First, I thank Noelani Rodriguez and Randy Newman for their silent patience. Although they sacrificed sleep and consulting income to ensure the first edition of this book was done right, they were never properly recognized. Thank you, my friends. The first edition would not have been complete without your contributions. Be sure to check out Noelani's book, Using Microsoft SMS 1.2, published by Que.
Next, I thank Betty Dixon of Compaq and Ralph Smaldino of NEC for loaning us hubs and one incredible dual Pentium server. With the NEC server as our lab's heart and Compaq's hubs connecting to everything else, we turned a training room into a "virtual Software Spectrum." We simulated 11 Software Spectrum consulting sites across the world in one room complete with all the necessary connectors, protocols, and external mail systems.
I thank Software Spectrum for seeing value in this book and expending considerable time, money, and resources to ensure its success. Specifically, I thank Michelle Hollis, Site Manager for Software Spectrum's Technology Services Group (TSG) in Los Angeles for supporting me and helping me with my responsibilities so I could fully focus on authoring and editing. You are a great mentor and model manager. As you would say, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I thank Dan Gardner, Director of Consulting West, whose warm personality and ultimate integrity continue to inspire me. I say thank you to Link Simpson, President of TSG. You are an outstanding example of leadership by principles. I also want to give a big Thank You to Phillip McCollough, Product Manager for Microsoft BackOffice Solutions who managed the marketing effort for this book from Software Spectrum's side and whose Microsoft contacts were key in taking this book to the next level. Also thank you to Vic Clement, Principal Consultant, TSG-LA, for assisting several authors in completing their chapters, and to Robert Brunskill for standing in for me to proofread and submit several chapters. Finally, I thank Judy Sims, Chairman, CEO, and President of Software Spectrum Inc. I have a deep respect for anyone who can successfully manage a company such as Software Spectrum.
"I would also like to thank John Havlick (Production Manager, Exchange Solutions) and George Sarty (Manager, Product Development) of Software Spectrum for their support and their creation of the Exchange Solutions Alliance, which will help companies extend the Exchange prduct beyond messaging to platform for comprehensive groupware, workflow, and collaboration business solutions. Member companies will be able to share concepts and solutions centered around Exchange. The Exchange Solutions Alliance will focus on providing its members comprehensive information on availble third-part solutions for workflow, document management, unified mesaging, disaster recovery and other areas. Other benefits will include special discounts on add-on products and bi-annual Exchange Solutions Alliance symposiums. I truly believe that all readers will find value from the Exchange Alliance."
I thank all of the Microsoft employees who helped make this book a reality. Thank you Elaine Sharp in Australia for all of your Exchange information and moral support, and Brian Valentine for letting us use your quote to kick off Chapter 1. Also, thanks to Giuseppe Mascarella, Total Cost of Ownership Marketing Manager, for your great assistance; Len Wyatt in the Exchange Group in Redmond for answering all of our late night questions on Exchange features and performance tuning; and Marc Seifeld for all the help with ASP.
I thank Mario Santonastaso and everyone else at Campbell Hall School for their continued support and letting the team borrow a Macintosh for a key chapter. Mario, you're one heck of a client. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To the Fab Four, thank you for your tireless work. You know who you are.
Thanks to Mark Kapczynski for giving me the opportunity to participate in the first edition of this book.
I extend deep and loving thanks for my Mom, Miranda Lee, who supported me during the earliest phases of this book. Keep the faith, Mom.
I also send a big Thank You to Dad, Doe, and Dan in Ohio. You guys were always on my mind throughout this book.
I also thank Al Valvano and Stephanie Layton from Que Publishing for offering this book opportunity and making sure we delivered the highest quality material on time.
A loud and powerful thank you to Anthony Robbins. Although we only met briefly, your wisdom, energy level, and lifestyle continue to shape my life and the relationships around me. You were the difference that made a difference. I hope one day we can extend our meeting into a lunch. Live with Passion!
And finally, I extend thanks to someone I never have the pleasure of meeting. I thank Bill Gates whose company gave me my first technology job at the tender age of 18. One day, I'd like to meet and personally thank you for creating the company that started all this.
As I think about the amount of teamwork it took to complete this book, I'm reminded that with every accomplishment, there are always hidden heroes. If I've left anyone out, I truly appreciate your help, and I trust the book will somehow come back to reward you over the work you've put in.
Kent Joshi
Microsoft Practice Manager
Software Spectrum, Technology Services Group (TSG), Los Angeles
Neil Nelmida is a consultant for Software Spectrum-TSG Los Angeles. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, specializing in Exchange, Mail, TCP/IP, and Windows NT.
Before joining Software Spectrum, he co-owned a private consulting firm, which was a Microsoft Solution Provider. There he designed and installed Windows NT-based networks with Exchange Server and connectivity to the Internet. He also provided training for network administrators to maintain their systems to run at optimum performance.
