Exchange Server 2010 : The Exchange Control Panel (ECP)

The Exchange Control Panel (ECP) is new in Exchange Server 2010, and is a self-service Control Panel for both end-users and Exchange Administrators, accessible through the Outlook Web App interface. The management possibilities available in the ECP naturally depend on the management rights an individual user has in the Exchange organization.

When logged on to the Outlook Web App, click the "Options" button in the upper right corner to access the Exchange Control Panel. A typical user enters a page where only their individual settings can be changed.

Figure 1. The Exchange Control Panel for a regular user.

Also new in Exchange Server 2010 is the option for the user to change his or her own attributes in Active Directory, such as address, location or phone number. A user just has to click on the Edit button as shown in Figure 1 above, and their personal properties can be changed.

For a typical user the ECP is the replacement of the Options Page in Exchange Server 2007 OWA and earlier, with the additional capability of modifying their personal attributes. However, when a user has administrative privileges, the ECP has much more potential. In the upper left corner there's then an additional option: "Select what to manage," and the available options are:

• Myself

• My organization

• Another user.

Figure 2. The Exchange Control Panel for an administrative user.

When "My Organization" is selected, the admin user has the ability to perform basic administrative tasks like Managing Mailboxes, Public Groups, External Contacts, Administrative Roles and User Roles. Using the ECP it is even possible to create, modify or delete Mailboxes, Groups or External Contacts.

Figure 3. Available administrative tasks in the Exchange Control Panel.

Besides "Users & Groups" there is also a Reporting option available in the Exchange Control Panel, and this gives access to a tool which is the successor of the Message Tracking Tool in Exchange Server 2007. Using the Reporting options it is possible to retrieve information about the message flow in Exchange Server 2010.

To try it out, select the mailbox to search for information, select the Recipient (messages sent to or messages received from) and information for the Subject Line. The Exchange Control Panel will show a list of messages that comply with the search options.

Figure 4. Reporting options in the Exchange Control Panel.