Deploying Mailbox Servers

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[This is pre-release documentation and subject to change in future releases. This topic's current status is: Editing.]

Applies to: Exchange Server 2010* *Topic Last Modified: 2009-06-26

In Exchange 2010, the Mailbox server role is one of several server roles that you can install and then configure on a computer. The Mailbox server role hosts mailboxes databases, which contain users' mailboxes and public folder databases. Mailbox servers provide services that calculate e-mail address policies and address lists for recipients, and enforce managed folders.

The Mailbox server role also improves the information worker experience by providing richer calendaring functionality, resource management, and offline address book downloads.

For information about the mailbox server role, see Planning for Mailbox Servers and Understanding Mailbox Server Architecture.

To deploy your mailbox server, see New Installation of Exchange 2010.

After you have deployed your mailbox server role, see Managing Mailbox Features.

System Mailboxes

During Exchange 2010 installation, when preparing Active Directory, there are system mailboxes created that can't be logged in by users or administrators. These system mailboxes are created for Exchange 2010 features such as Message Approval and E-discovery. The common names of these system mailboxes as listed in Active Directory. The mailbox name, CN (common name), and GUID of the system mailboxes:

  • E-discovery - SystemMailbox{e0dc1c29-89c3-4034-b678-e6c29d823ed9}
  • Message Approval - SystemMailbox{1f05a927-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx} where x is a randomly assigned number
  • FederatedEmail.4c1f4d8b-8179-4148-93bf-00a95fa1e042

When you are ready to decommission the last Exchange 2010 Mailbox server role, you should disable these system mailboxes using the disable-mailbox cmdlet before you uninstall the Exchange Mailbox server role. When you are decommissioning an Exchange Mailbox server role with these system mailboxes, you should move them (using New-MoveRequest) to another Mailbox server role to ensure functionality.