Exchange Server 2007 New Features

Without a doubt, one of themost important Microsoftreleases planned for 2007 is the next version of Exchange Server.Exchange Server 2007 will be the premier enterprise mail server and, asyou might expect, the new releasebrings with it a number of importantenhancements and features. However,you need to be aware of a few caveatsas well. Let's look at some of the mostimportant new features in the upcoming Exchange 2007 release. For moreinformation about the release, youcan visit http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/preview.

10.64-bit hardware required—Bowingbefore the inevitable, Exchange 2007 isMicrosoft's first 64-bit–only product.Considering that all the company's tier-one servers are 64-bit capable, that'sreally no surprise. However, some confusion did stem from the beta's 32-bitsupport, which Microsoft provided tofacilitate testing. The release to manufacturing (RTM) version will be 64-bit only.

9. An all-new setup—One of the first things you'll notice about Exchange2007 is the new setup process.Modeled after the same setup thatMicrosoft SQL Server 2005 uses, thenew Exchange 2007 setup first checksthe system for required prerequisitecomponents such as Microsoft .NETFramework 2.0, Windows PowerShell,and Microsoft Management Console(MMC). In addition, the ExchangeBest Practices Analyzer is integratedinto the setup process to checkfor possible configuration and setuperrors.

8. Exchange Management Shell—Another first for Exchange 2007 is theintegration of PowerShell (Microsoft'snew .NET-based scripting environment) into a feature called ExchangeManagement Shell. Formerly code-named Monad, PowerShell addspowerful scripting capabilities toExchange 2007.

7. New Exchange Management Console—Another instantly noticeablefeature in Exchange 2007 is its newExchange Management Console.Unlike the older management GUI,Exchange System Manager (ESM), the new Exchange Management Consoleis built on Exchange ManagementShell and now can perform virtuallyall Exchange administrative tasks. Inaddition, you can capture actions youtake in the console as PowerShell scripts.

6. Device security and management—For organizations using mobiledevices (and who isn't?), some of thebest features in Exchange 2007 are itsmobile-device–management capabilities. Using Exchange 2007's per-usersecurity policies, administrators canrequire device PINs and setup fordevice wipe for data protection in casedevices are lost or stolen. This devicemanagement is limited to devicessupporting ActiveSync.

5. Support for unified messaging—Exchange 2007 provides support forunified messaging (UM),which letsyou store voicemail and faxes in yourExchange mailbox. This support caneliminate the need for a separatevoicemail system and can enablephone access to your inbox. ExchangeUM requires the use of a compatibleIP-enabled PBX but can also accessolder PBXes by using an IP gateway.

4. New Resource Booking Attendant—As anyone who regularly schedulesappointments knows, booking meetings can be a frustrating experience asyou not only attempt to bring togetherthe required attendees but also try tobook required resources such as conference and meeting rooms. The newResource Booking Attendant enablescentralized management of rooms andother meeting equipment and resources.

3. New Scheduling Assistant—Like theResource Booking Attendant, theScheduling Assistant helps you schedule meetings. A new graphical UIenables administrators to quickly seethe availability of attendees and resources as well as the best times toschedule a meeting for required attendees and resources.

2. Antivirus and antispam support—Basic antispam and antivirus protection are a requirement for today'smessaging servers. Exchange 2007features a number of built-in antispam and antivirus features, includingconnection, sender, and recipient filtering as well as content and attachment filtering. For more robustenterprise-level antivirus protection,Microsoft separately offers AntigenMessaging Security Suite, whichincludes Antigen for Exchange andAntigen Spam Manager.

1. 5 new server roles—Probably oneof the biggest improvements inExchange 2007 is the introduction offive new prebuilt modular serverroles. These server roles reduce themanual configuration that would otherwise be required to set up andsecure Exchange 2007 to perform various mail server tasks. The new rolesare: Edge Transport, Hub Transport,Mailbox, Client Access, and UnifiedMessaging