Microsoft introduced some radical architectural changes in Exchange 2007, including a brand-new set of management tools. PowerShell, along with an additional set of Exchange Server specific cmdlets, finally gave administrators an interface that could be used to manage the entire product from a command line shell. This was an interesting move, and at that time the entire graphical management console was built on top of this technology.

The same architecture still existed with Exchange 2010, and PowerShell was even more tightly integrated with this product. Exchange 2010 used PowerShell v2, which relied heavily on its new remoting infrastructure. This provides seamless administrative capabilities from a single seat with the Exchange Management Tools, whether your servers are on-premises or in the cloud.

Initially when Exchange 2013 was released, it was using version...

Just like Exchange 2013, Exchange 2016 is very reliant on remote PowerShell for both on-premises and cloud services. When you double-click the Exchange Management Shell shortcut on a server or workstation with the Exchange Management Tools installed, you are connected to an Exchange server using a remote PowerShell session.

PowerShell remoting also allows you to remotely manage your Exchange servers from a workstation or a server even when the Exchange Management Tools are not installed. In this recipe, we'll create a manual remote shell connection to an Exchange server using a standard PowerShell console.

To complete the steps in this recipe, you'll...

There are several PowerShell and Exchange Management Shell cmdlets that provide a credential parameter that allows you to use an alternate set of credentials when running a command. You may need to use alternate credentials when making manual remote shell connections, sending email messages, working in cross-forest scenarios, and more. In this recipe, we'll take a look at how you can create a credential object that can be used with commands that support the -Credential parameter.

To create a credential object, we can use the Get-Credential cmdlet. In this example, we store the credential object in a variable that can be used by the Get-Mailbox cmdlet:

Since the Exchange 2016 Management Shell commands are executed through a remote PowerShell session, importing and exporting files requires a new special syntax. There are a handful of shell cmdlets that require this, and, in this recipe, we'll take a look at the syntax that needs to be used to transfer files through a remote shell connection.

Let's say that we are about to import a certificate to the Exchange server, more specifically the client access services. We can import the file using the Get-Content cmdlet, using syntax similar to the following:

    [byte[]]$data = Get-Content -Path ".\ExportedCert.pfx" `
    -Encoding Byte `
  ...

The Exchange Management Tools can be configured to use specific portions of your Active Directory hierarchy using a specific recipient scope. When you set the recipient scope to a location in Active Directory, such as a domain or an organizational unit, the Exchange Management Shell will only allow you to view the recipients that are stored in that location and any containers beneath it. In this recipe, we'll look at how to set the recipient scope when working with the Exchange Management Shell.

1. We can set the recipient scope in the Exchange Management Shell using the Set-AdServerSettings cmdlet. For example, to set the recipient scope to the...

One of the added benefits of the Exchange Management Shell is the ability to run very detailed and customizable reports. With the hundreds of Get-* cmdlets provided between Windows PowerShell and the Exchange Management Shell, the reporting capabilities are almost endless. In this recipe, we'll cover exporting command output to plain text and CSV files that can be used to report on various resources throughout your Exchange environment.

1. To export command output to a text file, use the Out-File cmdlet.
2. To generate a report of mailboxes in a specific mailbox database that can be stored in a text file, use the following command:

    Get-Mailbox | Select-Object Name...

As an Exchange administrator, you will probably need an automated solution for sending emails from your PowerShell scripts. Whether it's for sending notifications to users in a specific database or emailing the output of your scripts to a reporting mailbox, the transmission of messages like these will prove very useful in performing common day-to-day administrative scripting tasks. In this recipe, we'll take a look at how you can send SMTP email messages from PowerShell to the recipients in your Exchange organization.

PowerShell v2 and later includes a core cmdlet that can be used to send email messages through SMTP to one or more recipients. Use the following...

One of the most common tasks that Exchange administrators perform is scheduling scripts to run at a later time. This can be useful when performing maintenance after hours or running monitoring scripts on a regular basis. In this recipe, you'll learn how to schedule your PowerShell scripts to run with the Windows Task Scheduler. In PowerShell version 4, we got some powerful new cmdlets for managing the Windows Task Scheduler.

Open the Exchange Management Shell by clicking the Windows button and go to Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 and choose Exchange Management Shell.

To create a scheduled task that runs from one of your Exchange servers perform the following steps...

You may find it useful at times to record the output of your shell sessions in a log file. This can help you save the history of all the commands you've executed and determine the success or failure of automated scripts. In this recipe, you'll learn how to create a PowerShell transcript. An example of when this could be useful is if we are developing a script and about to implement it in a production environment. It would be neat to use transcript logging during the first run(s).

1. To create a transcript, execute the Start-Transcript cmdlet:

    Start-Transcript c:\logfile.txt  

2. You can stop recording the session using the Stop-Transcript cmdlet:

    Stop...

The scripting agents were introduced in Exchange 2010 and still remain in Exchange 2016. The concept of cmdlet extension agents is to extend the functionality of the Exchange Management Tools. The scripting extension agent can be used to trigger custom commands as changes are being made by administrators from the management console or the shell. In this recipe, we'll take a look at how to use the scripting agent to automate a task in the Exchange Management Shell.

To complete the steps in the recipe, you'll need to create an XML file. You can simply use Notepad or any XML editor of your choice.

If you are performing mass deployment of Exchange servers in a large environment, automating the installation process can minimize administrator errors and speed up the overall process. The setup.exe utility can be used to perform an unattended installation of Exchange, and, when combined with PowerShell and just a little bit of scripting logic, create a fairly sophisticated installation script. This recipe will provide a couple of examples that can be used to script the installation of an Exchange server.

You can use a standard PowerShell console from the server to run the scripts in this recipe.