Special Edition Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5

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Using the Administrator Program



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 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 prevent many headaches for you in the future.

Starting the Administrator Program and Connecting to an Exchange Server

The first step is to launch the Exchange Administrator application from the taskbar in Windows NT. You'll find it under Programs, Exchange, Exchange Administrator. After the initial splash screen, if you have not yet configured a default server, the Connect to Server dialog box appears (see Figure 12.1).

FIG. 12.1 Select your target Exchange server, and 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 which server you want to connect to. In the text box, type the name of the server to which you want to connect. You must type the server name accurately.


NOTE: You must have local machine administrator privileges on the server to which you are trying to connect. Windows NT 4.0 requires this privilege to access the Registry, which is where Exchange Administrator writes most of its changes. Previous versions of Windows NT did not require local administrator access.

If you click the Browse button, you can view a graphical representation of the Exchange servers within your organization. From that window, you can choose the Exchange server you would like to administer.

The Set As Default check box enables 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, however, 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.

Using the Administrator Interface

The Exchange Administrator interface shows your entire Exchange organization (see Figure 12.2). 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.

FIG. 12.2 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 identifies the server name, the site name, and name of the object that is currently selected, in the following format:

Server name in Site name--Object name

Take some time to explore the Exchange hierarchy on the left side of the window and get a feel for how the elements are organized.

Navigating the Hierarchy Tree

The Exchange site hierarchy window lists 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 those branches. After you display the branches, the plus sign turns into a minus sign (-). When you click the minus sign, the branches disappear. A branch that has no plus or minus sign to the left of it is at the end of the tree. When you click one of these branches, its contents appear in the right window of the Administrator window, as shown in Figure 12.3.

FIG. 12.3 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 a new Exchange organization and have not yet established connections, you see only a small portion of the local Exchange Server elements in this default view. After new connectors and other objects are created, go through the Administrator window to see how these additional components affect the overall Exchange hierarchy.

As you navigate the Exchange hierarchy, you will notice that every object has an associated graphic icon. The following text describes and illustrates the hierarchy tree and objects that are displayed in the Exchange Administrator program (refer to Figure 12.3 for an example of this structure).

I. Organization: The top or starting point of the Exchange server directory. All other directory objects are subordinate to this object. This is the directory name used for addressing and cannot be changed.

A. Folders: The parent container for all of the folder information in an organization. Note that these components of the hierarchy are compiled across all sites.

1. Public Folders: Public folders hold information that can be shared by various users. When a change is made in a public folder, that change is replicated to every replica of the folder throughout the organization. Use this public folders item to view all of the public folders and public folder replicas configured for Exchange.

2. System Folders: The system folders include the EFORMS REGISTRY, OFFLINE ADDRESS BOOK, and SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY folders.

a. EFORMS REGISTRY: This holds all of the organization forms libraries that have been created in an organization.

b. OFFLINE ADDRESS BOOK: This address book contains lists of recipients in the Exchange organization about whom remote users can get information.

c. SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY: This container holds one Schedule+ Free/Busy folder for each site. Every new mailbox that is created generates an entry in the Schedule+ Free/Busy Information public folder for the associated Windows NT account.

B. Global Address List: Lists all of the mailboxes, distribution lists, public folders, and custom recipients within your Exchange organization.

C. Site: The name of an Exchange Server computer's messaging site that is defined as a group of one or more Exchange servers connected together.

D. Configuration: Contains configuration information about the site.

1. Add-Ins: The Add-Ins container holds optional third-party services that don't need a mailbox (Directory exchange, PC interchange, and AppleTalk interchange, for example).

a. Extension: Contains properties sheets for directory objects. Common extensions are: Extension for Microsoft Mail Connector Extension for Schedule+ Free/Busy Gateway

2. Addressing: The parent container for all of the directory entries pertaining to address generation in Exchange.

a. Details Templates: Localized (by language/country) templates that define the details that are displayed on recipient objects.

b. E-Mail Address Generator: This container holds the following e-mail generators, which automatically generate email addresses for Exchange recipients:

cc:Mail E-mail Address Generator

Internet E-Mail Address Generator

Microsoft Mail Address Generator

X.400 E-Mail Address Generator

c. One-Off Address Templates: Localized (by language/country) templates that are used to determine what a user should enter when he creates a new email address in his Exchange client for addressing mail messages to a mailbox not in the GAL or in his Personal Address Book. These addresses are typically used only once.

