Exchange Server 2010 : Working with Dynamic Distribution Groups (part 1) - Creating Dynamic Distribution Groups

Just as there are tasks that apply only to security and standard distribution groups, there are also tasks that apply only to dynamic distribution groups. These tasks are discussed in this section.

1. Creating Dynamic Distribution Groups

With dynamic distribution groups, group membership is determined by the results of an LDAP query. You can create a dynamic distribution group and define the query parameters by completing the following steps:

1. In the Exchange Management Console, expand the Recipient Configuration node and then select the related Distribution Group node.

2. Right-click the Distribution Group node, and then select New Dynamic Distribution Group. This starts the New Dynamic Distribution Group Wizard.

3. On the Group Information page, the Organizational Unit field shows where in Active Directory the group will be created. By default, this is the Users container in the current domain. Because you'll usually need to create new groups in a specific organizational unit rather than the Users container, select the Specify the Organizational Unit check box, and then click Browse. Use the Select Organizational Unit dialog box to choose the location in which to store the account, and then click OK.

4. Type a name for the group. Group names aren't case-sensitive and can be up to 64 characters long.

5. The group name is used to set the display name. The display name is the name displayed in Microsoft Office Outlook address lists. If necessary, change the default display name.

6. Like users, groups have an Exchange alias. Enter an alias. The Exchange alias is used to set the group's e-mail address.

7. Click Next to display the Filter Settings page, shown in Figure 1. The container in which you apply the query filter defines the scope of the query, which is the LDAP query you define for the group filters to recipients in and below the specified container. The default apply-filter container is the one in which you are creating the group. To specify a different container for limiting the query scope, click Browse and then use the Select Organizational Unit dialog box to select a container. In most cases, you'll want to select the domain container.

   

   Figure 1. Configure the filter settings.

8. Use the Include These Recipient Types options to specify the types of recipients to include in the query. Select All Recipient Types or select The Following Specific Types, and then select the types of recipients you want to include in the dynamic distribution group.

9. Click Next. On the Conditions page, shown in Figure 2 you can now set the filter conditions. The following types of conditions are available as well as conditions for custom attributes:

   • Recipient Is In A State Or Province Filters recipients based on the value of the State/Province text box on the Address And Phone tab in the related Properties dialog box. Click the related In The Specified State Or Province(s) link. In the Specify State Or Province dialog box, type a state or province to use as a filter condition and then press Enter or click Add. Repeat as necessary, and then click OK.

   • Recipient Is In A Department Filters recipients based on the value of the Department text box on the Organization tab in the related Properties dialog box. Click the related In The Specified Department(s) link. In the Specify Department dialog box, type a department to use as a filter condition and then press Enter or click Add. Repeat as necessary, and then click OK.

   • Recipient Is In A Company Filters recipients based on the value of the Company text box on the Organization tab in the related Properties dialog box. Click the related In The Specified Company(s) link. In the Specify Company dialog box, type a company name to use as a filter condition and then press Enter or click Add. Repeat as necessary, and then click OK.

     

     Figure 2. Set the filter conditions.

10. Click Preview to run the query and display a list of matching recipients by display name, alias, and organizational unit. Click OK.

11. Click Next and then click New to create the group. An e-mail address is configured automatically for SMTP. Exchange Server uses the SMTP address for receiving messages. Click Finish.

12. Creating the group isn't the final step. Afterward, you might want to do the following:

    • Assign a manager as a point of contact for the group.

    • Set message size restrictions for messages mailed to the group.

    • Limit users who can send to the group.

    • Change or remove default e-mail addresses.

    • Add more e-mail addresses.

In the Exchange Management Shell, you can create a dynamic distribution group using the New-DynamicDistributionGroup cmdlet. Example 1 provides the syntax and usage.

Example 1. New-DynamicDistributionGroup cmdlet syntax and usage

Syntax

New-DynamicDistributionGroup -Name ExchangeName
-IncludedRecipients <None, UserMail, MailContacts, MailGroups, Resources,
AllRecipients> [-Alias ExchangeAlias]
[-DisplayName DisplayName] [-OrganizationalUnit OUName]
[-ConditionalCompany CompanyNameFilter1, CompanyNameFilter2,...]
[-ConditionalCustomAttributeX Value1, Value2,...]
[-ConditionalDepartment DeptNameFilter1, DeptNameFilter2, ... ]
[-ConditionalStateOrProvince StateNameFilter1, StateNameFilter2, ...]
[-RecipientContainer ApplyFilterContainer] {AddtlParams}

New-DynamicDistributionGroup -Name ExchangeName -RecipientFilter Filter
[-Alias ExchangeAlias] [-DisplayName DisplayName] [-OrganizationalUnit
OUName] [-RecipientContainer ApplyFilterContainer] {AddtlParams}

{AddtlParams}
[-ArbitrationMailbox ModeratorMailbox] [-DomainController
FullyQualifiedName] [-ModeratedBy Moderators] [-ModerationEnabled <$true
| $false>] [-Organization OrgName] [-PrimarySmtpAddress SmtpAddress]
[-SendModerationNotifications <Never | Internal | Always>]


Usage

New-DynamicDistributionGroup -Name 'CrossSales'
 -OrganizationalUnit 'cpandl.com/Users' -DisplayName 'CrossSales'
 -Alias 'CrossSales'
 -IncludedRecipients 'UserMail, MailContacts, MailGroups'
 -ConditionalCompany 'City Power & Light'
 -ConditionalDepartment 'Sales','Marketing'
 -ConditionalStateOrProvince 'Washington','Oregon','California'
 -RecipientContainer 'cpandl.com'