The EMC enables you to perform many deployment tasks and most common day-to-day administrative tasks. Additionally, the EMC allows you to administer both the on-premises hybrid servers and some recipient management features for mailboxes in the Exchange Online organization. It's installed by default on every Exchange 2010 server, but you can also install it on a computer running any of the following 64-bit operating systems:

• Windows Server 2008 SP2 Standard and Enterprise
  
  
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard and Enterprise
  
  
• Windows 8
  
  
• Windows 7
  
  
• Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 2
  
  

Adding the Exchange Online organization to the EMC is similar to adding another Exchange 2010 forest to the EMC. When the Exchange Online organization is added to the EMC, it appears as another node in the navigation tree. From there you can select the Exchange Online organization and configure some properties of Exchange Online recipient objects. To fully manage organization-level features and objects for the Exchange Online organization, you’ll be redirected by the EMC and provided a link to connect to the EAC in the Office 365 management portal.

The following screenshot shows the on-premises organization and Exchange Online organization in the same console.

Exchange on-premises and Exchange Online organizations in the Exchange Management Console

Important:
You can't use the EMC to administer Exchange 2003 servers or recipients. For more information, see “Administering Exchange 2003” later in this topic.

Learn more at: Exchange Management Console

The Shell enables you to perform any task that the EMC does and some additional tasks that can only be performed in the Shell. The Shell is a collection of Windows PowerShell scripts and cmdlets that are installed on a computer when the Exchange 2010 management tools are installed. These scripts and cmdlets are only loaded when you open the Shell using the Exchange Management Shell icon. If you open Windows PowerShell directly, the Exchange scripts and cmdlets aren't loaded and you won't be able to manage your on-premises organization.

Note:
You can create a manual Windows PowerShell connection to your local on-premises organization, similar to how you manually connect to the Exchange Online organization below. However, we strongly recommend that you use the Exchange Management Shell icon to open the Shell to manage your on-premises hybrid servers.

When you open the Shell using the Exchange Management Shell icon on a computer that has the management tools installed, you can manage your on-premises organization. However, you can't manage the Exchange Online organization when you open the Shell using this icon. This is because opening the Shell using the Exchange Management Shell icon automatically connects you to a local hybrid server.

If you want to manage the Exchange Online organization using Windows PowerShell, you must open Windows PowerShell directly and not via the Exchange Management Shell icon. When you open Windows PowerShell, you can then manually specify where you want to connect. When you create a manual connection, you specify an administrator account in the Office 365 tenant organization, and then you run a command to create a connection. When the connection is established, the Exchange cmdlets you have permissions to run are made available to you.

Learn more at: Use Windows PowerShell

If you're new to the Shell, check out the following topic to learn the basics about how the Shell works, command syntax, and more.

Learn more at: Exchange Management Shell

You can't use the Shell to administer Exchange 2003 servers or recipients. For more information, see “Administering Exchange 2003” later in this topic.

You can't use the EMC or the Shell to administer Exchange 2003 servers or recipients. To manage Exchange 2003 servers, use Exchange System Manager on a computer that has Exchange 2003 installed. To manage Exchange 2003 recipients, use Active Directory Users and Computers on a computer that has Exchange 2003 installed.