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Notice: This material is excerpted from Special Edition Using Microsoft Exchange Server, ISBN: 0-7897-0687-3. The electronic version of this material has not been through the final proof reading stage that the book goes through before being published in printed form. Some errors may exist here that are corrected before the book is published. This material is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind.
The Administrator program will become your familiar friend as you work with Exchange. From this program, you can manage an entire Exchange organization. Because Administrator is so versatile, it is also rather ominous-looking at first sight. The dozens of functions that are provided in menus and check boxes tend to be somewhat confusing initially. The primary goal of this chapter is to familiarize you with this application and assist you in navigating it comfortably. Administrator is the most useful tool for Exchange administrators, so learning its tricks now will alleviate many headaches for you in the future.
This chapter discusses the following Administrator program elements:
Starting the Administrator Program and Connecting to an Exchange Server
The first step is launching the Microsoft Exchange Administrator application from within Program Manager in Windows NT; simply double-click the application icon. If you have not yet configured a default server, the Connect to Server dialog box appears (see fig. 11.1).
Select your target Exchange server; then click OK.
This dialog box appears repeatedly when you work with Exchange, so you should be familiar with it. The dialog box asks you what server you want to connect to. In the text box, type the name of the server to which you want the administrator program. You must type the server name accurately.
You must have administrator privileges on the server to which you are trying to connect; otherwise, you will be denied access.
If you click the Browse button, you can view a graphical representation of the Exchange servers within your organization. From this window, you can choose the Exchange server you would like to administer.
The Set As Default check box allows you to designate the selected server as the default connection. The next time you launch the administrator program, you will not be prompted to choose a server; the default Exchange server's window appears. This check box is unavailable until you make an entry in the text box.
Click OK when you finish making your selections. The administrator program attempts to connect to the server. If you typed the name of an Exchange server that does not exist, or if the selected server or its connection is down for any reason, you get an error message and the option to attempt a different connection.
If you have already configured a default server, the connection is made, and you see the Administrator interface, which is covered in the following section.
The Administrator Interface
You can use the Exchange Administrator to view your entire Exchange organization (see fig. 11.2). Like a satellite view of the earth from space, this window presents the big picture of your Exchange hierarchy. You have the option to zoom as close as you want to view any object.
The main Administrator window.
The left side of the window shows your Exchange hierarchy, displaying all the objects in your Exchange organization. The right side of the window displays the contents of the container object that is selected on the left side of the window.
The title bar of the window displays the server name, the site name, and name of the object that is currently selected, in the following format:
Take some time to explore the Exchange hierarchy on the left side of the window, to get a feel for how the elements are organized.
Navigating the Hierarchy Tree
The Exchange site hierarchy window displays all of the components that make up your Exchange site in a treelike fashion. This includes recipients, servers, connectors and any other Exchange component that you have installed. Navigating this window is much like navigating the directory hierarchy in File Manager or the Windows 95 explorer. Many of the elements or objects in Exchange's hierarchy have multiple levels below them.
A plus sign (+) to the left of an object indicates that the object has branches below it. Click the plus sign to display these branches. After you display the branches, the plus sign turns into a minus sign (–). When you click the minus sign, the branches disappear. Branches that have no plus or minus sign to the left of them are at the end of the tree. Clicking one of these branches displays its contents in the right window of the administrator program, see figure 11.3.
Object hierarchy tree.
The top item of the site hierarchy tree is always the name of your organization.
Double-click the name to collapse the entire tree view and start navigating
from the top.
If you are setting up an new Exchange organization and have not yet established connections, you see only a small portion of local Exchange server elements in this default view. As new connectors and other objects are created, go through the administrator window to see how these additional components have affected the overall Exchange hierarchy.
As you navigate the Microsoft Exchange hierarchy, you will notice that every object has an associated graphic icon. The following text shows the hierarchy tree and objects that are displayed in the Exchange Administrator program (refer to figure 11.3 for an example of this structure):
Organization
The top of the Exchange server hierarchy
Folders
Global Address List
Lists the all recipients that are contained within your Exchange organization
Site
The name of a Microsoft Exchange Server computer's
messaging site
Configuration
Contains optional configuration
Add-Ins
Extension for Internet Mail Connector
Extension for MS Mail Connector
Extension for Schedule+ Free/Busy Gateway
Addressing
Details Templates
Localized (by language/country) templates that define the details that
are displayed on recipient objects
English/USA
The default details template for American English
E-Mail Address Generator
Internet E-Mail Address Generator
Microsoft Mail Address Generator
x.400 E-Mail Address Generator
One-Off Address Templates
Localized (by language/country) templates that are used to determine
what users input when they create new e-mail addresses from their Exchange
Client for addressing mail messages to mailboxes not in the GAL or in the
users' personal address book. These addresses are typically used once and
and then not used again.
