First look: Exchange 2010 beta shines
Flexibility, reliability, client-side improvements, and ease of administration mark this major upgrade
Contributor, InfoWorld |
My No. 2 pick is the improved storage reliability. This lumps together several discrete enhancements, but the short story is that you can now run Exchange reliably without dealing with Windows clustering, RAID arrays, or fancy Enterprise-class disks. It'll be cheaper to store mailbox databases and faster to recover mailboxes in the event of failures.
My No. 3 pick is MailTips. Are you about to accidentally send a personal e-mail to the whole company? A a time-sensitive e-mail to someone who is on maternity leave for six months? A 30MB attachment to people who have 20MB attachment size limits on their mailboxes? MailTips tells you before you send the message.
[ See Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 highlights. ]
And my No. 4 pick is conversation view. Have the arrangements for a company party Friday night cluttered up your mailbox to the point where you can't find the approval e-mail for the urgent customer visit that you need to book today? Switch to conversation view, and collapse those 50 party discussions into one expandable node. This isn't a new idea; we were doing threaded conversations on bulletin board systems 25 years ago. But it is new to Outlook and OWA, and it's more than welcome.
New in Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 | |
Feature | Description |
Multiple-browser support | OWA (Outlook Web Access) support for Internet Explorer 7 and 8, Firefox 3, and Safari 3 |
Reply/forward status | Reply/forward status maintained by server, displayed by all clients |
MailTips | Warn about large distributions, out-of-office recipients, etc. |
Conversation view | Message threading; reduces mailbox clutter |
Calendar sharing | Calendar sharing extended to OWA, federated users |
Contact sharing | Extend shared contacts beyond organization and desktop |
Voice Mail Preview | Automatically transcribed text-based preview of voice mail messages |
Call Answering Rules | Incoming phone calls managed like incoming e-mails |
Rights-management in OWA | Read and create IRM-protected messages natively in OWA as well as Outlook |
Federation | Trust Exchange servers of partner organizations, share calendars, presence |
Page patching | Automatic repair of corrupted database pages from copies |
I/O optimization | I/O bursts reduced, allowing use of SATA (desktop) disk drives |
JBOD support | Replicated mailbox databases allow use of JBOD (concatenated disks) instead of RAID arrays |
Database availability groups | Redundant copies of mailbox databases with continuous replication, automatic recovery |
Database-level failover | Removes need for clustering, improves overall uptime |
Online Move Mailbox | Mailboxes can be moved during normal business hours with user online |
Transport protection rules | Allow an administrator to automatically apply IRM protection to e-mail after sending |
Moderation | Re-direct mail to a manager or trusted moderator for review, as a transport rule |
Outlook protection rules | Automatically triggers Outlook to apply an RMS template to a message before it is sent |
Role-Based Access Control | Delegation of specific authorities simplifies administration |
Exchange Control Panel (ECP) | User self-service for tasks that used to require administrators |
Message tracking | Users can track message delivery without a help-desk call |
Distribution group management | Users can create, manage, and moderate distribution groups |
Mobile Device Block/Allow List | Administrators can select which devices can sync data |
Protected voice mail | Prevent voice mails from being forwarded outside the organization |
Personal Archive | Move PST files to a secondary Exchange mailbox for performance and compliance |
Multimailbox search | Cross-mailbox search user interface for HR, compliance; does not require administrator |