He has always had a love for computers. He majored in Computer Science at UCLA, where he developed a solid foundation for problem-solving and programming. He also enjoys all multi-media games, especially golf.
Intekhab "Inti" Shaikh has more than seven years of experience in the computer industry. Starting from the DOS 3.1 days to the current NT Server 4.0, Inti has all-around experience with both Microsoft FrontOffice and BackOffice products. On the hardware side, Inti has upgraded a number of PC's, installed additional hardware components, and configured NIC cards. On the software side, Inti has a great deal of experience with Excel and Access. He has created full-service payroll software within Excel that creates a payroll, calculates the federal and state tax liability, and builds payroll reports. He has also programmed spreadsheet applications that crunch formulas, run statistics, and automatically generate useful business reports.
Inti conducts training sessions on Excel, Word, and accounting software (payroll taxes in particular) for the CPA firms and small companies in the Los Angeles area. Inti owns and manages a payroll and bookkeepinig company of his own. Additionally, Inti is a Microsoft Certified Professional and is currently pursuing the Microsoft Systems Engineer Certification. He also has multiple degrees from Cal State University and is a network consultant with Software Spectrum, INC., in Los Angeles. Currently, he is working on deploying Microsoft Systems Manager Server in a 1,000-workstation client in Long Beach, California.
His passion is spending time with his family, using Windows NT, reading technical books, keeping accounting books for his clients, and spending time with a great team of consultants he works with at Software Spectrum's Los Angeles office. His e-mail is ishaikh@swspectrum.com. Inti owes his networking exposure to Kent Joshi, the primary author of this book, who is a good friend, and his mentor in this industry.
Richard Romo is a principal consultant and teacher for Software Spectrum. His experience has ranged from small to large corporations, and he has worked in the Southern California area for 13 years. Richard has a BA in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Richard has worked for a variety of accounts, setting up UNIX Administration and TCP/IP networks. For three years he has been setting up NT networks, Exchange, and SMS projects. Richard is an Accelerated Certified Engineer for Santa Cruz Operating System's UNIX, and a certified teacher for Santa Cruz Operation. He also is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and is a specialist for Information Internet Server. Additionally, he has worked as a Senior Consultant for Grant Thornton, managing projects for NT and Microsoft SQL installation for Association and Professional Societies, and has served as a director of a Microsoft Authorized Training Educational Center in Orange County. He has extensive experience with Microsoft Exahange and System Management Server in some of the biggest companies in Southern California.
Tracy Bradley has been involved with Windows NT since the early BETAs of NT 3.1 in October of 1992, and the NT Inside Track Program of 1993. He has been a dedicated, avid NT and Microsoft supporter since then and travels to "Mecca" near Seattle every chance he gets. In addition to long-term experience with NT, Tracy is a Lotus Notes Certified Specialist (LCNS) since 1994 with experience in administering and developing workgroup applications for several large corporations. Since joining Software Spectrum's Dallas office in 1995, Tracy not only has completed MCSE certification, but also has been involved with Exchange almost exclusively since BETA 1 of version 4.0, with extensive work with MS Mail as well.
Currently, Tracy is the Microsoft Messaging Team leader over a thriving business in the Dallas area and has worked with literally dozens of Fortune 1000 corporations across the nation in design, implementation, and continuing development surrounding Exchange. Tracy was a presenter at the first Exchange Deployment Conference in Austin, Texas, in September 1996 and is in much demand for consulting engagements across the Software Spectrum realm.
When not jetting around the U.S. and abroad, Tracy enjoys time at home with his wife, Sheryl, and baby daughter, Rebecca, without whom "all this work would be worthless." Not bad for a Music Education major from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, wouldn't you say?
Robert Short has more than 12 years of experience in the industry, and his skills range from Project Management to Infrastructure design.
He is a certified engineer with Microsoft, Novell, and Banyan and has implemented large cc:Mail, Beyond Mail WordPerfect Office/GroupWise message systems. He is currently an employee of Software Spectrum and is specializing in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft System Management, and Microsoft Exchange Servers. He designs and implements large Banyan Networks at sites like Litton Data Systems, Warner Bros. Records, and several agencies in the Los Angeles area. Bob has also installed a number of Novell 3.x and 4x networks and has migrated Netware clients from Netware 3.x to Netware 4.x and Microsoft Windows NT. He has a strong background in System/Directory service design from his early days working with Banyan Vines StreetTalk. This knowledge makes the transition to Netware Directory Services a strong one and has helped with Microsoft Exchange designs.
Bob would like to thank his wife, Kelly, and his daughter, Shayla, for all their love and support.
Kent Joshi holds a BS in finance from the University of Utah. Currently, he is the Microsoft Practice Manager for Software Spectrum Inc.'s Technology Services Group. He is responsible for all aspects of the consulting practice including financials, resource management, employee development, and maintaining a close relationship with Microsoft.
