Recipe2.16.Creating the First Administrative Group with a Custom Name

Recipe 2.16. Creating the First Administrative Group with a Custom Name

Problem

By default, Exchange setup creates an AG named First Administrative Group when you install the first Exchange 2000 or 2003 server. As part of your initial Exchange 2000 or Exchange Server 2003 deployment, you want to create a default AG with a name you choose.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

1. Launch the Exchange setup utility (setup.exe) from the product CD or installation point.

2. Accept the license agreement and click Next.

3. If prompted, enter your 25-character product key and click Next.

4. When the Component Selection page appears, set the Action for Microsoft Exchange System Management Tools to Install. Don't install anything else; you'll need to set the action for Microsoft Exchange Messaging and Collaboration Services to None.

5. Click Next on the summary screen.

6. Wait for the installation to complete.

7. Launch the Exchange System Manager (Exchange System Manager.msc).

8. Right-click the Administrative Groups node under your Exchange organization, then choose the New Administrative Group command.

9. When prompted, give your new administrative group a name, and then click OK.

Discussion

In Exchange 2000 and Exchange Server 2003, AGs are used to collect servers that should be managed together. Servers in the same administrative group can have a consistent set of Exchange system policies applied, and you can delegate control over the administrative group to an Active Directory group. However, moving servers between administrative groups isn't officially supported by Microsoft, so you should install servers into the desired AG from the outset. If you accept the standard installation settings, you'll end up with First Administrative Group as the default container for the first server you install.

In environments where you want to separate servers by administrative group, it's a little clunky to have all except one of your administrative groups named after regions or business units. Although you can move some types of objects between administrative groups, you'll be better off to create a new admin group before installing any servers. Of course, you can create all of your AGs using this trick before installing any servers. As an alternative, you can rename the first administrative group by using Exchange System Manager.

See Also

MS KB 271882 (How to Create a First Administrative Group with a Different Name), Recipe 2.17 for enabling the display of admin groups, Recipes Recipe 2.18 and Recipe 2.19 for creating and deleting administrative groups, and Recipe 2.20 for moving items between administrative groups