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Overview of Services Installed by Exchange Setup

During the installation of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Setup runs a set of tasks that install new services. A service is a background process that can be launched during operating system startup by the Service Control Manager in Microsoft Windows. Services are executable files designed to operate independently and without administrative intervention. A service can run using either a graphical user interface (GUI) mode or a console mode.

Services aren't new to Exchange 2010. All previous versions of Exchange included components implemented as services. Each server role includes services that are part of, or may be needed by, the server role to perform its functions. Although Setup installs all services whether they're immediately needed or not, some services only become active when specific features are used.

The following table lists by name and by short name the various services installed by Exchange 2010. Also included is a description of each service, the server role that installs the service, and whether the service is required or optional. In the table, optional means that the service is installed by Setup, but you can disable it if you determine that the function provided by the service isn't needed by your organization.

Services installed by Exchange Setup

Service name Service short name Security context Description and dependencies Default startup type Server roles Required (R) or optional (O)

Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology

MSExchangeADTopology

Local System

Provides Active Directory topology information to Exchange services. If this service is stopped, most Exchange services are unable to start. This service has no dependencies.

Automatic

Mailbox, Hub Transport, Client Access, Unified Messaging

R

Microsoft Exchange ADAM

ADAM_MSExchange

Network Service

Stores configuration data and recipient data on the Edge Transport server. This service represents the named instance of Active Directory Lightweight Directory Service (AD LDS) that's automatically created by Setup during Edge Transport server installation. This service is dependent upon the COM+ Event System service.

Automatic

Edge Transport

R

Microsoft Exchange Address Book

MSExchangeAB

Local System

Manages client address book connections. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Automatic

Client Access

R

Microsoft Exchange Anti-spam Update

MSExchangeAntispamUpdate

Local System

Provides the Microsoft Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server anti-spam update service. On Hub Transport servers, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service. On Edge Transport servers, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange ADAM service.

Automatic

Hub Transport, Edge Transport

O

Microsoft Exchange Credential Service

MSExchangeEdgeCredential

Local System

Monitors credential changes in AD LDS and installs the changes on the Edge Transport server. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange ADAM service.

Automatic

Edge Transport

R

Microsoft Exchange EdgeSync

MSExchangeEdgeSync

Local System

Connects to an AD LDS instance on subscribed Edge Transport servers over a secure LDAP channel to synchronize data between a Hub Transport server and an Edge Transport server. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service. If Edge Subscription isn't configured, this service can be disabled.

Automatic

Hub Transport

O

Microsoft Exchange File Distribution

MSExchangeFDS

Local System

Distributes offline address book (OAB) and custom Unified Messaging prompts. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology and Workstation services.

Automatic

Client Access, Unified Messaging

R

Microsoft Exchange Forms-Based Authentication

MSExchangeFBA

Local System

Provides forms-based authentication to Microsoft Office Outlook Web App and the Exchange Control Panel. If this service is stopped, Outlook Web App and the Exchange Control Panel won't authenticate users. This service has no dependencies.

Automatic

Client Access

R

Microsoft Exchange IMAP4

MSExchangeIMAP4

Network Service

Provides IMAP4 service to clients. If this service is stopped, clients won't be able to connect to this computer using the IMAP4 protocol. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Manual

Client Access

O

Microsoft Exchange Information Store

MSExchangeIS

Local System

Manages the Exchange Information Store. This includes mailbox databases and public folder databases. If this service is stopped, mailbox databases and public folder databases on this computer are unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. This service is dependent on the RPC, Server, Windows Event Log, and Workstation services.

Automatic

Mailbox

R

Microsoft Exchange Mail Submission Service

MSExchangeMailSubmission

Local System

Submits messages from the Mailbox server to Exchange 2010 Hub Transport servers. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Automatic

Mailbox

R

Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Assistants

MSExchangeMailboxAssistants

Local System

Performs background processing of mailboxes in the Exchange store. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Automatic

Mailbox

R

Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Replication Service

MSExchangeMailboxReplication

Local System

Processes mailbox moves and move requests. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology and Net.Tcp Port Sharing service.

Automatic

Client Access

O

Microsoft Exchange Monitoring

MSExchangeMonitoring

Local System

Allows applications to call the Exchange diagnostic cmdlets. This service has no dependencies.

Manual

All

O

Microsoft Exchange POP3

MSExchangePOP3

Network Service

Provides POP3 service to clients. If this service is stopped, clients can't connect to this computer using the POP3 protocol. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Manual

Client Access

O

Microsoft Exchange Protected Service Host

MSExchangeProtectedServiceHost

Local System

Provides a host for several Exchange services that must be protected from other services. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Automatic

Hub Transport, Client Access

R

Microsoft Exchange Replication Service

MSExchangeRepl

Local System

Provides replication functionality for mailbox databases on Mailbox servers in a database availability group (DAG). This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Automatic

Mailbox

O

Microsoft Exchange RPC Client Access

MSExchangeRPC

Network Service

Manages client RPC connections for Exchange. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Automatic

Mailbox, Client Access

O (Mailbox), R (Client Access)

Microsoft Exchange Search Indexer

MSExchangeSearch

Local System

Drives indexing of mailbox content, which improves the performance of content search. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology and Microsoft Search (Exchange Server) services.

Automatic

Mailbox

O

Microsoft Exchange Server Extension for Windows Server Backup

WSBExchange

Local System

Enables Windows Server Backup users to back up and recover application data for Microsoft Exchange. This service has no dependencies.

Manual

Mailbox

O

Microsoft Exchange Service Host

MSExchangeServiceHost

Local System

Provides a host for several Exchange services. On internal server roles, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service. On Edge Transport servers, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange ADAM service.

Automatic

All

R

Microsoft Exchange Speech Engine

MSSpeechService

Network Service

Provides speech processing services for Unified Messaging. This service is dependent upon the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service.

Automatic

Unified Messaging

R

Microsoft Exchange System Attendant

MSExchangeSA

Local System

Forwards directory lookups to a global catalog server for legacy Outlook clients, generates e-mail addresses and OABs, updates free/busy information for legacy clients, and maintains permissions and group memberships for the server. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. This service is dependent on the RPC, Server, Windows Event Log, and Workstation services.

Automatic

Mailbox

R

Microsoft Exchange Throttling

MSExchangeThrottling

Network Service

Limits the rate of user operations. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service.

Automatic

Mailbox

R

Microsoft Exchange Transport

MSExchangeTransport

Network Service

Provides SMTP server and transport stack. On Hub Transport servers, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service. On Edge Transport servers, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange ADAM service.

Automatic

Hub Transport, Edge Transport

R

Microsoft Exchange Transport Log Search

MSExchangeTransportLogSearch

Local System

Provides remote search capability for Microsoft Exchange Transport log files. On Hub Transport servers, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service. On Edge Transport servers, this service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange ADAM service.

Automatic

Hub Transport, Mailbox, Edge Transport

O

Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging

MSExchangeUM

Local System

Enables Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging features. This allows voice and fax messages to be stored in Exchange and gives users telephone access to e-mail, voice mail, calendar, contacts, or an auto attendant. If this service is stopped, Unified Messaging isn't available. This service is dependent upon the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology and the Microsoft Exchange Speech Engine service.

Automatic

Unified Messaging

R

Microsoft Search (Exchange Server)

msftesql-Exchange

Local System

This is a Microsoft Exchange-customized version of Microsoft Search. This service is dependent on the RPC service.

Manual

Hub Transport, Mailbox

O