Previously, he owned and managed The Joshi Group, a technical consulting firm specializing in the design, deployment, and tuning of large corporate networks. The Joshi Group has recently joined Software Spectrum, and Kent as well as his employees are now employed in their Los Angeles office.
Before managing his own company, he was employed at IBM Corporation, where he managed a team of consultants who installed and supported network systems for educational accounts.
Additionally, he has also worked for Microsoft Corporation, where he provided pre- and post-sales consulting for several Mzxicrosoft clients. In his role as a systems engineer, he was recognized as the Outstanding Representative in the Western Region. Kent can be reached at kjoshi@swspectrum.com.
Tito Del Prado has more than nine years of networking experience, having worked extensively with Novell Netware, Banyan Vines, and Microsoft BackOffice. Tito is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), specializing in the Microsoft NT 4.0 operating system. He is a certified Netframe administrator and has a diploma in Computer Technology and Electronics from Computer Learning Center of Los Angeles. Tito is a consultant at the Los Angeles office of the Technology Services Group of Software Spectrum, Inc.
Before working as a network consultant, Tito was a hardware engineer specializing in the legal arena. Having worked at most of the major law firms in the Los Angeles area, Tito has experience working with multiple platforms and applications as well as wide and local area networks. Tito also has experience working with many large government contractors such as Rockwell and TRW.
Aside from his various computer interests, Tito also enjoys spending time with his family, combing the beaches of Southern California for the perfect wave, and is an active member of his communnity, coaching and organizing youth sports and activites. His email address is Tdelprado@swspectrum.com.
Valeno Valentino has nine years of computer experience as a freelance programmer and five years of experience in networking infrastructure. Working for companies such as Paramount Pictures, GTE, Loma Linda Medical Center, Comp USA, and Kenneth Cole Shoes (just to name a few) has helped him become a seasoned computer professional. Database design and object-oriented programming have probably been his claim to fame. On the networking side, he has implemented Windows NT 3.51 server with Workstation 4.0 clients on the LAN/WAN environment at Lawyers Title Insurance in Glendale, California. Troubleshooting DHCP and TCP/IP problems in the Los Angeles and San Fernando areas has made him a topnotch problem solver. He is now on the Software Spectrum Consulting Team where he happily coexists in the network infrastructure and application development worlds. He gives special acknowledgment to his mother, two sisters, nephew, and his girlfriend Lisa; without their support from the very beginning none of his accomplishments would have been possible. He considers himself a dedicated and hardworking consultant who will be making his mark in the larger arena in the years to come. Drop him a line sometime at Vvalentino@swspectrum.com.
Michael Fawcett is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) specializing in Exchange. He graduated from Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario from the Computer Programmer Analyst course and headed west to cut his teeth in the business in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Michael honed his Microsoft skills with Information Systems Management Corporation in Winnipeg and proceeded to make his next move due south. Michael is now working for Software Spectrum in Houston, Texas, designing and implementing Exchange solutions for oil and petrochemical companies based in South East Texas and New Orleans.
Mike would love to thank his wife, Carlene, and their three boys, Alexander, Damon, and Luke for their understanding and support.
Teresa Harmon is a consultant for the Software Spectrum-Seattle Office. She specializes in Microsoft Exchange architecting, implementation, and training. In the brief period that Teresa has been with Software Spectrum, she has completed several Exchange engagements. She spent many weeks in Anchorage, Alaska, working Exchange deployment and infrastructure issues and learning how to fish for halibut in her spare time!
Before working at Software Spectrum, Teresa was a senior analyst with King County's IT Department, and specialized in networking and Exchange.
Brent Frerck is an MCSE and member of Software Spectrum's TSG MS Messaging Team in Dallas. Brent joined Software Spectrum in April of 1997 when he entered "The Institute for Microsoft Technology." Following graduation from The Institute, Brent focused his consulting efforts on enterprise integration and deployment of Exchange Server. With over eight years of computer networking experience, he brings an array of messaging experiences and professional skills to his team.
Kristi, his wife, and Brenden and Matthew, his two sons, are Brent's greatest motivation. His most favorite activities are travelling and spending time in the great outdoors with his family. Brent thanks God and his family for their strength and love.
Wes Palmer is an MCP consultant for Software Spectrum, in Chicago. His experience includes migrating and maintaining the second largest Microsoft Mail implementation in the world to an Exchange backbone, and engineering the coexistance of Exchange with multiple mail systems with full Directory Synchronization. He also specializes in the Internet Mail Service, browser client access for mail calendar information, and the use of Publc Folders in large organizations. As a second area of expertise, Wes engineered several large Systems Management Server implementations across multiple client platforms.
Guillermo Proaño holds both a BBA and a BS in computer information science from Lamar University. A native of Lima, Peru, Guillermo has been involved in the planning and deployment of advanced Microsoft products for more than seven years. Guillermo has been a Microsoft supporter since his LAN Manager and Windows 3.0 days. Since joining Software Spectrum's Houston office, he has completed both his MCSE and MCT certifications with a focus on project management, messaging, and collaborative solutions.
