[This is pre-release documentation and subject to change in future releases. This topic's current status is: Milestone-Ready]

Topic Last Modified: 2010-07-14

Communications Server 2010 introduces a new web-based graphical user interface for administrators, called Communications Server Control Panel. This replaces the administrative interfaces of previous versions of Communications Server, which were based on Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

With a web-based UI, administrators can manage their systems from anywhere on the corporate network, without needing specialized management software installed on their computers. The Communications Server Control Panel can be used to perform many Communications Server tasks, and those tasks are presented in an easy-to-learn manner, with online help available.

When an administrator uses Communications Server Control Panel, it calls the appropriate underlying Communications Server Management Shell cmdlets to execute the tasks. RBAC restrictions affect administrators using Communications Server Control Panel.

Communications Server Control Panel supports the Windows Internet Explorer 8 Internet browser, Internet Explorer 7, and Mozilla Firefox 3. It requires the Microsoft Silverlight 4 browser plug-in.