As stated on many blogs and websites today, a beta version of Exchange Server 2010 are now available from this link on the Microsoft Download Center.
Exchange Server 2010 Documentation are available on TechNet.
Among the things that can be found there are “What`s New in Exchange Server 2010”, “Exchange 2010 System Requirements” and “Exchange 2010 Prerequisites”.
Also check out the Exchange Server TechCenter which are updated with new Exchange 2010 content, as well as the new Exchange Server 2010 forum.
For those of you who are interested in Exchange Server I would recommend to attend the following E-Learning from Microsoft: Collection 6899: Exploring Features of Exchange Server 2010
I installed the beta version on a virtual machine running on Hyper-V tonight. You can see some screenshots below.
Installation
I started by promoting the server (running Windows Server 2008 x64 Enterprise) as a Domain Controller in a new domain (for testing purposes).
I then installed the prerequisites and started setup.exe:
Administrative tools
After installation the following appeared on the Start-menu:
The structure of the Exchange Management Console are the same as in Exchange Server 2007:
The same are true for the Exchange Management Shell:
Compared to Exchange Server 2007, who got 394 PowerShell cmdlets for administration, Exchange Server 2010 got as many as 638:
Outlook Web Access
The Outlook Web Access are also improved:
The “Options” page:
New “Phone” features (Text Messaging):
When logged on as an Exchange administrator, it`s possible to choose to manage “My Organization” instead of “Myself”. Here Mailboxes, Groups, and External Contacts can be managed.
Reporting:
The beta version really looks exciting, and I`ll post follow-up posts when I explore new features. Stay tuned!
