SP1 optimizes the basics of message processing
for the Hub Transport role. Some of the
specific enhancements include:
- priority queuing so that the categorizer
takes into account user-set priorities on
messages
- adding a MaxMessageSize parameter to the
Set-AdSiteLink cmdlet so that an administrator
can set a maximum message size for
messages relayed between AD sites
- adding a MaxMessageSize parameter to
the New-RoutingGroupConnector and Set-
RoutingGroupConnector cmdlets for controlling
maximum sizes of legacy Routing
Group Connectors
- controlling the scope of Send connectors to
AD sites
- enabling transport rules to act on unified
messaging (UM) messages
- enhancements for Windows Rights Management
Services (RMS)
- X.400 support
To improve Edge Transport server management,
SP1 adds a Server parameter to the Start-
EdgeSynchronization cmdlet so that administrators
can run the cmdlet from a remote
computer. The Test-EdgeSynchronization
cmdlet has been enhanced so that results on
subscription status for individual users can be
verified. The cloned configuration scripts have
been improved so that cloning of configuration
information, server deployment, and backup
and restore are optimized for environments
that use multiple Edge Transport servers.
UM Server Role
Enhancements
To increase interoperability with Office Communications
Server (OCS) 2007, SP1 enhances
the UM server role significantly. Some of the
new features you’ll get when using SP1 and
OCS 2007 together include:
- a New Dial Plan wizard to create E.164 and
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI) dial plans
- new logic for resolving calling numbers
- forwarding notification when leaving voice
messages
- high-fidelity voice message recording
- PIN-less access to Outlook Voice Access
from Office Communicator
- subject and priority association in Communicator
- media stream firewall traversal
- missed call notification integration in Communicator
- prohibiting play on calls with Communicator
that are subject to call forwarding rules
- the ability to properly handle incoming fax
calls from OCS
Even without OCS 2007, SP1 offers UM
improvements such as support for Secure
Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP), configuration
of Mutual Transport Layer Security
for dial plans through Exchange Management
Console, the Enable UM wizard for adding SIP
or E.164 addresses for users, modification of
extension numbers and SIP or E.164 addresses
for UM users through Exchange Management
Console, fax tone detection, and Quality of
Service support.
A Host of Additional
Features
SP1 has many other improvements in addition
to the major enhancements I’ve described.
Although perhaps not as dramatic, these features
will undoubtedly be warmly received by
Exchange administrators.
Move Mailbox. Move Mailbox has been a
favorite feature of Exchange administrators for
years. Exchange 2007 greatly improved Move
Mailbox by adding Exchange Management
Shell scripting capabilities, and SP1 brings yet
more improvements.
With SP1, an administrator can export
mailbox content to a PST file by using the
PSTFolderPath parameter with the Export-
Mailbox cmdlet. You can combine this operation
with other parameters to filter content
or export multiple mailboxes. Clearly, this
functionality is useful for data migration operations
that would otherwise be limited by bandwidth
restrictions, or in support of e-discovery
requests for litigation.
Exchange ActiveSync. EAS has received
improvements geared for both administrators
and end users. When the Client Access
server role is configured on a server with SP1, a
default EAS policy is created. Any users without an EAS policy will have this new default policy
applied. This change means administrators no
longer have to explicitly apply a default policy
to new EAS users. Administration requires less
effort and you’ll have better security for your
environment.
New EAS policy settings are also available.
With these new policies, administrators can
enforce encryption of main memory contents
on the remote device; disable removable
storage capability; disable POP3, IMAP4,
Short Message Service (SMS), and Message
Management System (MMS) capability; block
applications; or disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or
infrared capabilities on mobile devices. This
kind of device control greatly enhances security.
However, note that some of these features
aren’t supported on Windows Mobile 6.0, and
some require the Exchange 2007 Enterprise
CAL. To use the full suite of features enabled
by EAS in SP1, the bottom line is that you’ll
need to invest in new devices that aren’t
available yet and won’t be until Microsoft and
OEMs introduce devices that run Windows
Mobile 6.1.
