Conference Rooms and Shared Calendars

Exchange Conference Rooms and Shared Calendars in Office 365 are typically configured as follows:

  • An Exchange account is created as a Room Resource, or Equipment Calendar.
  • Active Directory Security Group(s) is(are) created that have delegate permission to the account.
    • Recommended Configuration
    • Primary Account:
      • "ROOM123"
    • Security (Delegate) Group(s) (Groups will be mail-enabled)
      • "ROOM123-m" (manage)
      • "ROOM123-v" (view only)
      • "ROOM123-s" (send as)
      • "ROOM123-a" (admin)
  • The admin or members of the -a group are able to add/remove delegates using the Active Directory Users and Computers tool on a Windows PC

The Active Directory group delegate permissions are pre-configured by ITSS when the account are created.  All delegate access is maintained by security group membership.  Delegates should not be added individually in Outlook or OWA.

Once configuration is complete, delegates are able to open the shared calendar in Outlook, and access relative to their security group membership.  For room reservations, a user should use the Scheduling Assistant in Outlook, or include the room email address (e.g. "ROOM123@csuchico.edu") in the Invite Attendees To: field.

Room Resources and Equipment Calendars are disabled in Active Directory.  A user only need to be a Full Access delegate (or member of a group with Full Access) in order to open the calendar.  There is no password required for Full Access delegates.  The owner of the calendar can request assistance with configuring granular access permissions.  These requests should be routed to ITSS-Accounts for review.

Additional information can be found on the Microsoft support site:  https://support.office.com/en-us/article/room-and-equipment-mailboxes-9f518a6d-1e2c-4d44-93f3-e19013a1552b