Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP1

Topic Last Modified: 2012-07-23

Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes

Now it's time to add your cloud-based organization to the Exchange Management Console (EMC) and learn how to create a remote PowerShell session so that you can manage your cloud-based recipient and organization configuration.

When you add your cloud-based organization to the EMC, don't be surprised to find that many fields that are typically available in the EMC for your on-premises Exchange organization won't be available in the cloud-based organization. This is because many aspects of the cloud-based configuration, recipients in particular, are managed from the on-premises Exchange organization.

Some tasks require that you use a remote PowerShell session instead of the EMC to configure your cloud-based organization. When that happens, you can use the instructions below to open a remote PowerShell session to the cloud-based organization.

Learn more at: Understanding Management of an Exchange 2003 Hybrid Deployment

Caution:
This topic is meant to be read as part of the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Office 365 Hybrid Deployment checklist. Information or procedures in this topic may depend on prerequisites configured in topics earlier in the checklist. To view the checklist, see Checklist - Exchange 2003 and Office 365 Hybrid Deployment.

How do I configure the EMC?

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Exchange Management Console configuration settings" entry in Exchange and Shell Infrastructure Permissions.

You can add your cloud-based organization to the EMC on the hybrid server by using the following steps:

  1. Download and install Microsoft Office 365 Desktop Setup on the computer where the EMC is installed. To do so, go to the link below and click Set up in step 3, Set up and configure your Office desktop apps. Clear any selected applications in Select applications to configure and select Show more details to verify that the Microsoft Online Services Sign-in Assistant is listed. Click Continue to download. You don’t need to install Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint, or Microsoft Lync.

    Get it here: Microsoft Office 365 Desktop Setup

  2. Open the EMC on the hybrid server.

  3. In the console tree, click the Microsoft Exchange node. This is the top-most node in the tree.

  4. In the action pane, click Add Exchange Forest.

  5. In the Add Exchange Forest dialog box, complete the following fields:

    • Specify a friendly name for this Exchange forest   Type the name of the Exchange forest. This name will display in the console tree.

    • Specify the FQDN or URL of the server running the Remote PowerShell instance   Select Exchange Online, which contains the URL necessary to access your cloud-based organization.

    • Logon with default credential   Select this check box if you've configured Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) 2.0 to enable single sign-on and you've configured the on-premises Active Directory account you're logged into as an administrator in the cloud-based organization. If you want to specify different credentials, clear this check box.

  6. If you didn't select the Login with default credential check box, provide credentials of an administrator in your cloud-based organization.

How do I connect remote PowerShell to the cloud-based organization?

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. The specific permissions you need depend on the tasks you want to perform while you're connected to the cloud-based organization. In addition to the permissions required, the account you want to connect with must be configured to allow remote PowerShell connections. For more information, see Enable Remote Exchange Management Shell for a User.

To connect to the cloud-based organization using remote PowerShell, the computer you're using must have Windows PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Remote Management (WinRM) installed. Windows PowerShell on the computer must also be configured to run scripts.

Learn more at: Install and Configure Windows PowerShell

Use the following steps any time you need to create a remote PowerShell session with the cloud-based organization and run commands.

Important:
Be sure to disconnect the remote PowerShell session when you're done. If you don't disconnect the session, you could use up all the sessions available to you. You're allowed to have up to three concurrent remote PowerShell sessions. If you use all the sessions available to you, you'll need to wait for the sessions to expire.
  1. Open Windows PowerShell.

  2. Enter the credentials of an administrator account in the cloud-based organization using the following command.

    Copy Code
    $LiveCred = Get-Credential
    
  3. Create a connection to the cloud-based organization using the following command.

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    $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell/ -Credential $LiveCred -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection
    
  4. Load the Exchange cmdlets on the local computer using the following commands.

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    Import-PSSession $Session
    

How do I disconnect remote PowerShell from the cloud-based organization?

After you've completed the tasks you wanted to perform in the cloud-based organization, you need to disconnect the session between your local computer and the cloud-based organization.

Use the following command to disconnect remote PowerShell from the cloud-based organization.

Copy Code
Remove-PSSession $Session

How do I know this worked?

If you've successfully added your organization to the EMC, a new organization node will appear in the console tree. When you expand the new organization, you will see the Organization Configuration, Recipient Configuration, and Toolbox nodes. The Client Access, Hub Transport, and Unified Messaging nodes aren't displayed in the console nodes of cloud-based organizations.

Having problems? Ask for help in the Office 365 forums. To access the forums, you'll need to sign in using an account that's granted administrator access to your cloud-based service. Visit the forums at: Office 365 Forums