Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Cumulative Update 5 (CU5).

Once the Interim Update (IU) is applied, customers can successfully run the HCW and complete configuring a hybrid deployment with Office 365.

Brian Shiers

Technical Product Manager

FAQ

Q: I’ve already configured a hybrid deployment with Exchange Server 2013 and I don’t need to make any changes to my hybrid configuration or features, do I need to apply this update?

A: No, you can wait for the fix to be delivered in the next Exchange Server 2013 update as long as you don’t have the need to run the Hybrid Configuration Wizard.

Q. I may need to make updates to my Exchange 2013-based hybrid deployment before the next Exchange Server 2013 update, what are my options?

A. If you need to update your hybrid deployment features before the next Exchange Server 2013 update, you’ll need to install the IU to fix the issues in the HCW. Attempting to manually configure a new or update an existing hybrid deployment without HCW can result in unsupported hybrid deployment states.

Q: Are customers who use Exchange Server 2010 impacted by this update?

A: No, this only applies to customers using Exchange Server 2013 to configure a hybrid deployment with Office 365.

Q: If we apply the update specific for SP1 or CU5 do I have to do anything special to update to CU6 or later in the future?

A: The interim update does NOT need to be uninstalled. We allow later CU’s to install over Interim Updates and Security Updates directly as of CU3.

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