Currently, Guillermo is the Messaging Team Leader for Software Spectrum's Gulf Coast Region. Together with his practice manager he has been heavily involved in the development of one of the premier messaging consulting SPs in the Texas Gulf Coast region, with a special focus on Microsoft Exchange Server.
When not working on Microsoft BackOffice projects for Fortune 1000 customers, Guillermo spends as much time as possible with his wife, Monica, and daughter, Ericka, as well as playing soccer.
Jason Roundy's core background includes Microsoft Mail, cc:Mail, Lotus Notes, & NT administration and architecture, and has helped solidify his vision of how strategic Exchange is and will continue to be. Leveraging strong people skills, Exchange integration allows him greater contact with an entire organization and that makes the consulting experience much more satisfying. Software Spectrum's Chicago office has provided a number of choice consulting engagements, including infrastructure design and enhancement for a major national association. Jason is currently developing an operational model for public folder usage in an environment that will reach 60,000 nodes.
With all this passion for consulting and Exchange, his marriage remains a focal pursuit. It takes extraordinary effort, bears the greatest rewards, and is constantly challenging, particularly when his focus is needed elsewhere. Jane Roundy, his wife of 6 years, lends a touch of the divine to their time together and Jason attributes much of his success to their "conspiracy of strength."
David A. Torres is a managing consultant for Software Spectrum. He is a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer and Microsoft Certified System Engineer. He is a speaker and author and has been featured speaker at Microsoft Developer Days and Windows World, and was a contributing author for Special Edition Using ISAPI, published by Que.
Zelko Kecman has been with Software Spectrum for two years as a senior consultant focusing on messaging. He is involved in the development and design of messaging architectures for corporations in Canada.
Mark Vis is a senior Software Spectrum consultant with nine years' experience as an IS Analyst and manager in Silicon Valley. A voracious sailor, he races weekly in San Francisco Bay and elsewhere. He dreams of a Microsoft-sponsored, all-MCSE team for the Whitbread around-the-world race. You can reach Mark at mvis@softwarespectrum.com.
Troy Vasa holds a BA degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska. Currently he is a senior consultant in Software Spectrum's Technology Services Group in their San Francisco office.
Troy is an MCSE, specializing in Microsoft Exchange and Windows NT. Along with his interests in computers, he enjoys scuba diving, sea kayaking, and other adventures that the Bay Area provides.
Introduction
Microsoft Exchange Server is one of the most scalable and feature-rich products from Microsoft. In a small office, it's a robust messaging and group scheduling system with Internet mail capability, so that Exchange users can reach just about anyone on the Internet. In a large corporation, it's positioned to be the messaging backbone and a versatile groupware product. Using the Forms Designer, you can build custom workflow applications, such as a personnel profiles database. (See Chapter 33, "Developing Exchange Forms" for a personnel profile form application created from scratch.) Because larger companies usually have existing mail systems, Exchange provides several connectors, gateways, and migration/extraction tools so that your current mail system can coexist with or migrate to Exchange. With the newly enhanced Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAPv3) features in Exchange 5.5 and the new hooks for the forthcoming Windows NT 5.0 Active Directory Services, Exchange may also become the integrated center of a unified corporate directory service.
Plus, for any size environment, a single, intuitive Administration program manages your entire messaging environment. Exchange, in essence, becomes the heart of your messaging system.
Exchange is the new reality of messaging technology to which other vendors are striving. Exchange provides revolutionary functionality and performance at a low end-user cost. Now that you have an understanding of what Exchange is and how it's positioned for different types of companies, look at some its features.
Outlook is a feature-rich Exchange client. Positioned as an upgrade to the Microsoft Exchange Client and Schedule+ that appeared in the original Exchange 4.0, it was designed as Microsoft's premier email client for 32-bit Windows-based systems. In the latest release Exchange 5.5, versions of Outlook are now available in a 16-bit version for Windows 3.x, Macintosh, POP3/IMAP4, and for Web Browser access via Active Server Components and HTML. Outlook in all its versions is available with Exchange Server, as a stand-alone product (32-bit version), and as a component of Office97. Outlook operates as a client with Microsoft Mail and Schedule+ 7.0, Microsoft Exchange Server, POP3 / IMAP4, and other messaging systems, such as cc:Mail and Lotus Notes. The flexibility enables administrators to deploy their choice of client within a company. No matter what a company's decision, Microsoft provides a unified client architecture and logical upgrade paths from most any client currently used. Combining the features of the Exchange Client (Inbox) and Schedule+, users can still manage email, calendars, contacts, tasks, and to-do lists. Outlook, however, enhances all these previous features and adds enhanced views, journalizing capabilities, document management, and postable notes.