3. Connections: Contains all connectors that are used to link Exchange sites with other Exchange sites, with Microsoft Mail environments, or with foreign email systems.

a. cc:Mail Connector: Permits message exchange with Lotus cc:Mail networks.

b. Internet Mail Service: Permits message exchange with Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) based email systems.

c. Microsoft Mail Connector: Permits message exchange with Microsoft Mail (PC), Microsoft Mail (AppleTalk), and Microsoft Mail (PC) gateways.

d. Site Connector: Creates a messaging bridge between two Exchange sites on the same logical LAN.

e. X.400 Connector: Creates a messaging bridge between two Exchange sites over an X.400 network or to a foreign X.400 system.

f. Microsoft Mail Connector for AppleTalk Networks (Quarterdeck Mail): Permits message exchange with AppleTalk networks.

g. Dynamic RAS Connector: Creates a messaging bridge between two Exchange sites over a Windows NT Remote Access link.

h. Directory Exchange Requestor: Sets up an Exchange server to request directory information from Microsoft Mail or other systems.

i. Directory Exchange Server: Sets up an Exchange server to perform as a directory-synchronization server for external mail systems.

j. Dirsync Server: Processes incoming updates from one or more directory requestors and incorporates the updates into the directory as custom recipient objects.

k. Remote Dirsync Requestor: Configures the internal representations of dirsync requestors that use this server. This internal information is used to authenticate and respond to requestors during directory exchange.

4. Directory Replication: Contains all directory replication connectors for Exchange. These connectors are bidirectional and enable replication of directory changes from one site to others.

a. Directory Replication Connector: An object that establishes recipient information sharing between sites.

5. Monitors: Contains monitoring tools that watch over an Exchange organization's servers and the links between them.

a. Server Monitor: Watches the status of an Exchange server's services and provides warnings or alerts if errors occur (for example, if the service shuts down, if the server isn't on the network, and so on).

b. Link Monitor: Watches the status of messaging connections between Exchange servers by measuring the round-trip time of ping messages and alerting the Exchange administrator if the trip takes longer than expected.

6. Protocols (site defaults): Holds all the Internet protocols that Exchange supports.

a. IMAP4: The Internet Message Access Protocol, version 4rev1 (IMAP4rev1) enables users with any IMAP4rev1 client (that is compliant with RFC 2060) to access mail in their Exchange Server mailboxes. It can also be used to read and post messages to public folders or to access another user's mailbox to which the user has been granted access.

b. HTTP: HTTP protocol (Active Server Components) enables a user to mail messages from an Exchange server using an Internet browser from a UNIX, Macintosh, or Windows-based computer.

c. LDAP: Lightweight directory-access protocol (LDAP) is an Internet protocol that accesses the Exchange Server directory. Clients with security permissions can use LDAP to browse, read, and search directory listings. Use this to configure forms of authentication (clear text or SSL), gain anonymous access, perform searches, and close idle connections.

d. NNTP: Network news transfer protocol (NNTP) is used to configure site defaults, message content, and time-out options.

e. POP3: Post office protocol version 3 (POP3) enables users with POP3 clients to retrieve mail from their Exchange Inbox. Any third-party POP3 email client can also access messages from an Exchange server.

7. Servers: Contains a list of the Exchange servers in this site and each of their core components.

a. Private Information Store: Stores all messaging data sent to individual mailboxes.

b. Protocols: Holds the directory objects that allow configuration of the various protocols by which Exchange can be accessed.

c. Public Information Store: Stores all messaging data posted to public folders.

d. Server Recipients: Contains all the recipients that call this server home.

e. Directory Service: Controls directory handling within a site.

f. Directory Synchronization: Also called Exchange DXA, this object controls general properties for Exchange directory synchronization.

g. Message Transfer Agent (MTA): Transports messages from one server to another or to external connectors.

h. MTA Transport Stack: Defines the transport used with a RAS or X.400 connector.

i. System Attendant: A core Exchange service that manages log files and is required to start other Exchange services.

j. DS Site Configuration: Holds general properties for directory services in an Exchange site.

k. Information Store Site Configuration: Holds general properties for all the information stores in a site.

l. MTA Site Configuration: Holds general properties for all the MTAs in a site.

m. Site Addressing: Holds general site-addressing data used in message routing.

n. Site Encryption Configuration: You can configure advanced security features in any site in your organization by using the properties sheets in the Site Encryption Configuration object. You use these properties sheets to view and select the KM server, to assign permissions on the KM server for Windows NT accounts, and to select the type of encryption algorithms that the client will use to encrypt the contents of a message.

o. Recipients: Contains a list of recipients for this Exchange site.

p. Mailbox: A private container for messaging data.

q. Distribution Lists: A group of individual recipients that can be addressed as a single recipient or email address. This is similar in function to a listserver.

r. Custom Recipients: Foreign recipients whose mailboxes do not reside on an Exchange server.

s. Public Folder: Contains information that can be shared among many users.

t. Microsoft Schedule+ Free/Busy Connector: A connector that receives free/busy scheduling information from Schedule+ for Microsoft Mail.

