Types of Recipients in Exchange Server 2013

In this post we will see the type of recipients and its functions in Exchange Server 2013. Below are the types of recipients available in Exchange 2013. So what is a Recipient? Recipient is an mail-enabled active directory object to which Microsoft Exchange can deliver emails.
Mailbox

Mailbox is an Exchange object which is used to send or receive emails and to store messages, appointments, tasks, notes and documents. In Exchange 2013, we have the below types of Mailboxes

• User Mailbox: User Mailbox is an exchange object that is assigned to a user in your Exchange organization. We can create a new mailbox by creating an active directory user account or we can enable mailbox for an existing user account
• Shared Mailbox: Shared Mailbox is a mailbox which will be accessed by group of users. Shared mailbox will not be primarily assigned to a user account. Shared Mailbox will be added as an additional mailbox and accessed by users. For example, Human Resource can use a shared mailbox, where employees can send their common queries as email to that mailbox. Any one from HR team will access the mailbox and reply to that emails.
• Room Mailbox: Room mailbox is a resource mailbox used to booking conference rooms etc. By default, the active directory account for Room Mailboxes is disabled and the user having full access permission can add this mailbox or the calendar to as additional Mailbox or shared calendar. By default room mailbox will accept the room bookings, we can set a moderator whether to accept or decline meeting requests.
• Equipment Mailbox: Equipment Mailbox is similar to Room Mailbox, where the equipment mailbox will be used for booking equipment like Projects and White Boards etc.
• Linked Mailbox: Linked Mailbox is a special type of mailbox created in your exchange organization for user in different organization, where a trust has been established between those forests.
• Legacy Mailbox: Mailbox available in your exchange organization which is created from the previous version of exchange servers.

Special Mailboxes

• Public Folder Mailbox: Public Folders Databases are now discontinued in Exchange 2013, but public folders exist. Public Folder in Exchange 2013 can be created using a special mailbox called Public Folder Mailbox. First created Public Folder Mailbox maintains the Public Folder hierarchy and the permission as like previous versions.
• Site Mailbox: Site Mailbox is a new concept is Exchange 2013 which will allow a user to access the email and SharePoint documents from a single interface like Outlook 2013

Distribution Groups

Distribution Group are the active directory object which is used to send emails to a group of users.

• Dynamic Distribution Group: This is a distribution group that uses recipient filters and conditions to derive its membership. For example, we can created a distribution group with the condition that if the department equals sales, where it will find all the users with the department name as sales and make them as member of the distribution group
• Mail Universal Distribution Group: Mail Universal Distribution Group is mail enabled active directory group which is used only to distribute the emails.
• Mail Universal Security Group: Mailbox Universal Security Group is a mail enabled security group which is used for setting permission for group users on a resource in the active directory and also to distribute emails to the users as members of the distribution group.

Contact

• Mail Contact: Mail Contact is a mail-enabled active directory object which has the information about the users that exists outside of your exchange organization. Mail contact will have external emails addresses and the emails sent to mail contact are routed to external domains.
• Mail User: Mail user is similar to Mail contact, where the Mail User will have an user account which can be used to login to your exchange organization but the mail user will have their mailbox on different exchange organization.

System Mailbox

• Arbitration Mailbox: Arbitration mailbox is a system mailbox used for approval work flow. For example arbitration mailbox used for handling moderated recipients and distribution group member approval
• Discovery Mailbox: Discovery mailboxes are created by default which is used to perform in place ediscovery search in Exchange 2013.

Other Mailbox

• Disconnected Mailbox: It is a mailbox which is disabled/removed in exchange organization, based on the deleted mailbox retention settings in the mailbox database, the disconnected mailbox will be in disconnected state. If required it will reconnected to the same ad account or different account.

Posted in: Exchange Server 2013