Microsoft Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1 ships

Microsoft announced general availability of the final version of Exchange 2010 Service Pack (SP) 1 on August 25.

Included in SP1 are the usual fixes and updates made to Exchange 2010 since Microsoft shipped that product in October 2009. But SP1 also includes new features and functionality, including archiving and discovery updates, Outlook Web App improvements, mobile user and management improvements and “some highly sought after additional UI for management tasks,” officials said earlier this year.

On the Outlook Web App front, SP1 will get a faster reading experience, as a result of enhancements for pre-fetching message content, according to Microsoft execs, as well as other UI-related updates that will make OWA work better on smaller netbook screens. Additionally, users will be able to share calendars with anonymous viewers via the Web (if admins enable this functionality), the Softies said.

Operating systems supporting Exchange 2010 SP1 include Windows 7 Professional 64-bit; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 Enterprise; Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise; Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard; and Windows Vista 64-bit Editions with Service Pack 1, according to the company.

Microsoft officials said more than 500,000 Technology Adoption Program partners had downloaded the beta, released in June.

Users can download Exchange 2010 SP1 from Microsoft's Download Center.