SfB 2015 Server Update August 2023

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In June we saw an update for SfBS 2019 that added the new “Emergency Mitigation Service”, and now it’s 2015’s turn. This is build 6.0.9319.853, up from last December’s 6.0.9319.842. As expected, it’s only updating two components on my Standard Edition Front-End and delivers only one fix.

What’s Fixed?

  • 5030764 Emergency Mitigation Service for Skype for Business Server

What’s New?

This article announces the arrival of the Emergency Mitigation Service, with some companion commandlets.

Microsoft takes security very seriously and we continue to work hard to protect your systems and data from cyber threats and to comply with evolving regulations. In line with this, we have introduced the Skype for Business Server Emergency Mitigation Service to help protect your servers from potential threats. This service provides a temporary and interim mitigation until you can install an update that fixes the vulnerability.

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SfB 2019 Server Update July 2023

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Hot on the heels of last month’s update to 7.0.2046.521 comes another.

Today we see build 7.0.2046.524, which updated three components on my Standard Edition Front-End.

What’s Fixed?

All three components updated contain the same fix:

  • 5030100 Disable Legacy Control Panel (CSCP)

What’s New?

The above fixes support the replacement of the old “CSCP”, the Communication Server Control Panel – a name that goes back to before Lync was Lync – with the Modern Admin Control Panel (MACP).

The story is documented in the article Disable Legacy Control Panel (CSCP).

After you run the PowerShell script included in the above article, launching the old CSCP instead pops a browser and the MACP.

The script includes an uninstall option if you want to revert.

Any new Commandlets?

Nope.

What’s Changed?

Nothing (else) noted.

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Get-EnphaseProduction-v7.py

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Enphase has caused an ongoing kerfuffle by changing the authorisation mechanism of their Envoy solar controllers, usually without notice, by virtue of a firmware update.

Where previously you could login to your Enphase solar setup with basic username and password authorisation, now you need to provide an authorisation token created by the Enphase website.

We fell foul of the same update and have lost some data, but here I present the updated version of the script.

If you’re still running v5, this script is the one you need. To determine your own Envoy version, login to the Enlighten website, click the hamburger then System / Devices / Gateway.

Additional Pre-Requisites

The pre-requisites for this script are the same as for v5, but with some extras:

  • You need to provide the script with your (Enphase/Enlighten) username, password, and the serial number of your Envoy.
  • Your Envoy now needs access to the Internet (so it can request the token as required). The tokens are “long-lived”, and could last a year, so if you’re concerned by the open internet access you can allow it for the setup, then block it until it stops working and requires another token. (The script automatically attempts to update the token if the one it’s been using dies.)

Download and install the Script

You’ll find the script Get-EnphaseProduction-v7.py on Github.

Setup

The PRTG side of things is unchanged from the v5 version here.

Where the v5 version had your *local* credentials baked into the script, now it requires your *online* cred’s, as outlined above. Don’t forget to edit the script with these details before proceeding. You’ll find them at around line 30.

Revision History

26th July 2023. This is the initial publication.
 
– Greig.

Get-EnphaseData-v7.py

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Enphase has caused an ongoing kerfuffle by changing the authorisation mechanism of their Envoy solar controllers, usually without notice, by virtue of a firmware update.

Where previously you could login to your Enphase solar setup with basic username and password authorisation, now you need to provide an authorisation token created by the Enphase website.

We fell foul of the same update and have lost some data, but here I present the updated version of the script.

If you’re still running v5, this script is the one you need. To determine your own Envoy version, login to the Enlighten website, click the hamburger then System / Devices / Gateway.

Additional Pre-Requisites

The pre-requisites for this script are the same as for v5, but with some extras:

  • You need to provide the script with your (Enphase/Enlighten) username, password, and the serial number of your Envoy.
  • Your Envoy now needs access to the Internet (so it can request the token as required). The tokens are “long-lived”, and could last a year, so if you’re concerned by the open internet access you can allow it for the setup, then block it until it stops working and requires another token. (The script automatically attempts to update the token if the one it’s been using dies.)

Download and install the Script

You’ll find the script Get-EnphaseData-v7.py on Github.

Setup

The PRTG side of things is unchanged from the v5 version here.

Where the v5 version had your *local* credentials baked into the script, now it requires your *online* cred’s, as outlined above. Don’t forget to edit the script with these details before proceeding. You’ll find them at around line 30.

Revision History

25th July 2023. This is the initial publication.
 
– Greig.

SfB 2019 Server Update – June 2023

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It’s been a while since we’ve seen an update to Skype for Business Server 2019, October’s 7.0.2046.409.

Today we see build 7.0.2046.521, which updated six components on my Standard Edition Front-End.

What’s Fixed?

“KB” numbers seem to have gone the way of the dodo…

What’s New?

This article announces the arrival of the Emergency Mitigation Service, with some companion commandlets.

Microsoft takes security very seriously and we continue to work hard to protect your systems and data from cyber threats and to comply with evolving regulations. In line with this, we have introduced the Skype for Business Server Emergency Mitigation Service to help protect your servers from potential threats. This service provides a temporary and interim mitigation until you can install an update that fixes the vulnerability.

Continue reading ‘SfB 2019 Server Update – June 2023’ »

Another chapter ends…

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A dirty set of NSW motor vehicle number plates 'EX-07-UM' sit in the open hatch of a car.

I returned these number plates to the motor registry recently, in preparation for our new car’s arrival.

I found it quite poignant that the introduction of Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging (EX-07-UM) marked the beginning of the Microsoft chapter of my career, and now that I’ve retired, I’m also retiring the plates that accompanied me throughout.

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Packet sniffing your UniFi Access Points

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We had a new Widget arrive in the house recently, and it required a connection to the Wi-Fi network. It was duly connected to the untrusted ‘IoT’ network, where it’s denied Internet access by default. It WASN’T happy.

The supplier assured me it *didn’t* require Internet access, so I set about finding out what was going on, and Wireshark was going to figure into that equation.

A brief web search revealed that the Ubiquiti UniFi Access Points have “tcpdump” installed, and in conjunction with PowerShell and WinSCP I had my answers. Here’s how I did it.

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Review: Zennio Tecla XL pushbuttons for KNX

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The Zennio Tecla XL

Late last year the Ivory Egg crew returned from Light + Building 2022 in Frankfurt with news of the Zennio Tecla XL, and it caught my eye.

What’s not to love about the Aussie mounting compatibility, the sleek, sexy look, the distinct capacitive buttons, and – as I was to find out – the proximity detection?
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Our quest for the perfect light switch

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We’re not even twelve months into our KNX journey, but we already have devices from over ten manufacturers of KNX gear all happily coexisting throughout the house.

One of the first decisions we had to make was the choice of light switches. We had a few criteria, the main one being that the switches needed to fit within a standard Australian mounting plate, as our installation was a retrofit. Given the house has plaster walls we could have patched all the rectangular holes, re-painted and gone with Euro-style switches in their square mounts, but we decided that was a bridge too far – at least initially.

We also wanted distinct buttons, so that invalidated some of the touch-based models with their ‘secret’ hot-spots.

Those sorts of things are perhaps fine if you’re the only people who’ll ever touch them, but of course reality introduces guests, cat-sitters, cleaners and tradies, and none of those want to sit through a site induction training course before you’ll let them go to the bathroom.
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