English/USA
The default one-off address templates for American English
Connections
Contains all connectors which are used to link Exchange sites with
other Exchange sites, with other MS Mail environments, or with other foreign
e-mail systems.
Internet Mail Connector
Permits message exchange with Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMPT)
based e- mail systems
MS Mail Connector
Permits message exchange with Microsoft Mail for PC and AppleTalk networks
Site Connector
Creates a messaging bridge between two Microsoft Exchange sites on
the same logical LAN
X.400 Connector
Creates a messaging bridge between two Microsoft Exchange sites over
an X.400 network or to a foreign X.400 system
Dynamic RAS Connector
Creates a messaging bridge between two Microsoft Exchange sites over
a Windows NT Remote Access link
Directory Exchange Requestor
Sets up a Microsoft Exchange server to request directory information
from MS Mail or other systems
Directory Exchange Server
Sets up a Microsoft Exchange server to perform as a directory-synchronization
server for external mail systems
Remote Dirsync Requestor
A representation of an external mail system's directory-synchronization
requestor that connects to the Directory Exchange Server
Directory Replication
Contains all directory replication connectors for this site
Directory Replication Connector
An object that establishes recipient information sharing between sites
Monitors
Contains monitoring tools created to watch over an Exchange organization's
servers and the links among them
Server Monitor
Watches the status of a Microsoft Exchange Server's services and provides
warnings or alerts if errors occur
Link Monitor
Watches the status of messaging connections between Exchange servers
Servers
Contain a list of the Exchange servers in this site and each of their
core components
Server Recipients
Contains all the recipients that call this server home
Directory Service
Controls directory handling within a site
Directory Synchronization
Also called Exchange DXA, this object controls general properties for
Microsoft Exchange directory synchronization
Message Transfer Agent (MTA)
Transports messages from one server to another or to external connectors
MTA Transport Stack (RAS, TCP, and so on)
An underlying transport mechanism for use by other Microsoft Exchange
connectors
Private Information Store
Stores all messaging data sent to individual mailboxes
Public Information Store
Stores all messaging data posted to public folders
System Attendant
A core Microsoft Exchange service that manages log files and that is
required to start other Exchange services
DS Site Configuration
Holds general properties for directory services in an Exchange site.
Information Store Site Configuration
Holds general properties for all the Information Stores in a site
MTA Site Configuration
Holds general properties for all the MTAs in a site
Site Addressing
Holds general site-addressing data used in message routing
Recipients
Contains a list of recipients for this Exchange site
Mailbox
A private receptacle for messaging data
Distribution Lists
A group of individual recipients that can be addressed as a single
recipient or e-mail address. This is similar in function to a listserver.
Custom Recipients
Foreign recipients whose mailboxes do not reside on a Microsoft
Exchange server
Public Folder
A receptacle where information that is stored can be shared among many
users
Microsoft Schedule + Free/Busy Connector
A connector that receives Free/Busy scheduling information from Schedule+
for MS Mail
Menu Overview
The Exchange Adminsitrator program menus are:
Exchange Administrator Menus
The following sections describe the Exchange Administrator menus in detail.
You will use the Administrator program's File menu (see fig. 11.4) to create the components that comprise an Exchange organization or site.
The Administrator program's File menu.
If you have two or more Exchange Server connections open at the same time, make sure that the correct window is in the foreground when you create components.
This menu item allows you to administrate a Microsoft Exchange server remotely, as though you were logged into it directly. Although the Administrator program allows you to view all the objects in your organization hierarchy, you cannot alter site connections, mailboxes, connectors or site servers unless you are directly connect to a server in that remote site with the administrator program.
You must have administrative access on the remote site to perform remote administrator functions.
This menu item closes the active server connection window that you are using.
This menu item creates a new user mailbox. You must select a recipient container; otherwise, you are prompted to use the standard Exchange recipient container for that site.
This menu item creates a new distribution-list recipient. (You must select a recipient container first.) You must then confire the properties for the distribution list.
This menu item creates a recipient in a foreign mail system (MS Mail, SMTP, X.400, or the connected gateway).
This menu item displays the submenu shown in figure 11.5, which allows you to create other types of Microsoft Exchange objects.
The File—New Other submenu allows you to create many Exchange objects.
The items in this submenu are:
This menu item enables you to view and edit settings for particular Exchange objects or containers. Double-clicking on the individual objects brings up the properties as well.
