Aug 26, 2010 09:51 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has wrapped up the first major upgrade for Exchange Server 2010 and made the bits available for download.

Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) introduces new features and functionality, but is also improving on existing capabilities in the RTM version of the product.

“You have been eagerly waiting, and we have been working hard over the summer to deliver the latest Exchange Server 2010 enhancements as soon as possible". “I am extremely happy to announce the availability of Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1,” revealed Kevin Allison, GM – Exchange Customer Experience.

Microsoft delivered the first details of Exchange Server 2010 SP1 in April 2010, and offered early adopters the Beta development milestone at Tech Ed North America in June.

“Since then, almost 500,000 SP1 mailboxes have gone into production in Technology Adoption Program (TAP) customer environments,” Allison added.

Exchange Server 2010 SP1 RTM is currently up for grabs via the Microsoft Download Center. In addition to the actual Exchange Server 2010 SP1 RTM bits Microsoft also made available the Release Notes and a list detailing the evolution introduced by the upgrade.

What’s new in Exchange Server 2010 SP1:

“- New Deployment Functionality - During an Exchange 2010 SP1 installation, you can now select a new option to install the required Windows roles and features for each selected Exchange 2010 SP1 server role.

- Client Access Server Role Improvements - The improvements and new features in the Client Access server role fall under several key areas: Federation certificates, Exchange ActiveSync, SMS Sync, Integrated Rights Management, Microsoft Office Outlook Web App, and virtual directories.

- Improvements in Transport Functionality

- Permissions Functionality

- Exchange Store and Mailbox Database Functionality

- Mailbox and Recipients Functionality

- High Availability and Site Resilience Functionality

- Messaging Policy and Compliance Functionality

- Unified Messaging Server Role Improvements - The Unified Messaging server role has been improved and has added new features in Exchange 2010 SP1. To use some of these features, you must correctly deploy Microsoft Office Communications Server "14" in your environment.

- Audit Logging Improvements - Exchange 2010 SP1 provides improvements in functionality related to administrator audit logging and new functionality for mailbox audit logging

- Support for Coexistence with Exchange Online - Exchange 2010 SP1 includes functionality that supports coexistence with Exchange Online.

- Support for Multi-Tenancy - With Exchange 2010 2010 SP1 built-in multi-tenant support, service providers that use Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA) no longer need a solution such as Microsoft Hosted Messaging and Collaboration version 4.5 to host multiple organizations,” Microsoft revealed. Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) RTM is available for download here.