Exchange 2013: Public folders

I have to admit that I have always been a little wary of public folders. Especially since the release of Exchange 2010 and the introduction of the DAG, public folders were rather annoying because they could not be included in the DAG. However, most companies like to use public folders frequently. Even entire applications for various scenarios were provided in the public folders.

There is no longer a public folder database in Exchange 2013 J Instead, there are now public mailboxes. The advantage is obvious: mailboxes can be kept highly available via the DAG and there is no need for a separate database for a handful of folders. Nevertheless, it is possible to replicate public mailboxes to other Exchange 2013 servers.

Create a mailbox for public folders:

To create a mailbox for public folders, first click on "Public folders" in the ECP. An error message appears if a mailbox has not yet been created. The message can be confirmed with OK

Then switch to the "Mailboxes for public folders" tab and create a mailbox by clicking on the + sign. The name of the mailbox, the OU and the mailbox database must be specified.

Click on "Save" to create the mailbox.

Public folders can now be created by switching to the "Public folders" tab

It is noticeable that statistics can be viewed and limits adjusted by clicking on the "pencil icon". However, permissions for public folders and replication to other public mailboxes can currently only be configured in the EMS. Perhaps these functions will be added to the ECP by the RTM version of Exchange 2013. After all, it is still a preview J