This menu item creates a new recipient object with properties exactly like an existing one. Selecting a distribution list and clicking Duplicate, for example, brings up a new distribution list with a blank name but with all the members of the original list. This option is the same as using copy and paste functionality in other windows based applications. This option is not available if you have not highlighted or selected a recipient.
This menu item closes all connections to Microsoft Exchange Servers and exits the Administrator program.
The Exchange Administrator's Edit menu allows you to perform all the standard Windows Edit-menu functions.
This command works only with property text operations (cut, paste, and delete). Because you cannot access the Edit menu while a property page is open, this menu item is just about useless. Press Ctrl+Z instead to undo text commands.
These menu items function as normal windows based commands for use with text entries. They perform the same functions as in Microsoft Word.
This menu item removes unwanted text entries or directory objects.
Delete operations on directory objects cannot be undone. The only way to recover a deleted object is to restore from some sort of backup.
This command allows you to select an entire group of Microsoft Exchange objects in the Administrator program.
The View menu (see fig. 11.6) is designed to filter or sort what information the Exchange Administrator program displays. Mainly, you can choose how to view recipients, thereby making a large Global Address List a more manageable beast.
The View menu filters and sorts objects displayed in the Administrator window.
These menu items all filter the view for the list of Exchange recipients. A check mark appears next to the menu item that you are currently viewing. To view only a particular sub-set of the recipients, select an option other than the "all" option.
This menu item is a filter that adds hidden recipients to any of the preceding viewing filters. Hidden recipients are recipients not seen in the GAL.
This menu item changes the columns of information that appear in the Administrator program's user interface. This item is available only while you are viewing a recipient container. After you click on the Columns button, the dialog box shown in figure 11.7 will appear.
The Columns dialog box allows you to specify what object attributes are displayed.
The left side of the dialog box shows all Exchange recipient the attributes. The right column shows which ones are displayed in the administrator program.
To configure the displayed columns, follow these steps:
1. From the Available Columns list, select any additional attributes that you want to display; then click Add.
2. From the Show the Following Cloumns list, select any attribute that you do not want to display; then click Remove.
3. To change the order in which columns are displayed, select an attribute from the right list and then click Move Up or Move Down.
Columns are displayed from left to right, even though you set their order from top to bottom.
A better way to set column widths is to use your mouse. In the Administrator program's user interface, drag the mouse pointer over the dividing lines between each attribute column. When the pointer changes to two a double-headed arrow, click and drag that column to the desired width.
4. To change the width of a particular column, select its attribute and edit the number pixels it takes up on the Administrator program user interface window.
5. Click Apply to view your changes immediately on the background window.
6. Click OK to finalize your changes.
This menu item enables you to organize what you see in the Administrator
program user interface. You can sort any Microsoft Exchange object, including
recipients.
When you choose this menu item, a sub-menu appears, with two options:
Microsoft Exchange remembers every view setting in for each object list in the Administrator program user interface. At the same time, you can choose to view your global address list sorted by display name and your connection sorted by date last modified, and you can have your local address list filtered to show only public folders.
This menu item will open a Font dialog box which displays your currently installed system fonts. Select a font and then click OK to return to the Administrator program.
Another way to re-divide the administrator program user interface is to drag your mouse over the line, then click and drag it to the desired position.
This menu item selects the dividing line between the Exchange site hierarchy and the objects corresponding to the hierarchy in the Administrator program. You can now adjust the window's partition. Use the mouse to drag the line to the desired position; then click to set the line.
This menu item turns the status bar on and off. The status bar displays useful help messages and shows the number of objects in the selected container.
The Tools menu provides access to various administrative utilities.
The Directory Import option allows you to read comma-delimited files and use them to create or modify recipients. These files may contain MS Mail recipients, Exchange recipients, or some other foreign e-mail system recipients. The files will need to be created either by using the Exchange migration tools or by using Directory export tools in the respective e-mail systems. The files contain recipient name and email address information to be used in Microsoft Exchange.
Directory Import Features:
The following is a list of the features you can perform using the Exchange directory import function.
Microsoft Exchange includes some useful migration tools that provide similar functionality and are simpler to use. See chapters 7 and 8 for more information on migrating from other mail systems and use of the migration tools.
This menu option creates text files of Microsoft Exchange directory information that can be imported into other messaging systems.
This menu item selectively copies data from the Windows NT account list of a trusted domain. Files are stored in the CSV file format, which you can used with the Directory Import command to add and create Exchange recipients.
This menu item selectively copies user data from a Novell Netware account list. Files are stored in the CSV file format, which you can then use to import into Exchange to create Exchange recipients and Windows NT user accounts.
