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Enable Automatic Resource Scheduling
Configure resource mailboxes to accept conference room appointments automatically.
by Ben Schorr and Jim McBee

February 2003 Issue

Q We're beginning to use Exchange and Outlook for conference room scheduling. Thus far, using Outlook doesn't seem like an efficient way to do this. I thought there was a script we could install that would handle this.

—Mitch, Madison, Wis.

A Ben: You have a number of approaches to choose from (see the sidebar, "Weigh Your Resource-Scheduling Options"). A clever gentleman named Robert Strong wrote an Exchange Event Service script that accepts meetings for resource mailboxes automatically (see Resources). Strong has asked people to wait until the next release before trying to implement it with Exchange 2000. You also need to train users how to invite the resource mailbox and not to make changes directly to the resource calendar, because it can get the free/busy information out of sync.

You can also use direct booking with Outlook 2000 or later: You configure a mailbox for each resource, then use Outlook to configure that resource to accept or decline meetings automatically. It works okay for some people and not so well for others. That's the bad news.

Jim: The medium-good news is that you can still reserve resources manually with some daily procedures. However, the person you designate as the resource manager (and who has permissions to access each conference room mailbox) must open each resource mailbox, open the meeting-request messages, then either accept the request or reject it. He or she should probably do this several times a day to keep the resource mailbox's free/busy information up-to-date. This might be a limited but acceptable solution for a few resources, if you don't have a lot of traffic to them—but there's a better alternative.

Ben: A product from Simpler-Webb called Exchange Resource Manager (ERM) automates and simplifies this process (see Resources). Unlike the Exchange 5.5 solution, this one uses Exchange 2000 Information Store event sinks. You configure ERM centrally using a graphical user interface, rather than installing a separate script or logging on to each resource mailbox. Other benefits: ERM supports direct booking; you can configure custom messages that can be used to reply to resource requests; and users need much less handholding.

Jim: Simpler-Webb even provides a two-resource version of ERM for no charge.