Exchange Administrator Program Menu Overview

The Exchange Administrator program contains the following menus:

The following sections describe the Exchange Administrator menus in detail.

File Menu

You will use the Administrator program's File menu (see Figure 12.4) to create the components that comprise an Exchange organization or site.

FIG. 12.4 The Administrator program's File menu.


NOTE: 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.

Connect to Server  This menu item enables you to administrate an Exchange server remotely, as though you were logged in to it directly. Although the Administrator program enables you to view all the objects in your organization hierarchy, you cannot alter site connections, mailboxes, connectors, or site servers unless you are directly connected to a server in that remote site with the Administrator program.

Close  This menu item closes the active server connection window you are using.

New Mailbox  This menu item creates a new user mailbox. When you select it, you must select a recipient container; otherwise, you are prompted to use the standard Exchange recipient container for that site.

New Distribution List  This menu item creates a new distribution-list recipient. (You must select a recipient container first.) You must then configure the properties for the distribution list.

New Custom Recipient  This menu item creates a recipient object for a mailbox located in a foreign mail system (cc:Mail, MacMail, Microsoft Mail, SMTP, X.400, or the connected gateway).

New Other  This menu item displays the submenu shown in Figure 12.5, which allows you to create other types of Exchange objects.

FIG. 12.5 The File, New Other submenu enables you to create one of many Exchange objects.

The items in this submenu are:

Save Window Contents  This menu item activates a new feature in Exchange 5.5 that allows you to save the contents of an object window (the right pane) into a comma-separated (.CSV) text file.

Properties  This menu item enables you to view and edit settings for particular Exchange objects or containers. Double-clicking the individual objects brings up the properties as well.

Duplicate  This menu item creates a new recipient object with properties exactly like an existing one. You can select a distribution list and click Duplicate, for example, to bring up a new distribution list with a blank name that contains all the members of the original list. This option provides the copy and paste functionality of other Windows-based applications. This option is not available if you have not already highlighted or selected a recipient.

Exit  This menu item closes all connections to Exchange servers and exits the Administrator program.

Edit Menu

The Exchange Administrator's Edit menu allows you to perform all the standard Windows Edit-menu functions.

Undo  This command works only with property text operations (cut, paste, and delete). Because you cannot access the Edit menu while a properties sheet is open, this menu item has very little value. Press Ctrl+Z instead to undo text commands.

Cut, Copy, and Paste  These menu items function as normal Windows-based commands for use with text entries. They perform the same functions that they do in Microsoft Word.

Delete  This menu item removes unwanted text entries or directory objects.


CAUTION: If you delete a directory object, you cannot recover it without restoring from a backup.

Select All  This command enables you to select an entire group of Exchange objects in the Administrator program.

View Menu

The View menu (see Figure 12.6) is designed to filter or sort the information displayed in the Exchange Administrator window. For example, you can choose how to view recipients, thereby making a large Global Address List a more manageable beast.

Mailboxes, Distribution Lists, Custom Recipients, Public Folders, and All  These menu items all filter the view for the list of Exchange recipients. A check mark appears next to the menu item that's currently being used to filter the list you are viewing. To view only a particular subset of the recipients, select an option other than the "all" option.

Hidden Recipients  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.

FIG. 12.6 The View menu filters and sorts objects displayed in the Administrator window.

Columns  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. When you click the Columns button, the dialog box shown in Figure 12.7 appears.

The left side of the dialog box shows all Exchange recipient attributes. The right column shows those that are to be displayed in the Administrator program.

To configure which columns are displayed, 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 Columns 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 (Show the Following Columns), and then click Move Up or Move Down.


FIG. 12.7 The Columns dialog box allows you to specify which object attributes you want displayed.


NOTE: Columns are displayed from left to right, even though you set their order from top to bottom.
4. To change the width of a particular column, select its attribute and edit the number in the Width box. This alters the number of pixels it takes up on the Administrator program's user interface window.


TIP: An easier way to set column widths is to use your mouse. In the Administrator program's user interface, position the mouse pointer over the dividing line between two attribute columns. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, click and drag that line to make the column the desired width.
5. Click Apply to view your changes immediately on the background window.

6. Click OK to finalize your changes.

Sort By  This menu item enables you to organize what you see in the Administrator program's user interface. You can sort any Exchange object, including recipients. When you choose this menu item, a submenu appears, offering two options:

Microsoft Exchange remembers every view setting for each object list in the Administrator program's user interface. All 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.

Font  This menu item opens a Font dialog box that displays your current system fonts. Select a font, and then click OK to return to the Administrator program.

