Create and configure room resources in Exchange

Each Robin meeting room is tied to a shared resource calendar on your Exchange server. With it, people can add the room to meeting invitations and book space in Outlook or Robin.

What you set up

Each room that Robin manages needs a room resource calendar. If you already have them, go to the configuration steps.

• Create a room resource with the Shell method or the Console method.
• Configure each room:
  • All rooms via shell
  • Single room via shell
  • Single room via console

Create a room resource in Exchange

If you do not have room resources for your office, create them. In Exchange versions 2007 and 2010, you can create room resources in 2 ways: in the shell or in the console.

Shell

Open the Exchange management shell. Run this command:

New-Mailbox -Name 'Conference Room' -Alias 'conference_room' -UserPrincipalName 'conference_room@your_domain' -SamAccountName 'conference_room' -FirstName 'Conference' -Initials '' -LastName 'Room' -Equipment

Replace 'your_domain' with the domain of your organization, and fill in the "Conference Room" fields with the room's details.

Console

1. On the Exchange Server, open the Exchange Management Console (EMC). This is different from the Exchange Admin Console (EAC), but you can do similar steps there.

2. Go to Recipient Configuration > Mailbox.

   

3. In the "Actions" pane on the right, select "New Mailbox".

   

4. Select "Room Mailbox".

   

5. Select "New User".

   

6. Enter information about your conference rooms.

   

7. Enter an alias for the mailbox, such as "conference_room" or "call_room".

   

8. Finish the setup. Exchange creates the room. Repeat until you have resource mailboxes for all of your bookable rooms.

Configure each room

After you create room resources, configure them to keep important details such as title, description and privacy settings, and to prevent conflicts. This configuration makes sure that Exchange passes this information to Robin.

All rooms via shell

Open the Exchange management shell. Run this command:

Get-Mailbox -RecipientTypeDetails RoomMailbox |Set-CalendarProcessing -Identity "conference_room” -AddOrganizerToSubject $false -DeleteSubject $false -DeleteComments $false -RemovePrivateProperty $false -DeleteAttachments $false -AutomateProcessing AutoAccept

Single room via shell

Open the Exchange management shell. Run this command:

Set-CalendarProcessing -Identity "conference_room” -AddOrganizerToSubject $false -DeleteSubject $false -DeleteComments $false -RemovePrivateProperty $false -DeleteAttachments $false -AutomateProcessing AutoAccept

Single room via console

1. In EMC, right-click the room resource to change and select "Properties".

   

2. Go to the "Resource Information" tab and uncheck these options:

   • Delete attachments
   • Delete comments
   • Delete the subject
   • Add the organizer’s name to subject
   • Remove the private flag on an accepted meeting

   

3. Optional: To enforce booking and cancellation policies, turn on the Resource Booking Attendant in the "Resource General" tab.