Typically, a service pack may bring some fixes and possibly improve performance, but what could be so special about the upgrades to the the Exchange 2007 RTM I would use the word ‘awesome’? Well, my list is not the traditional deployment improvements, although I’d first like to give a few kudos in that direction. SP1 will install on a Server 2008 system, it includes Outlook Web Access improvements (support for Public Folders, S/MIME support, a monthly calendar view, users’ ability to edit server site rules,etc.). Along these lines there is also a new POP/IMAP interface (which was seriously lacking in the RTM, forcing an Exchange Management Shell as the ONLY method of configuration … this would have been No. 4 on my list if I were writing a Top ‘4’ list). And I’ll give a hats off to the transport algorithm improvements and a slew of new enhancements to the Unified Messaging role.
Yes… these are all good but not awesome. The Top Three improvements are:
1. Public Folder Management Console: Located under the Toolbox in the Exchange Management Console, this is an option taht opens a separate console all to itself and provides a GUI management interface for public folders where the RTM forced an EMS-only method prior to the SP1 release.
2. Increased ActiveSync Policies: The RTM of Exchange gave you 16 policy settings to work with. But SP1 offers you 27 settings for the Standard CAL and 43 for the Enterprise CAL. These new settings include simple checkboxes that allow you to turn on/off items like removable storage, cameras, WiFi, infrared and more.
3. Standby Continuous Replication (SCR): If you thought it was great that Microsoft provided 3 High Availability offerings in the RTM of Exchange, you will love the fact that SP1 brings with it a 4th. This new addition allows you to perform a server to server asynchronous replication of log files without the need for clustering or failover services. It’s not meant to replace Continuous Cluster Replication (CCR) but rather to be used in conjunction with it to provide an off-site copy of the data.
So, there you have it. The Exchange Team is now releasing information on Update Rollup 6 for Exchange 2007 SP1 and the snippets of information on the next version of Exchange, Exchange 14, is starting to show up in the blogopshere. So stay tuned for more changes ahead.
