Creating an Exchange mailbox
When creating a user account, the Active Roles console provides the option to create a user mailbox for that user. User mailboxes are the most commonly used mailbox type, and it is typically the mailbox type that is assigned to users in an Exchange organization.
Additionally, the console provides a number of commands for creating special-purpose mailboxes in an Exchange organization where Exchange 2013 or later is deployed. On a container, such as an organizational unit, each of these commands creates a disabled user account along with a special-purpose mailbox associated with that account:
- New | Room Mailbox Creates a mailbox that is assigned to a meeting location, such as a conference room, auditorium, or training room. Room mailboxes can be included as resources in meeting requests, providing a simple and efficient way of organizing meetings for your users.
- New | Equipment Mailbox Creates a mailbox that is assigned to a non-location specific resource, such as a portable computer projector, microphone, or a company car. Equipment mailboxes can be included as resources in meeting requests, providing a simple and efficient way of utilizing resources for your users.
- New | Linked Mailbox Creates a mailbox that is assigned to an individual user in a separate, trusted forest. Linked mailboxes may be necessary for organizations that choose to deploy Exchange in a resource forest. The resource forest scenario allows an organization to centralize Exchange in a single forest, while allowing access to the Exchange organization with user accounts in one or more trusted forests.
- New | Shared Mailbox Creates a mailbox that is not primarily assigned to a single user and is generally configured to allow logon access for multiple users. The user account that is associated with a shared mailbox must be a disabled account. It is possible to specify a list of the mailbox users each of which will have full access to the shared mailbox.
Steps for creating a user mailbox
This section provides instructions on how to create a user mailbox upon creation of a new user account. To create a user mailbox for an existing user account, use the Exchange Tasks command on that account. For details, see Steps for performing Exchange tasks on a user account.
NOTE: Mailboxes can be created only for Users, enabling mailbox for a Contact is not allowed.
To create a new user mailbox
- In the console tree, locate and select the folder in which you want to add the user account.
- Right-click the folder, point to New and then click User.
- Follow the wizard pages to specify properties of the new user account, such as the user first name, last name, full name, display name, logon name, pre-Windows 2000 logon name, and password.
- When prompted for the user alias and mailbox location, accept or change the default alias setting, and select the mailbox database to hold the mailbox data. Optionally, specify a retention policy, Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy, or address book policy for this mailbox.
- Click Finish on the completion page of the wizard.
NOTE: The behavior of the wizard pages may vary depending on the configuration of Active Roles policies. To determine whether a given item on a page is under the control of a certain policy, observe the text label next to the item: the underlined text label indicates that some policy restrictions are in effect. Click underlined text labels to examine the policies that govern the behavior of the wizard pages.
Steps for creating a room or equipment Mailbox
This section provides instructions on how to create a room or equipment mailbox along with a new disabled user account that will be associated with the mailbox. To create a room or equipment mailbox associated with an existing disabled user account, use the Exchange Tasks command on that account. For details, see Steps for performing Exchange tasks on a user account.
To create a new room or equipment mailbox
- In the console tree, locate and select the folder in which you want to add the user account.
- Right-click the folder, point to New and then click one of the following:
- Click Room Mailbox to create a room mailbox.
- Click Equipment Mailbox to create an equipment mailbox.
- Follow the wizard pages to specify properties of the new user account, such as the user first name, last name, full name, display name, logon name, pre-Windows 2000 logon name, and password.
- When prompted for the user alias and mailbox location, accept or change the default alias setting, and select the mailbox database to hold the mailbox data. Optionally, specify a retention policy, Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy, or address book policy for this mailbox.
- When prompted for the resource mailbox settings, specify the resource capacity and select the resource custom properties to add to the mailbox.
These settings are optional. After the mailbox has been created, you can view or change these settings on the Resource Information tab in the Properties dialog box for the user account associated with the mailbox.
- Click Finish on the completion page of the wizard.
Steps for creating a linked mailbox
This section provides instructions on how to create a linked mailbox along with a new disabled user account that will be associated with the mailbox. To create a linked mailbox associated with an existing disabled user account, use the Exchange Tasks command on that account. For details, see Steps for performing Exchange tasks on a user account.
To create a new linked mailbox
- In the console tree, locate and select the folder in which you want to add the user account.
- Right-click the folder, point to New and then click Linked Mailbox.
- Follow the wizard pages to specify properties of the new user account, such as the user first name, last name, full name, display name, logon name, pre-Windows 2000 logon name, and password.
- When prompted for the user alias and mailbox location, accept or change the default alias setting, and select the mailbox database to hold the mailbox data. Optionally, specify a retention policy, Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy, or address book policy for this mailbox.
- When prompted for the linked master account, click Browse and select the user from a trusted forest or domain to which you want to assign the mailbox.
After the mailbox has been created, you can view or change this setting on the Master Account tab in the Properties dialog box for the user account associated with the mailbox.
- Click Finish on the completion page of the wizard.
