Understanding the Hub Role Transport Agents in Exchange Server 2010

Working with Transport Rule Agents

Transport Rule agents is the generic term used to describe any server-side rule that is run on the Hub Transport servers. These rules are very similar in design to Outlook rules, but they are run against the entire organization.

To create a simple transport rule to test these article concepts, perform the following tasks in Exchange Management Console:

1.	From Exchange Management Console, expand Organization Configuration and then click on Hub Transport in the console pane.
2.	In the actions pane, click New Transport Rule.
3.	From the New Transport Rule Wizard, enter a descriptive name for the rule and ensure that the Enable Rule check box is checked. Click Next to continue.
4.	In the Conditions box, shown in Figure 1, select which conditions the rule will operate under. In this example, it will fire on messages received from all users inside the company. Click Next to continue. Figure 1. Creating a transport rule.
5.	In the Actions box, select which action to take. Click Next to continue.
6.	In the Exceptions box, enter any potential exceptions to the rule, and click Next to continue.
7.	Click New to finalize the transport rule creation.
8.	Click Finish.

Transport rules use Active Directory (AD) replication to replicate any changes made to specific rules. Each Hub Transport server queries AD once every four hours for changes made to transport agents, and then processes all new messages based on the changes made to the rules.

Transport agents are highly customizable, and it is wise to go through the wizards several times to determine what type of rule functionality is available, and if your specific organization can take advantage of them.

Configuring Rights Management Services Prelicensing Agent

The Rights Management Services (RMS) Prelicensing agent is a transport agent that runs on a Hub Transport server to allow for Rights Management processing of emails. It verifies the authenticity of an email message without prompting the user for authentication.

The RMS transport agent requires Windows Rights Management Services Service Pack 2 or higher to function properly.

Working with Journaling and Mail Retention Policies in Exchange Server 2010

Journaling in Exchange Server 2010 is a method by which all copies of emails sent to or from specific users is backed up and logged. Even if the original email is deleted, the journaling system has access to the original content in the email. Journaling is especially relevant to many organizations looking to comply with governmental regulations such as SEC Rule 17A-4, SOX, GLBA, HIPAA, the Patriot Act, and NASD 3110.

Exploring the Journaling Licensing Differences

Journaling in Exchange Server 2010 goes beyond the capabilities present in the older versions of Exchange Server. Exchange Server now allows for two types of journaling:

• Standard journaling— Standard journaling is essentially the same journaling mechanism used in pre-Exchange Server 2007 versions of Exchange Server. This form of journaling requires that journaling be turned on to all users in a specific database.

• Premium journaling— Premium journaling offers new capabilities, such as per-recipient journaling, journal rule replication, and the ability to change the scope of the journaling rule.

Premium journaling allows for the scope of the journaling to be performed to be specified. Options are to limit the scope to Internal, External, or Global. If the scope is not changed from Internal to External, journaling is not performed if the user sending the message is not remote.

Enabling per Mailbox Journaling

Standard journaling is turned on on a per-database basis. After being turned on, it is on for all mailboxes within that database. To configure a database for mailbox journaling, perform the following steps:

Creating Journal Rules

Journal rules can be created to activate the premium journaling options available in Exchange Server 2010 to those clients with Enterprise Edition Licensing CALs. To set up a journal rule, do the following:

1.	From Exchange Management Console, click Organization Configuration, and then click the Hub Transport node.
2.	In the actions pane, click New Journaling Rule.
3.	Enter a descriptive name in the Rule Name field.
4.	Click Browse to locate a journal email address where journal reports will be sent.
5.	Change the scope to the desired level; this determines on which emails the rule will fire.
6.	If you need to limit the journaling to a specific user or group of users, you can check the Journal E-mail for Recipient check box and click Browse to locate the group or user, as shown in Figure 3. When you are finished, click New. Figure 3. Enabling a journaling rule on all email messages.
7.	Click Finish.

Setting Up Email Disclaimers

Email disclaimers have long been a desired feature in Exchange Server. In the past, complex SMTP event sinks or third-party products have provided this functionality, but Exchange Server 2010 now includes the built-in ability to apply a legal disclaimer to the end of all email messages. The transport rule topology is used for this mechanism.

To add a disclaimer to the Hub Transport role, do the following:

1.	From Exchange Management Console, click on the Hub Transport node under the Organization Configuration.
2.	Click New Transport Rule from the actions pane.
3.	Under Name, enter a descriptive name for the disclaimer and click Next.
4.	Leave the Conditions check boxes blank (so the rule will apply to all messages). Click Next.
5.	Click Yes when prompted with the warning about the rule applying to all messages.
6.	In the Actions box, check the “Append Disclaimer Text...” check box, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Creating a disclaimer.
7.	Click the blue text shown in the diagram; this opens dialog boxes allowing for the disclaimer to be written. Click Next when you are finished.
8.	Leave the Exceptions check boxes blank and click Next.
9.	Click New.
10.	Click Finish.