As a feature of the Internet Mail Service of Exchange when integrated with the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), email functionality is also available by using a standard Web browser. Outlook Web Access (OWA) enables remote users, who either do not have access to Outlook or have limited hardware resources (RAM, hard drive space), to easily review messages and access public folders on an Exchange Server using Internet Explorer. With Exchange 5.5, the Outlook Web Access Client can also schedule calendar events and manage server-based rules. Note that you must have Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) installed to provide email access to Outlook Web Access users.
Exchange supports several protocols, including SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP3 (Post Office Protocol), and now IMAP4 (Internet Mail Access Protocol) for email, NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) for Internet newsgroups retrieval, LDAPv3 (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) for Exchange directory access (reads and writes), HTTP and HTML for Web access, and SSL for secure Internet transmission. S/MIME is added for secure encryption of MIME attachments over SMTP mail and MHTML to allow encapsulation of HTML content in MIME format. ETRN support is added to enable the Exchange server to act as both SMTP server and client for easier access to held Internet mail via dial-up.
You can use any email client that supports POP3 or IMAP4 to retrieve messages from a Microsoft Exchange Server, including the Microsoft Outlook Express Client (replacing the older Internet Explorer Mail Client). Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Service (IMS) provides a standard SMTP server for any POP3 Client or IMAP4 Client to submit its messages.
NNTP enables a full newsfeed of Internet newsgroups into your company's public folders. Employees can post responses right into the public folder, and the response is posted back to the appropriate newsgroup on the Internet.
LDAP is an Internet protocol that enables users to access Exchange's directory information. With the proper rights, clients can read, search, and browse Exchange's directory from the Internet or corporate intranet. Even though the IETF has not completely ratified the latest LDAPv3 standard, many of the proposed functions are already included in Exchange 5.5. With LDAPv3, all 16 proposed commands--including searches, reads, and now writes--can enable updates to and from external directory services. You can grant end users the ability to update their LDAP and, thus, Exchange directory information. Referrals support has also been added to automatically forward an LDAP search to another LDAP service provider for resolution.
All of these LDAP-centric functions enable easy integration with the forthcoming NT 5.0 Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI) to dynamically update the Exchange 5.5 directory with data from ADS and vice versa.
With HTTP and HTML, along with Internet Information server (IIS) and Active Server Components, users can access their private mailboxes, calendars, and public folders using a standard Web browser, such as Internet Explorer.
SSL is a supported Internet-security protocol that protects data traveling on the Internet. Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL), pending ratification by the IETF, is also a supported option to force SSL authentication before the server can accept SMTP messages. This feature enables secure SMTP-based connections between Exchange servers over the Internet.
Exchange 5.0 offered a cc:Mail connector that provided complete email connectivity to existing cc:Mail installations. Exchange 5.5 extends these connectivity options to support additional older versions of cc:Mail. Email with attachments may be sent between both messaging platforms. Directory synchronization between Exchange and cc:Mail is also possible. By offering coexistence, the built-in connector enables you to rollout Exchange in phases instead of all at once.
With the recent acquisition of the Canadian message-switching-technology company, Linkage Software, Microsoft has integrated the best of the Linkage technology into the release of Exchange 5.5, including connectivity and directory replication between Exchange and Lotus Notes. Microsoft has enhanced the acquired Linkage elements to directly use the Exchange Directory engine and to remove the previous Linkage requirement for a separate SQL server for Directory Synchronization.
Many of the Fortune 1000 have invested large amounts of resources in maintaining IBM's PROFS OfficeVison and SNADS messaging technologies on various flavors of big iron and mid-range systems. Microsoft Exchange 5.5 now offers Linkage technology as an integrated component to link Exchange to these legacy systems. The technology enables migration and coexistence as clients switch over to the Exchange system and clients, which cost less and have richer features.
Linkage technology also makes possible Directory Synchronization between the legacy systems. Combining all the new connectivity options makes Exchange a premier messaging switch, and many industry pundits have ironically observed that Microsoft now owns the best solution for connecting Lotus Notes to HOST-based messaging systems!
Exchange provides support for server-based rules, where users can configure rules to execute on their Exchange home servers, such as forwarding messages to particular individuals, replying with an out of office note to all incoming messages, and routing messages to specific folders to manage messaging flow. Because the process runs on the Exchange Server, the user doesn't need to be logged in.
The server rules can apply to applications that are using Exchange. Outside information stores, for example, have a server agent configured from the client. The next time the user logs into the system, the server agent runs to retrieve information for the user.
With several of the flavors of Outlook Client, users have the option of setting up client-based rules to assist in managing messages in their local folders. A useful example is to set up a client-based rule to delay sending messages from the Outbox for 15 minutes, which enables you to rethink that message you just sent to the CEO!
Microsoft provides tight integration between Microsoft Office 97 and Exchange.
For example, you can send a document, spreadsheet, or presentation directly from any Office application to any Exchange mail user. Alternatively, you can also post any of these files or any other file directly into Exchange's public folders.
