New User's Guide to the Exchange Management Console

By Andrea Fowler

Whether you are just taking a test drive or you have already purchased your sparkling, brand new Exchange 2007 Server, you already know that one of the most exciting features is the new and improved Exchange Management Console. Just like its predecessor, Exchange System Manager, the Exchange Management Console is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in—it still uses standard GUI elements like the console tree, result pane, wizards, property pages, and dialog boxes. However, although the general framework is the same, there are some significant improvements that will make your ride smoother. Check them out:

• Under the hood   Just like the Exchange Management Shell, the Exchange Management Console is built on top of the Windows PowerShell. This means that the tasks in the Exchange Management Console use the same cmdlets as those available in the Exchange Management Shell. For more info about the Exchange Management Shell, see Using the Exchange Management Shell.

• Great mileage   In Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003, some tasks required you to jump back and forth between Exchange System Manager and Active Directory Users and Computers. However, in Exchange 2007, these tasks are unified and can be performed solely the Exchange Management Console. For example, in Exchange 2003, if you wanted to increase a user's mailbox size, you would have to use both Exchange System Manager and Active Directory Users and Computers to complete the task. It's worth clarifying that you will still use Active Directory Users and Computers to perform specific Active Directory tasks—it's the Exchange-specific extensions that are now managed in the Exchange Management Console.

• Zero to sixty in no time   It's not going to take you a lot of time to get up to speed. Each of the nodes in the console maps directly to the type of data that you will use to manage your Exchange organization. It's intuitive and efficient. For more information about how to use the Exchange Management Console, see Using the Exchange Management Console.

OK, time to take a closer look at the console.

Sporty Exterior

The "exterior" of the Exchange Management Console is divided into four work areas, which aren't that different from Exchange System Manager. The biggest difference is the action pane, which is basically an extension of the right-click menu.

Luxurious Interior

As always, the console tree is organized into nodes and sub-nodes. However, one of the first improvements you'll notice is how deep the nodes can be expanded. In Exchange System Manager, the nodes in the console tree could be expanded up to 8 or more levels. Not anymore. The nodes in the Exchange Management Console are only 3 levels deep. This improves navigation significantly and makes it very easy to discover all of the configuration data for a particular server role.

Here's a more detailed description of the nodes in the console.

Accessories

Looking for a few bells and whistles to enhance your ride? Well, the Exchange Management Console includes some cool features that will help you get to your destination quickly and safely.

Toolbox

We wouldn't let you leave the show room floor without providing you with the tools to keep your Exchange 2007 organization running smoothly. Over the years, we've released tools for Exchange Server and made them available for download from a Web site (for example, from Microsoft Tools for Exchange Server 2003). Well, now our most popular and useful tools are available in the Exchange Management Console. The Toolbox node in the console tree contains the following tools. Just double-click the tool name to get started:

• Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer

• Database Recovery Management

• Database Troubleshooter

• Mail Flow Troubleshooter

• Message Tracking

• Queue Viewer

• Performance Monitor

• Performance Troubleshooter

For more information about these tools, see Using the Toolbox. For information about additional tools to be released for Exchange 2007, see What's New with Tools in Exchange 2007.

Cruise Control

Let our wizards do the driving for you. As in previous version of Exchange, our wizards are there to walk you through many administrative tasks. However, the wizards in Exchange 2007 will guide you in style and also show you what's going on under the hood.

The Visual Effects setting (available by clicking View in the action pane) controls how Exchange wizards display by enabling the cool Exchange 2007 "skin" that is applied to the wizards. This effect is enabled by default. However, if you prefer the classic look within the console, you can always turn off these effects.

Remember when I mentioned that the Exchange Management Console is build on top of Windows PowerShell? Well, on the Completion page of each wizard, you can see exactly how this works. To complete its task, every wizard runs one or more Exchange Management Shell commands. You can press CTRL+C to copy the command to the Clipboard and then paste it into the command line of the Exchange Management Shell. You can use these commands as an example of the required syntax or you can alter it to meet your needs while learning PowerShell scripting.

Roadside Assistance

If you need assistance, use the Help. People tend to not use Help, because…well, sometimes Help is not very helpful. In Exchange 2007, the content in the Help file is very rich and very detailed. In fact, it's the most complete set of documentation that's ever been released with Exchange. (After all, I'm one of the tech writers, so I should know.) For more information, see How to Use Exchange Documentation.

Furthermore, the Help content within the Exchange Management Console won't get stale. In previous versions of Exchange, the in-product Help file did not contain the same rich content you'd find on the Web. Furthermore, the content in that file was static and would not be updated until the next Service Pack was released. In Exchange 2007, the Help content you'll find in the Exchange Management Console is the same content that you'll find online at the Exchange Server TechCenter. All you have to do to ensure that your in-product Help file is in sync with the most current online Help content is to download the Help file from the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Help Web site.

And, of course, we always want to know how we're doing. Your feedback helps us help you. Take a look at the following screen capture. Notice at the bottom of the Help window, there is a documentation feedback section.

If the article was helpful, let us know. You can even tell us what you liked about it by using the comments field. If the topic wasn't helpful, definitely let us know. But if you don't find it helpful, please tell us why, what's missing, etc. We take the feedback very seriously. By the way, the feedback tool is also available online at the bottom of the Exchange Server 2007 technical documentation Web pages.

Driver's Education

Want to learn more about the Exchange Management Console before you take it for a spin? Listen to what the experts are saying. Check out the following Microsoft Exchange Team blogs:

• The new Exchange 2007 Management Console Overview

• Exchange 2007 console tips and tricks

• Gone but not forgotten

Andrea Fowler - Technical Writer, Microsoft Exchange Server