Exchange Server 2010 : Services Provided by the Client Access Server (part 3) - Exchange Control Panel

6. Exchange Control Panel

The Exchange Control Panel (ECP) is a new virtual directory added in Exchange Server 2010 that provides access to the configuration data for users. The ECP works in conjunction with OWA to provide full browser-based functionality to users and administrators. To access the ECP, you can browse to it directly, or you can click the Options button in OWA. The default URL for the ECP is https://servername.domain.com/ecp. The ECP uses forms-based authentication by default, so if you browse directly to it your logon experience will be similar to your logon experience in OWA.

6.1. ECP for End Users

The ECP exposes some new functionality for browser-based access for both users and administrators. Users now have the ability to update their contact information in the Global Address List (GAL) through the ECP. Figure 2 demonstrates this capability.

In addition, users can manage their own groups. There are two aspects to group management:

• Users can manage which groups they are a part of.

• Users can manage groups that they themselves have created and own.

Figure 2. Users can now update their contact information in OWA using the ECP.

This group management component is a powerful new feature for users. Not only can they create distribution groups, edit their properties, and manage their memberships, but they can also determine how group membership is approved and whether the messages sent to the group are moderated. For example, the user who owns the group can determine that they want the group to require owner approval, meaning that users can only join if the owner approves. This powerful group management component is a significant advancement in browser-based email access.

6.2. ECP for Administrators

In addition to end-user benefits, the ECP also provides new functionality for administrators. When a user with administrator rights is logged into the ECP, they can choose to manage their organization instead of just their own mailbox. This is demonstrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Users with administrative permissions can manage the organization.

When an administrator uses the ECP to manage the organization, something interesting happens. Only the functionality that the administrator has permissions to administer will appear in the ECP. For example, if the administrator can't perform discovery searches, then the Mailbox Searches tab doesn't appear.

6.3. Managing ECP Settings

You manage the settings on the Exchange Control Panel in the same way that you manage Outlook Web App settings. You can modify some properties directly in the virtual directory using the IIS Manager tool. However, even though you have access to the virtual directory through IIS Manager, we strongly recommend that you make changes through the EMC or the EMS. The following cmdlets can be used for managing the ECP:

• New-EcpVirtualDirectory

• Get-EcpVirtualDirectory

• Set-EcpVirtualDirectory

• Remove-EcpVirtualDirectory

6.4. Testing the ECP

Exchange Server 2010 provides you with the Test-EcpConnectivity cmdlet out of the box for testing the ECP. The following example demonstrates the use of this command:

Test-EcpConnectivity

Creating a new session for implicit remoting of "Test-EcpConnectivity"
command...

CasServer  LocalSite     Scenario        Result  Latency(MS) Error
---------  ---------     --------        ------  ----------- -----
CONTOSO... Baltimore     Reset Creden... Success     4437.50
CONTOSO... Baltimore     Logon           Success    23390.62
CONTOSO... Baltimore     WebServiceCall  Success        0.00

As you can see from the output of the test cmdlet, a series of scenarios is tested.