A feature available to Office and Outlook users is enabling Word as your email editor. Users who are comfortable with Word's layout and controls can have Outlook automatically use Word to create a new mail message, so you can use all the rich features of Microsoft Word.
Outlook uses Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to enable additional integration with the Office suite. Several data interaction hooks are available from Outlook to Microsoft Access and vice versa.
Managers and co-workers can delegate access to their information store, so their assistants and workgroup members can access their messages. This is useful when managers travel out of town. Their assistants can retrieve their manager's mail, forward it, send replies on behalf of the manager, and so on. Assistants can perform all these actions using their own Outlook Client and without logging on as their manager.
In workgroup scenarios, such as sales or project teams, sharing project folders, contacts, and tasks can be invaluable to improve productivity.
Exchange and Windows NT are integrated in several areas. For example, Exchange ties directly into Windows NT Server's security. Users use a single log-in ID to access network and Exchange resources. Network administrators can create both network IDs and mailboxes for the users by using a single administrative interface program. Also, Exchange administrators can take advantage of Windows NT's log-on restrictions and password history control for tight messaging security. You can also leverage the security auditing features of Windows NT to track changes to security and access to various objects.
Exchange and Windows NT work together to support both roving and remote users. Users can move from workstation to workstation within their company and still have access to all their server-based Exchange-related information (email, calendar, journal, notes, and so on). Remote users can access their email because Windows NT's Remote Access Server (RAS) can support every standard dial-up package used by a Microsoft operating system. These dial-up packages include Shiva, used by DOS and 16-bit Windows; Dial-up Networking (DUN) used by Windows 95; RAS used by Windows for Workgroups and NT Workstation; and DUN from Windows 95 used by Internet Explorer. Note that Shiva support is bundled with Exchange and not with DOS or the 16-bit Windows operating system.
With the Outlook Web Access Client and appropriate Internet firewall considerations, users can access their Exchange mailbox resources from anywhere they can connect to the Internet.
Furthermore, the Exchange client is designed to sense line-connection speed and transfer less data over dial-up connections. This increases the efficiency of the connection. When using Remote Mail options, you can set the client software to download only mail message headers on a remote connection. You can then download full message bodies as needed, based on subject, size, and sender.
Exchange builds upon the scalability of Windows NT Enterprise Edition to enable support for both server clustering and 8-way Symmetric Multi-Processor support (SMP).
One of the major perceived limitations of Exchange 4.0/5.0 was the 16 GB limit of each of the Exchange Information Store databases (Private, Public, and Directory). Microsoft has shattered the 16GB limit with new JET database technology that raises the limit to 16,000GB (16 terabytes) in each database. By combining this dramatic enhancement with the fully relational database structure and SQL-like transaction logging functions of Exchange, Microsoft opens Exchange to nearly limitless possibilities for managing very complex messaging-based applications.
Exchange makes great use of single-instance message storage by saving one copy of a message in its databases, and then enabling multiple users to access the message. In this way, if a 5MB message and attachment were mailed to all 1000 users on an Exchange server, the server actually would use only 5MB to store the message. When the last user deletes the message from his or her mailbox, the message is removed from the database.
Breaking the 16GB limit enables Exchange servers to support exponentially more users. With the 16GB limit of earlier versions, if the Exchange Administrator decided to limit each user to 50MB of storage space on the Exchange server, the theoretical limit on users per server was 320. With the new 16TB limit, this number can easily rise to 320000 users! (Taking into account the single-instance message storage, this number of users can rise much higher.)
Once of the most exciting, and most requested, new features of Exchange 5.5 is the capability to recover deleted messages and folders. Essentially, a tombstone/recycle bin concept has been applied to the message store, so that when you delete objects, they are not removed from the database until a specified number of days pass or a backup of the server executes.
Of course, Message Tracking has been available in Exchange from the first release to enable administrators to trace the path a message takes through the systems' various connectors, gateways, and MTAs.
Public folders are central repositories of common information. Exchange users can post messages, files, applications, forms, and so on. By making use of the messaging infrastructure of Exchange, you can replicate public folders throughout the Exchange enterprise. Rather than sending a mail message to many users, you can use public folders like an electronic bulletin board. A user can then post a reply into a folder and, create a thread of responses.
You can also replicate public folders down to the client PC to facilitate offline creating and reading via the process of synchronization. You also can set permissions to restrict access to certain folder contents. The public folder replication function is designed to minimize the amount of replicated data. Public folder contents are also indexed and these indexes are available across the enterprise.
To facilitate development of advanced public folder applications, Exchange 5.5 adds the Exchange Scripting Agent as a Windows NT service for managing server-executed scripts. These scripts can be time- or event-driven Visual Basic or JavaScript components that interact with messages and with the various functions of Exchange. This powerful feature enables developers to more easily build complex workflow functions and routings.
