Exchange Server 2010 Management and Maintenance Practices : Maintenance Tools for Exchange Server 2010

The Exchange Management Console

The Exchange Management Console (EMC) shown in Figure 1 is one of the primary tools provided with Exchange Server 2010. This utility replaces the Exchange System Manager (ESM) from Exchange Server 2000/2003 and can be used to manage Exchange Server 2010, Exchange 2007, and Exchange Server 2003 servers in the organization.

Figure 1. Exchange Server 2010 Exchange Management Console.

Improvements to the console in Exchange Server 2010 include the following:

• Built on Remote PowerShell with remote server administration

• Role-based access control (RBAC)

• Multiple forest support

• Cross-premises Exchange Server 2010 management including mailbox moves between organizations

• Recipient bulk edit

• PowerShell command logging

• New feature support such as High Availability

The Exchange Management Console is a Microsoft Management Console 3.0 snap-in. Prerequisites for the Exchange Management Console include the following:

• A 64-bit operating system

• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

• Windows Remote Management

• PowerShell v2

All of Exchange Server 2010 is 64-bit only, so all administration using the management tools is 64 bit. The management console also requires a 64-bit OS. Supported OS platforms for the Exchange Management Console include the following:

• Vista x64 SP1/2

• W2k8 x64 SP2

• W2k8 R2 x64

• Windows7 x64

Unlike the Exchange System Manager, which allowed administrators to access all configuration settings of their Exchange Server 2003 environment, the Exchange Management Console is designed to allow administrators access to common configuration settings from the familiar graphical user interface (GUI). However, many aspects of the environment cannot be viewed or modified with this utility. For such configuration settings, the command line Exchange Management Shell, which is discussed next, must be used.

The Remote Exchange Management Shell

The second utility for managing an Exchange Server 2010 environment is an automation and scripting tool called the Exchange Management Shell (EMS), shown in Figure 2. This shell is a command-line management interface that can be used to administer servers in an Exchange Server 2010 organization. It enables administration of the Exchange Server 2010 environment without the Exchange management tools such as the EMC, albeit via a command-line interface. Built on Microsoft Windows PowerShell v2 technology, the Exchange Management Shell can perform any task that can be accomplished in the Exchange Management Console, and a lot more. In fact, many configuration settings in an Exchange Server 2010 environment can only be accomplished using the Exchange Management Shell.

Figure 2. Exchange Server 2010 Remote Exchange Management Shell.

New to Exchange Server 2010 is the ability to access all the familiar Exchange Server cmdlets remotely, leveraging the PowerShell v2 remote capabilities. This enables cmdlets and scripts to run across multiple servers in a single EMS instance. It also enables administrators to run the shell from their workstation and connect remotely to the Exchange Server 2010 servers. Given the limitation of the Exchange Management Console to run only on 64-bit systems, the EMS also enables 32-bit clients to connect to the servers.

The EMS does not require Exchange Server binaries to be installed on the client, making deployment much easier.

Supported client OS platforms for the Exchange Management Shell are as follows:

• Vista (32-bit or 64-bit)

• W2k8 (32-bit or 64-bit)

• W2k8 R2 (86-bit or 64-bit)

• Win7 (32-bit or 64-bit)

• W2k3 (32-bit or 64-bit)

• XP (32-bit or 64-bit)