Move Split Bar  This menu item selects the dividing line between the two panes of the Administrator window (the Exchange site hierarchy is on the left, and the objects corresponding to the hierarchy are on the right). You can then adjust the window's partition. Use the mouse to drag the line to the desired position, and then click to set the line.


TIP: Another way to control the split bar in the Administrator program's user interface is to position your mouse over the line, and then click and drag it to the desired position.

Status Bar  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.

Toolbar  This menu item turns the toolbar on and off. The toolbar displays buttons that give you easy access to certain functions, such as creating a new mailbox.

Tools Menu

The Tools menu provides access to various administrative utilities.

Directory Import  The Directory Import option allows you to read comma-delimited files and use them to create or modify recipients. These files may contain Microsoft Mail recipients, Exchange recipients, or other foreign email 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 email systems. The files contain recipient name and email address information to be used in Exchange.

The following is a list of things you can do using the Exchange directory import function.

Microsoft Exchange includes some useful migration tools that provide similar functionality and are easier to use. See Chapters 7 and 8 for more information on migrating from other mail systems and using the migration tools.

Directory Export  This menu option creates text files of Exchange directory information that can be imported into other messaging systems.

Extract Windows NT Account List  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 use with the Directory Import command to add and create Exchange recipients.

Extract NetWare Account List  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.

Find Recipients  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 12.8 appears.

The top half of this dialog box allows you to specify search criteria; the bottom half displays the result of your searches.

FIG. 12.8 The Find Recipients dialog box enables you to search for a recipient by any attribute.

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.

By default, the Look In box shows the primary recipients container of the server to which you are connected.

2. In the Find Recipients Containing section, enter any distinguishing search criteria for the recipient.

3. To search by custom attributes, click Custom. A dialog box opens, and you can enter your search parameters. Then click OK to return to the Find Recipients dialog box.

4. When you finish entering search parameters, click Find Now. All matches of your search criteria appear at the bottom of the Find Recipients dialog box.

5. Double-click any listed recipient to view its Exchange properties.

6. Click New Search to clear all search parameters.

7. Click Cancel to close the dialog box and return to the Administrator program.

Move Mailbox  This menu item transfers a selected recipient to a different server within the same Exchange site. When you choose Move Mailbox, the dialog box shown in Figure 12.9 appears.

FIG. 12.9 Transfer a mailbox to another server in the site.

Select the Exchange server to which you want to move this recipient, and then click OK. The mailbox is transferred to the new server's private information store.


NOTE: This menu item is unavailable unless you have selected a recipient from the recipient's container in the Exchange site hierarchy.

Add to Address Book View  This menu item adds the highlighted recipient to an Address Book view. Remember that you must first create an Address Book view container (such as all Los Angeles Employees) before moving a recipient into it.

Clean Mailbox  This menu item 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:

Start Monitor  This menu item starts the selected server monitor or link monitor. This option is unavailable if a monitor is not selected.

Track Message  This option launches the Message Tracking Center, which is a tool for following the delivery of messages through an organization.

Forms Administrator  This menu item displays the Organization Forms Library Administrator, which enables you to manage the various forms created using the forms designer tool in the Exchange client software to meet specific messaging needs.

News Group Hierarchies  To make an existing public folder tree into a hierarchy of newsgroup public folders, you can designate a top-level newsgroup public folder as a hierarchy parent. Newsgroups that are included in the Internet News public folder by default are not listed in the newsgroup hierarchy unless you add them to the list. You can also remove public folders from the newsgroup hierarchy.

Save Connections on Exit  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 servers.

Save Connections Now  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.

Customize Toolbar  This menu item allows you to add or remove specific function icons from the Exchange Administrator toolbar. This can be particularly useful if there are functions that you need to use during a migration period that you may not need as frequently later.

Options  This menu item displays two properties sheets on which you can set options for Exchange mailboxes and other recipients. The properties sheets are:

To set Auto Naming options, follow these steps:

FIG. 12.10 The Auto Naming tab helps you generate mailbox display names.

1. Click the Auto Naming tab in the Options dialog box (see Figure 12.10).

2. The Display Name 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 changing 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 properties sheets 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 access 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.


CAUTION: Use step 5 with caution: A deleted Windows NT user cannot log back on to the domain.
6. Choose Try to Find Matching Windows NT Account When Creating Mailbox to have the Administrator program search the Windows NT user list for 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 changing settings, click OK to return to the Administrator program.

The File Format tab defines separators and character sets for directory imports and exports.

Window Menu

This is a standard Windows menu. You can create a new display window for a particular server. The Cascade, Tile Horizontally or Vertically, and Arrange Icons menu items function as normal. The Refresh menu item requests and updates all window information from the server.

Help Menu

This is a standard Windows help menu. The menu contains three standard options:


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