This menu item allows you to search for recipients anywhere in your organization, based on a variety of criteria. When you choose Find Recipients, the dialog box shown in figure 11.8 appears.
The Find Recipients dialog box allows you to search for a recipient by any attribute.
The top half of this dialog box allows you to specify search criteria; the bottom half displays the result of your searches.
To search for recipients, follow these steps:
1. The Look In box displays the recipient container in which a search will be executed. Click the Container button to display a global list of Exchange recipient containers in your organization; select one and then click OK.
2. By default, the Look In box shows the primary recipients container of the server you are connected to.
3. In the Find Recipients Containing section, enter any distinguishing search criteria for the recipient.
4. To search by custom attributes, click Custom, a dialog box opens up and you can enter your search parameters; then click OK to return to the Find Recipients dialog box.
5. Click Find Now when you finish entering search parameters. All matches of your search criteria are displayed at the bottom of the Find Recipients dialog box.
6. Double-click any listed recipient to view its Exchange properties.
7. Click New Search to clear all search parameters.
8. Click Cancel to close the dialog box to return to the Administrator program.
This menu item transfers a selected recipient to a different sever within the same Microsoft Exchange site. When you choose Move Mailbox, the dialog box shown in figure 11.9 appears.
Transfer a mailbox to another server in the site.
Select the Exchange server to which you want to move this recipient, and click OK. The mailbox is transferred to the new server's private information store.
This menu is unavailable unless you select a recipient from the recipient's container in the Exchange site hierarchy.
This menu item, Clean Mailbox, deletes messages in a particular user's mailbox, based on several criteria. This command can be useful when an unreasonable number of messages have piled up in a specific mailbox.
Select the criteria that you want to use to delete messages in this mailbox. A message must meet all the selected criteria to be deleted. The criteria are:
This menu item starts the selected server monitor or link monitor. This option is unavailable if a monitor is not selected.
This option launches the Message Tracking Center, which is a tool for following the delivery of messages through an organization.
This menu item displays the Organization Forms Library Administrator, which allows you to manage the various forms created using the forms designer tool in the Exchange client software to meet specific messaging needs.
This menu item is a toggle that can save information about your current server connections when you quit the Administrator program. The next time you open the Administrator program, it tries to reestablish the connections to those severs.
The moment that you select this option, Exchange saves current Exchange Server connections. The next time you open the Administrator program, it tries to reestablish the connections to those servers.
This menu item displays two property pages that allow you to set options for Exchange mailboxes and other recipients. The property pages are:
To set Auto Naming options, follow these steps:
1. Click the Auto Naming tab in the Options dialog box (see fig. 11.10).
The Auto Naming tab helps you generate mailbox display names.
2. The Display Menu Generation section allows you to define how the Administrator program generates display names when the email system administrator is typing or importing new Exchange mailboxes. Choose None to always enter display names manually. Choose Custom to create a specialized entry type or template.
3. The Alias Name Generation section allows you to define how the Administrator program generates alias names when the email system administrator is typing or importing new Exchange mailboxes. Choose None to always enter alias names manually. Choose Custom to create a specialized entry type.
4. Click Apply to set these properties and continue with the other properties.
5. When you finish making settings, click OK to return to the Administrator program.
To set Permissions options, follow these steps:
1. Click the Permissions tab in the Options dialog box.
2. Select the default Windows NT domain for all new mailboxes from the pull-down menu.
3. Choose Show Permissions Page for All Objects if you want the permissions to be displayed in all the property pages of the objects that have them. By default, this box is not checked, and the permissions pages are hidden.
4. Choose Display Rights for Roles on Permissions Page to display the list of rights on the permissions page. Roles are sets of rights that define what type of access, and how much, a user or group has.
5. Choose Delete Primary Windows NT Account When Deleting Mailbox to delete the associated Windows NT account along with a mailbox. This box is not checked by default.
Proceed with caution; a deleted Windows NT user can no longer log into the domain for any reason.
6. Choose Try to Find Matching Windows NT Account When Creating Mailbox to have the Administrator program search the Windows NT user list to find the matching account name. This box is checked by default.
7. Click Apply to set these properties and continue with the other properties on the permissions tab.
8. When you finish making settings, click OK to return to the Administrator program.
This menu a standard Windows menu. You can create a new display window for a particular server. Cascade, Tile Horizontally or Vertically, and Arrange Icons function as normal. Refresh requests and update to all window information form the server.
This menu is a standard Windows help menu. The menu contains three standard options:
From Here...
See the following chapters for more information on topics related to the Exchange Administrator program.
For technical support for our books and software contact support@mcp.com
Copyright ©1996, Que Corporation
