Exchange 2010

Microsoft released Beta version of Exchange 2010 and so far there has been positive feedback.

"I found that the latest version (Exchange 2010) empowers administrators by considerably simplifying many tasks they're likely to face. " Mario Morejon PCMag.com

"Now Exchange 2010 brings much more balanced improvements through new features. It is a major upgrade with a new face to it." Christopher Voce, an analyst with Forrester

Here is the technical data on the new product and link to download if you want to load it up in your lab:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=1898ed2c-2f88-48ac-824e-d3d20fad77d7

Overview

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Beta helps IT Professionals achieve new levels of reliability with greater flexibility, enhanced user experiences, and increased protection for business communications.

Flexible and reliable - Exchange Server 2010 gives you the flexibility to tailor your deployment based on your company's unique needs and a simplified way to keep e-mail continuously available for your users.

Anywhere access - Exchange Server 2010 helps your users get more done by giving them the freedom to securely access all their communications - e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, and more - from virtually any platform, Web browser, or device.

Protection and compliance - Exchange Server 2010 delivers integrated information loss prevention, and compliance tools aimed at helping you simplify the process of protecting your company's communications and meeting regulatory requirements.This software is intended for evaluation purposes only. You must accept the license terms before you are authorized to use this software. There is no product support for this trial software. You are welcome to participate in the forums to share your trial experiences with others and to ask for advice.

Sytem Requirements

Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2008; Windows Vista 64-bit Editions Service Pack 1

Operating System for Installing Management Tools: The 64-bit editions of Windows Vista® SP1 or later, or Windows Server® 2008.

PC - x64 architecture-based computer with Intel processor that supports Intel 64 architecture (formerly known as Intel EM64T) or AMD processor that supports the AMD64 platformAdditional requirements to run Exchange Server 2010 Beta
Memory - Minimum of 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM per server plus 5 megabytes (MB) of RAM recommended for each mailbox

Disk space
At least 1.2 GB on the drive used for installation
An additional 500 MB of available disk space for each Unified Messaging (UM) language pack that you plan to install
200 MB of available disk space on the system drive
Drive - DVD-ROM drive, local or network accessible
File format - Disk partitions formatted as NTFS file systems
Monitor – Screen resolution 800 x 600 pixels or higherExchange Server 2010 Beta

Prerequisites
If these required prerequisites are not already installed, the Exchange Server 2010 Beta setup process will prompt and provide links to the installation locations; Internet access will be required if the prerequisites are not already installed or available on a local network.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5
Windows PowerShell v2
Windows Remote Management