Exchange-Funktionsobjekte


Function objects - in difference to personal mailboxes - are shared resources to improve collaboration. The following section first describes the different types of functional accounts and then explains how they can be set up and managed on the LRZ IDM portal.

Types of functional accounts

Exchange supports four different types of functional accounts:

  • Distribution lists
  • Shared mailboxes
  • Room mailboxes
  • Equipment mailboxes

Distribution lists

Exchange distribution lists are not open mailing lists in the style of Majordomo, Mailman etc., but groups in the MWN Active Directory to whose members mails can be sent. The groups or distribution lists can therefore only contain email addresses that are included in the Exchange address book.

By the way: Distribution lists created in Outlook in the "Contacts" area are only "aliases to a comma-separated list of mail addresses", which are then all in the "To:" field (in contrast to the "real" Exchange distribution lists).

Shared mailboxes

Shared mailboxes offer the possibility to edit a mailbox together. Application scenarios are, for example, function addresses (such as info@domain.de) or shared chair calendars (e.g. for vacation planning) or shared contacts of the chair that everyone is allowed to read or that several people manage together.

Room and equipment mailboxes

Rooms and equipment such as laptops or beamers can be managed via Exchange. This requires a mailbox for each resource, which can then be added to appointments and thus reserved.

Room and equipment mailboxes can be configured to respond automatically to requests: If the resource in question is still available at the requested time, it is reserved and a positive response is sent by e-mail; if not, the request is rejected. This setting can be set in the options of Outlook on the Web by everyone who has full access to the mailbox
(cf. I want the calendar to enter my resource requests automatically (not only as tentative).).
In addition, other settings for the mailboxes can be made there.


Permission groups

For each shared mailbox, resource or distribution list there are permission groups that regulate, for example, access to a mailbox or distribution list. Usually there are the following three permission groups:

  • Group of those who have full access to the mailbox (owner).
  • Group of those who are allowed to send mail on behalf of the mailbox (Send-as group)
  • Group of those who are allowed to send mails to the mailbox (message-only-from group)

Not every group must necessarily exist. For example, if the group of those who are allowed to send mail to the mailbox (MOF group) does not exist, everyone is allowed to write to this mailbox.

Using shared mailboxes

This is described in each case in the specific instructions for Exchange Client Configuration.

Administration of functional accounts in the LRZ IDM portal.

This section does not apply to the

  • TU München,
  • Hochschule München,
  • Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf.

The Exchange accounts of these institutions are not managed in the LRZ IDM portal, but in the ID portals of the universities.

In order to be able to set up and manage function objects at the TU München, one must be assigned the function „Funktionsobjekte-Verwalter“ by the responsible TUMonline-Beauftragten (TOB). There is a separate, TUMonline-specific user manual for dealing with function objects, which is only accessible to TU members:
https://wiki.tum.de/display/docs/Funktionsobjekteverwaltung


At the Hochschule München and at the Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf function objects can only be created by the central IT.

The work for the administration of functional accounts is distributed among the master users (m/f/d) and the account responsible assigned by them. The exact responsibilities can be found in the following table:



Shared mailboxes

Room and Equipment mailboxes

Distribution lists

Master-UserAccount responsibleMaster-UserGroup managers
Create/Delete(tick)(error)(tick)(error)
Administration of the account responsible persons(tick)(error)--
Set or change display names(tick)(error)(tick)(error)
Set start password(tick)(error)--
Change Password(error)(tick)--
Set main mailaddress inital(tick)(error)(tick)(tick) (if not already set by the master user)
Change main mailaddress(error)(tick)(error)(error)
Enter/Delete alias addresses(error)(tick)(tick)(tick)
Change mailbox type(error)(tick)--
Enter/change/delete forwarding(error)(tick)--

Add Group managers

--(tick)(error)

Add/remove members

--(tick)(tick)

Set/change/delete moderator

--(tick)(tick)

Set/change groupname

--(tick)(error)

Set/change description of the group

--(tick)(error)

Edit Distribution list settings

--(tick)(tick)

The account responsible assigned by the master users can not only make settings for the functional accounts, but are also entered as the "owner" of the object in the sense of Exchange. In the case of shared mailboxes, for example, all owners of the mailbox can send messages in the name of the mailbox, i.e. with the mail address of the shared mailbox as the sender address (in Exchange terminology: "send as"). The list of owners can be extended or changed by the master user at any time.


Distribution lists

Further information on distribution lists can also be found under How do I create and change distribution groups?.


If you have questions about Exchange functional accounts, please contact the LRZ servicedesk (https://servicedesk.lrz.de).