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Assuming that Exchange is running under Windows Server 2003, there are two different methods you can use to remotely manage your servers -- remote desktop or an HTML-based terminal server session.
For security reasons, both remote management techniques are disabled by default. But, I personally don't believe that remote desktop is that big of a security risk, since anyone who uses it has to know the logon credentials for an account that has permissions to log onto the server console interactively (typically a Domain Admin).
If an unauthorized person has that level of access to your system, then you have bigger problems than remote desktop can introduce. Just make sure you block port number 3389 on your perimeter firewall so that remote desktop cannot be accessed from outside the company.
An HTML based terminal services session is a lot riskier, in my opinion. If you do decide to use an HTML-based terminal session, you should probably configure Internet Information Server (IIS) to restrict which IP addresses can access the remote administration Web site. You should not install Remote Administration through HTML, an OWA server, or any server directly accessible from the Internet.
Setting up Remote Desktop on your server is simple:
Setting up remote administration through HTML (known as the Terminal Services Advanced Client (TSAC) in Windows Server 2000) is a little more involved:
Now let's look at how to manage the s
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erver through a Web browser:
If you do need to use remote access, click on the Maintenance link on the blue bar along the top, and then click the Remote Desktop button. Internet Explorer will install the necessary ActiveX component and the remote desktop will be displayed within a browser window.
As you can see, there are some security issues associated with using remote management. Even so, sometimes the benefits outweigh the risks. If you are concerned about security, you could always call a trusted person at the remote facility and have them enable or disable Remote Desktop on an as-needed basis.
About the author: Brien M. Posey, MCSE, is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with Windows 2000 Server and IIS. Brien has served as the CIO for a nationwide chain of hospitals and was once in charge of IT security for Fort Knox. As a freelance technical writer he has written for Microsoft, CNET, ZDNet, TechTarget, MSD2D, Relevant Technologies and other technology companies. You can visit Brien's personal Web site at http://www.brienposey.com.
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I am pretty sure that you can just install the Microsoft Exchange System Manager on a remote system.
—Dan N.
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Yes, you can do that, but that really wasn't the point of the article. Exchange System Manager gives you the ability to manage Exchange, but not the server as a whole.
—Brien M. Posey, tip author
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Related information from SearchExchange.com:
Reference Center: Exchange administration
Learning Center: Toolbox for Exchange administrators
