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Configure management interfaces in an Exchange 2003 hybrid deployment

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Applies to: Office 365, Exchange Online

Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes

Now it's time to add your Exchange Online organization to the Exchange Management Console (EMC) and learn how to create a remote PowerShell session so that you can manage your Exchange Online recipients and organization configuration. If you would like to manage the Exchange Online organization from a specific hybrid server in your on-premises organization, you must add the Exchange Online organization to the EMC on that specific hybrid server.

When you add your Exchange Online organization to the EMC, don't be surprised to find that many fields that are typically available in the EMC for your on-premises Exchange organization won't be available in the Exchange Online organization. This is because many aspects of the Exchange Online configuration, recipients in particular, are managed from the on-premises Exchange organization.

Some tasks require that you use a remote PowerShell session instead of the EMC to configure your Exchange Online organization. When that happens, you can use the instructions below to open a remote PowerShell session to the Exchange Online organization.

Learn more at: Understanding Hybrid Management in Exchange 2003 Hybrid Deployments

How do I configure the EMC?

You can add your Exchange Online organization to the EMC on any hybrid server by using the following steps:

  1. Open the EMC on a hybrid server.

  2. In the console tree, click the Microsoft Exchange node. This is the top-most node in the tree.

  3. In the action pane, click Add Exchange Forest.

  4. In the Add Exchange Forest dialog box, complete the following fields:

    • Specify a friendly name for this Exchange forest   Type the name of the Exchange forest. This name will display in the console tree.

    • Specify the FQDN or URL of the server running the Remote PowerShell instance   Select Exchange Online, which contains the URL necessary to access your Exchange Online organization.

    • Logon with default credential   Leave this check box unselected. You will be prompted automatically to enter the credentials for an administrator in your Exchange Online organization after you click OK.

  5. Click OK.

  6. In the Windows Security dialog box, enter the account name and password for an administrator account in your Exchange Online organization. For example, admin@contoso.onmicrosoft.com and the associated account password. Select the Remember my credentials check box to allow the EMC to automatically use these credentials to connect to the Exchange Online organization when it’s opened.

    Important

    If you don’t select the Remember my credentials check box in Windows Security, you will be prompted for account credentials each time you open the EMC to connect to the Exchange Online organization.

  7. Click OK.

How do I connect remote PowerShell to the Exchange Online organization?

To connect to the Exchange Online organization using remote PowerShell, the computer you're using must have Windows PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Remote Management (WinRM) installed. Windows PowerShell on the computer must also be configured to run scripts.

Learn more at: Install and Configure Windows PowerShell

Use the following steps any time you need to create a remote PowerShell session with the Exchange Online organization and run commands.

Important

Be sure to disconnect the remote PowerShell session when you're finished. If you don't disconnect the session before exiting the PowerShell application, you could use up all the sessions available to you. You're allowed to have up to three concurrent remote PowerShell sessions. If you use all the sessions available to you, you'll need to wait for the sessions to expire.

  1. Open Windows PowerShell.

  2. Enter the credentials of an administrator account in the Exchange Online organization using the following command.

    $O365Cred = Get-Credential

  3. Create a connection to the Exchange Online organization using the following command.

    $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell/ -Credential $O365Cred -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection

  4. Load the Exchange cmdlets on the local computer using the following command.

    Import-PSSession $Session

How do I disconnect remote PowerShell from the Exchange Online organization?

After you've completed the tasks you wanted to perform in the Exchange Online organization, you need to disconnect the session between your local computer and the Exchange Online organization.

Use the following command to disconnect remote PowerShell from the Exchange Online organization.

Remove-PSSession $Session

How do I know this worked?

If you've successfully added your organization to the EMC, a new organization node for the Exchange Online organization will appear in the console tree. When you expand the new organization, you will see the Organization Configuration, Recipient Configuration, and Toolbox nodes. The Client Access, Hub Transport, and Unified Messaging nodes aren't displayed in the console nodes of Exchange Online organizations.

Having problems? Ask for help in the Office 365 forums. To access the forums, you'll need to sign in using an account that's granted administrator access to your cloud-based service. Visit the forums at: Office 365 Forums