Exchange 5.5 introduces several enhancements to enable easier online interaction and collaboration, which improves productivity. A new Exchange Chat Service has been added to enable Exchange clients to easily initiate chat sessions for virtual meetings. To further facilitate collaboration in real-time on document creation, whiteboard sessions, and so on, the Internet Locator Service (ILS) also ships with Exchange 5.5. The ILS tracks who is online and available for such interactive sessions via Microsoft NetMeeting. Users can pick meeting participants from the Exchange Global Address List. Having this single source for lookups of users reduces the need for multiple address books to track them.
With the Key Management Server (KMS), Exchange adds additional security over the C2 level security provided by Windows NT Server. Exchange offers you the ability to sign a message with a digital signature, which is used to verify that the user sending the message is really the true sender. Exchange also offers levels of message encryption to ensure that only the sender and recipient can read a message's contents. Person to Person Key Exchange (PPKE) enables users to exchange digitally signed and encrypted messages over the Internet. Previously, this was possible only between users within an Exchange Organization.
Dramatic enhancements to the KMS in Exchange 5.5 enable the bulk creation and distribution of user keys, which makes it easier to set up an entire location or corporation to use these security options. The integration of KMS setup into the Exchange Administrator program makes overall management of the KMS much easier as well. Key recovery options are also added, which enable an Exchange administrator to recover and re-issue a user's key if the user forgets the password, or if the user leaves the company without disclosing the password. Through this same mechanism, you can also revoke a user's key.
To better control an Exchange administrator's ability to affect key security, options are available to implement so-called missile silo passwords in which two different administrative passwords are required to change or disable certain security features.
Keeping in line with proposed Internet security standards, you can anticipate future support for X.509v3 (enhancing the current X.509 support in Exchange) and S/MIME certificates, such as VeriSign.
Exchange's Outlook Forms Designer tool is simple enough for end users to create basic forms, and powerful enough for experienced developers to create form-based applications. The forms automate common requests, such as time-off requests or office-supply orders. Using public folders, you can multiply the effectiveness of forms by replicating the forms and their information throughout your enterprise.
Coupled with Microsoft's Visual InterDev tool, a developer can more easily convert Outlook forms into HTML forms via the new Forms Conversion Wizard. After you convert the forms, you can makes them available to Outlook Web Access clients via Active Server Pages.
Exchange 5.0 added the ability to present Exchange data to the Web via Active Server Pages and components called Active Messaging. The name has been changed to reflect the unified Microsoft development strategy and is now known as Collaboration Data Objects (CDO). The included CDO library offers developers a set of pre-built objects on which they can create more powerful and complex web-based applications.
Microsoft is also bundling a single-user version of Microsoft Visual InterDev for use in creating and managing HTML forms and other Java, ActiveX, and CDO elements.
Exchange supports more than 20 languages and provides many features for companies whose sites are spread throughout the world.
The Exchange Administrator tool is the central console managing all Exchange activity within an organization. This includes all servers, users, mailboxes, connectors, gateways, public folders, and sites. As noted previously, the Administrator tool now offers you the ability to recover the deleted message objects and folders.
An enhancement for system administrators is support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) via the industry standard MADMAN MIB. You can now monitor Exchange from such tools as HP OpenView and other enterprise-monitoring solutions.
Many large corporations are composed of multiple corporate entities that are essentially separate and distinct but that want to share a common messaging backbone and directory. Exchange 5.5 introduces multiple organization hosting to enable you to break the Exchange Directory down into many virtual containers associated with each line of business unit. You can still apply all the normal Exchange security permissions, so the various users and administrators of each virtual organization can see and control only their respective components.
Believe it or not, email can grow in use to become a company's most mission-critical application. Especially in international firms, Exchange must be up 24 hours a day and seven days a week for 365 days a year. Exchange enables you to perform backups of open messaging stores via appropriate Exchange-aware backup solutions without shutting down the server or having users log out.
With the new Information Store limits pushing to 16TB, backup and recovery support in Exchange have been enhanced to enable more efficient databases locks and reads, pushing backup performance to a possible 25GB per hour.
Exchange simultaneously offers Message Transfer Agent support for both 1984 and 1988 X.400 standards, which means Exchange offers you flexibility when you design an Exchange enterprise architecture. Microsoft is committed to maintaining X.400 compatibility as 199X standards are published.
Message routing provides multiple routes to transfer mail between sites. If one link for remote sites goes down, Exchange automatically reroutes mail using a secondary route. Exchange can also calculate the least costly route when all links are functional. Microsoft has made several to boost the capabilities of the dynamic re-routing feature and to force Exchange to evaluate a route based only on the cost assigned.
Microsoft realizes that many other systems are in use today. Therefore, Microsoft provides connectors, gateways, and migration/extraction tools to provide either complete coexistence with Exchange or a smooth migration path onto an Exchange platform.
