Show you how Exchange Server 2007

Although each new version of Exchange Server has retained some of the features of the previous release over the years, some versions are more innovative than others. For example, Exchange 2000 and Exchange 5.5 are extremely far apart because Exchange 2000 is the first version that uses Active Directory (Active Directory). Exchange 2003, on the other hand, looks very similar to Exchange 2000, with just a few new features. In this article, I'll explain some of the particular differences between Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2003.

A new management console

The first change you might notice about Exchange Server 2007 is its new management console. The Exchange System Manager (Exchange Administrator)--Used in Exchange Server 2003--has now been replaced by the Exchange Management Console (Exchange Management Console), as shown in Figure A.

　　

Figure A Exchange System manager has been replaced by the Exchange Management console

As you can see in figure A, the management console has been completely reconstructed. While not overwhelming, a very large number of administrative tasks are quite different from those you are familiar with in Exchange Server 2003.

Scripting command line

The Exchange Management Console is no longer the only tool for managing and configuring Exchange Server 2007. Exchanger SERVER 2007 has now been designed so that tasks that can be done through the admin console can now be done either through a command line or a script.

The new Exchange Management Shell is very useful for manually entering commands or making scripting commands available.

With the complexity of the Exchange server, you can imagine how complicated the scripting syntax would be. Fortunately, Microsoft has not left you there to ignore it. The Exchange Management console is actually built on top of the Exchange Management Shell. When you perform an operation through the Exchange Management console, the console actually passes the command back to the Exchange Management Shell. In many cases, when the command has been executed, these actual commands will be displayed to you. This makes it easier for you to learn the usage of these commands.