Exchange Server 2007 administrative roles

Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003 were the first versions to include varying levels of administrative control. As Exchange Server evolved, so did these controls.

Exchange Server 2007 includes four different administrative roles; being familiar with each will only help you grasp the changes Microsoft made to Exchange Server 2010.

Exchange Server 2007 administrative roles include:

* Exchange Organization Administrator: As the highest level of control over an Exchange Server 2007 organization, this role has no restrictions. Exchange Organization Administrator is the Exchange 2007 equivalent to the Exchange Full Administrator role in Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange 2003.

* Exchange Recipient Administrator: This role is intended for performing day-to-day management tasks like creating mailboxes. It allows you to work with users, groups, contacts and public folders, but doesn't allow organization- or server-level administration.
* Exchange Server Administrator: Exchange 2000 and Exchange Server 2003 had the similarly named Exchange Administrator role; however, that changed in Exchange Server 2007. In Exchange 2007, an admin can be given administrative permission over individual Exchange servers without being able to make organizational-level changes. Admins with this role are also prohibited from uninstalling Exchange.

* Exchange View Only Administrator: This role was carried over from Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange 2003. It provides you read-only access to an entire Exchange organization. Since this role doesn't let you make any changes to the Exchange organization, it's primarily used for training purposes.

The administrative permissions used in Exchange Server 2007 are an improvement over what was previously available, but the permissions aren't exactly granular. To achieve granular control over Exchange management permissions, many organizations combine a few of these permissions and access control lists (ACLs). Although this technique works, it's complicated and may have unintentional side effects if implemented incorrectly.