This book is aimed at network and system administrators as well as messaging specialists who are responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining an Exchange system. Most of the examples in this book are geared to a large, international enterprise to draw out all Exchange's features. MIS managers can use the information in this book to make key decisions about adopting and deploying Exchange. Finally, this book touches on application-forms development. Although Exchange's Outlook Forms Designer targets novice developers who may not have a strong Visual Basic (VB) background, VB programmers can leverage their knowledge to make additional custom extensions and web-enable their forms
This book is divided into five sections. The first two sections are for a general audience, and the last three sections depend on an understanding of the previous sections.
Part I welcomes you into the world of Microsoft Exchange. As described briefly in the preceding sections, Exchange is a completely revolutionary client/server messaging system. Part I presents a complete overview about how Exchange integrates into your environment.
Chapter 1, "Overview of Microsoft Exchange," introduces the concepts of working with client/server messaging, groupware, document management, and the universal Inbox. This chapter also discusses many new features available with Microsoft Exchange 5.5.
In Chapter 2, "Understanding Exchange's Organization and Sites," you learn about the different tiers in Exchange's messaging hierarchy.
Chapter 3, "Exchange's Integrated Server Components," provides a more in-depth look at Exchange's core components and how they cooperate with each other.
Chapter 4, "Integrating with Microsoft Windows NT Server," identifies the integration of Exchange into Windows NT and Exchange NT dependencies.
Part II is the core of the book. These seven chapters spells out all the planning essentials for migrating to or deploying a new Exchange architecture.
Chapter 5, "Designing Exchange Topology," introduces you to the planning process you need in order to design an Exchange architecture. In the chapter, you analyze your company's messaging needs and infrastructure, and then you design an Exchange architecture.
Chapter 6, "Installing Exchange Server," outlines the system requirements for Exchange, provides step-by-step installation instructions, and discusses adding additional Exchange servers into an existing Exchange Organization.
Chapters 7 through 11 provide information needed when you are working with non-Exchange mail systems. You are guided through connecting to or migrating from Microsoft Mail, migrating from Lotus cc:Mail, migration from PROFS/SNADS, installing Exchange in a NetWare environment, and migrating from external systems.
In Part III, you learn how to configure all the Exchange services--connectors, message transfer agents, links to external systems, public folders, and address routing. This part also focuses on the administration of Exchange.
Chapters 12 through 15 discuss how to use the Exchange Administrator program, and how to use the core components in Exchange server.
Chapter 16, "Creating and Configuring Recipients," exemplifies how to create a mailbox and Windows NT domain account for an Exchange user, which also includes distribution lists and foreign-mail system custom recipients.
Chapter 17, "Setting Up the Site Connector and Dynamic RAS Connector," discusses how to install and set up a site and RAS connector.
In Chapter 18, "Using Directory Replication and Synchronization," you learn what directory replication is and how to configure Exchange's Directory Synchronization services.
Chapters 19 and 20 walk you through using the Microsoft Mail Connector for PC and AppleTalk networks. Exchange includes several custom features to support this integration.
Chapter 21 similarly discusses configuring X.400 connections.
Chapter 22 focuses on the many features of the Internet Mail Service including SMTP mail connectivity, POP/IMAP client access, LDAP functions, and HTTP web interfacing.
In Chapter 23, "Setting Up NNTP," you learn what Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is, and how to install, configure, and administer it.
The information in Chapter 24, "Exchange Performance Tuning and Capacity Planning" applies to all Exchange implementations. You learn how to use several performance-tuning tools, and to detect and tune the most common Exchange bottlenecks. You also learn the techniques that answer the burning question: How many users can one Exchange server support?
Chapters 25 through 28 discuss managing and monitoring Exchange's daily operations as well as troubleshooting Exchange when problems occur. You also learn about Exchange's advanced security features in Chapter 27.
This part discusses the Exchange client--Outlook. This includes several of Outlook's features, such as enhancing email, effective scheduling, managing tasks, journalizing your activities, organizing your contacts, and using notes to jot down important thoughts.
Chapter 29, "Installing and Configuring Outlook," describes the spectrum of setup methods and Outlook's system requirements.
Chapters 30 and 31 teach you how to use the common and advanced features of Outlook, including printing, profiles and information services, and the Outlook Web Access view.
Part V presents some other uses for the Exchange architecture.
Chapter 32,"Leveraging Your Investment in the Exchange Platform," highlights several add-ons and enhancements from independent software vendors who are developing solutions for Exchange. The chapter also describes consulting firms that are expert in developing, piloting, and deploying Exchange.
Chapter 33, "Developing Exchange Forms," teaches you to design custom forms using Exchange's Form Designer. This chapter discusses many of the programming issues associated with developing custom forms.
Chapter 34, "Taking Exchange to the Web," covers the functions of interfacing the Active Server Pages of Microsoft's Internet Information Server with the Collaborative Data Objects (CDO) provided in Exchange to create Web-based applications and solutions.
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