In addition, the remote wipe capability now
offers a confirmation option before a mobile
device is reinitialized, and Direct Push functionality
has been improved by reducing the
amount of data that is sent and received by the
device.
POP3 and IMAP4. Exchange Management
Console has been enhanced to provide a new
administrative interface for POP3 and IMAP
management; previously, these functions were
available only through Exchange Management
Shell. You’ll find the interface by navigating to
Client Access under Server Configuration in
the console tree, clicking either the POP3 or
IMAP4 tab, then selecting Properties.
Exchange Web Services. With the big developer
push toward Web services in Exchange,
it’s encouraging to see that Exchange Web Services
now includes access to and manipulation
of Public Folders, management of delegates
and access to delegate resources, permissions
management, and identifier translation.
Public folders. Despite public folders being
de-emphasized in Exchange 2007, many organizations
continue to use them. SP1 has brought
some necessary management improvements.
Administrators will welcome the Public Folder
Management Console as a means to create
and manage public folders via Exchange
Management Console. You can also manage
public folder referrals via the Properties tab
of a pubic folder database in
Exchange Management Console.
In Exchange 2007 RTM,
you have to use Exchange
Management Shell to perform
these actions, but SP1
gives you a choice. Another
boon to administrators is the
addition of a new administrator
role called Exchange
Public Folder Administrator
that you can use to granularly delegate Public
Folder management.
For end users, mail-enabled public folders
now appear when previewing membership of
address lists, address policies, and Distribution
Groups—including dynamic ones.
Mailbox management. SP1 introduces
bulk mailbox creation through Exchange Management
Console when you select multiple
existing user accounts. You also get two new
wizards: the Manage Full Access Permission
wizard, which lets you grant or remove Full
Access permission for a mailbox; and the Manage
Send As Permissions wizard, which lets
you grant or remove Send As permissions.
Messaging records management. To
establish some level of parity with the Mailbox
Manager feature of Exchange 2000 Server and
Exchange Server 2003, SP1 lets you apply messaging
records management (MRM) policies
to managed default folders (e.g., Inbox) even
with the Standard version of Exchange. For
managed custom folders, each mailbox that
uses MRM must have an Exchange Server
Enterprise CAL.
Defragmentation monitoring. A minor but
perhaps useful addition for administrators is
the extended information for Event 703, which
can help you monitor online defragmentation
pass completions. With Exchange 2007 RTM,
such monitoring is a cumbersome process that
requires analyzing the event log and matching
Event 700 and Event 703 messages to determine
how successful online defragmentation
attempts have been over time. With SP1, all
the information you need—and more—is contained
in Event 703. Figure 1 shows an example
of the enhanced text.
Performance Monitor has received two new
Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) performance
counters that also monitor the effectiveness
and efficiency of online defragmentation:
Instances\Online Defrag Pages Freed/Sec
shows the number of pages freed per second
as a result of online defragmentation,
and Instances\Online Defrag Data Moves/Sec
shows the number of times per second that
data is moved from one page to another during
online defragmentation.
Transport dumpster. SP1 uses an enhanced
transport dumpster process to support lossy
recoveries in an LCR environment. In Exchange
2007 RTM, the transport dumpster is automatically
exploited during a CCR recovery; the
Restore-StorageGroupCopy cmdlet has been
updated in SP1 to include a call to the transport
dumpster in LCR recovery to provide messages
that might have been lost as a result of the failure
of the storage group in question.
Exchange Management Console. SP1 offers
a new Manage Clustered Mailbox Server wizard
that provides the same functionality as the
Move-, Stop-, and Start-ClusteredMailboxServer
cmdlets. And there are new controls in Exchange
Management Console that have the same functionality
as the Suspend-, Resume-, Update-,
and Restore-StorageGroupCopy cmdlets.
Dramatic Advances with
SP1
SP1 brings a wealth of new features and
enhancements for Exchange messaging architects,
administrators, and end users. Some are
just nice-to-have improvements, but others,
such as SCR, can have a much more dramatic
effect on the design and deployment of your
messaging environment. To get the best out of
these new improvements, you should spend
some time investigating what all of these new
changes can do for your environment.
End of Article
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