I am happy to announce that Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate is feature complete and available for download!
You can download it herehttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd185495.aspx
I want to highlight a couple of interesting new things in the Release Candidate:
Support for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2: The Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate is now supported on the 64-bit versions of the Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
In place upgrade from Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate to Exchange Server 2010 RTM: You can start planning and deploying your Exchange Server 2010 test environment today knowing that it will be possible to perform an in place upgrade with the final version expected to be available later this year. You won’t need to reinstall your servers or reconfigure your Exchange settings once you have deployed the Release Candidate. This will save you time while allowing you to start evaluating the latest product capabilities now.
Co-existence with Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2003: If your current test environment is Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange Server 2003, Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate is able co-exist with either of the two versions. This will enable you/your company to start planning your upgrade, test critical scenarios and experience the benefits of the latest version of the product. For Exchange Server 2007 co-existence, Service Pack 2 (SP2) is required, and will be available later this month.
Exchange Web Services Managed API (EwsAPI) – Looking to develop or migrate your current Exchange applications? See the new improvements to the interface for developing client applications that use Exchange Web Services. Download the API from here.
Management Pack for Exchange Server 2010 (SCOM MP) - The Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 management pack is designed for monitoring Exchange Server 2010 events, collecting Exchange component-specific performance counters in one central location, and for raising alerts for operator intervention as necessary. You will need System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1 or System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 to run and monitor Exchange Server 2010 with this management pack.
Exchange Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer – This tool enables you to test client connectivity and inbound email scenarios beforehand. Access this tool from here.
Microsoft Exchange Server JetStress Tool for Exchange Server 2010 – This tool helps administrators verify the performance and stability of the disk subsystem before putting Exchange Server in a production environment.
Microsoft Exchange Load Generator (LoadGen) for Exchange Server 2010 – This is a simulation tool to measure the impact of MAPI, OWA, IMAP, POP and SMTP clients on Exchange servers and it has been optimized for the newest version of the product.
For customers who tried downloading earlier, but were unable to, know that this has been resolved. You can download the Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate from here.
Technical content on the Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate can be found here.
Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate video can be viewed here.
For additional technical details, please visit What’s new in Exchange 2010 on TechNet.