Introduction To Microsoft Exchange Server 2003: White Paper
Introduction To Microsoft Exchange Server 2003: White Paper
Introduction............................................................................................................. ..3
Exchange 2003 Features Available with Specific Windows and Outlook Versions................16
Introduction
Most organizations today are dependent upon a solid communication infrastructure
that is highly available and low-cost to operate. A new survey conducted by
research firm Dynamic Markets found that 68 percent of users become irate in as
little as 30 minutes without email access1. This same study found that almost a
third of IT Managers surveyed would rather suffer a divorce than an email outage.
Pressure is increasing on all sides, particularly for the companies that depend upon
a 24x7 e-mail access. Another recent survey from the Meta Group found that a
majority of organizations find email more important than phone2. Increasingly
email is being augmented with other forms of electronic communication such as
web portals and instant messaging to provide benefits to both end users and team.
Email has become the primary communication tools and needs to be up to the
task.
This introductory white paper explains how Exchange Server 2003 addresses the
needs and challenges facing organizations today.
1
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-1013611.html
2
Meta Group Survey www.metagroup.com
• Information workers get their work done more quickly because
Exchange 2003 and Outlook 2003 work together to deliver consistently
efficient access to personal business information independent of network
characteristics. Mobile users find it easier than ever to stay up-to-date with
the information flowing into their office mailboxes no matter what device
they choose to use.
Support of real-time Exchange Server 2003 supports connection filtering based on real-
safe and block lists time safe and block lists. This helps organizations reduce the amount
Enhanced Features
Privacy protection in By default, content from outside a user’s network is blocked in
Outlook and Outlook Outlook 2003 and Outlook Web Access. Users can override this to
Web Access view external content. This feature helps prevent spammers from
identifying valid e-mail addresses by means of links to external
content.
Virus Scanning API 2.5 Exchange Server 2003 improves the virus scanning API by enabling
antivirus vendor products to run on Exchange servers that do not
have resident Exchange mailboxes. Antivirus vendor products are
allowed to delete messages and send messages to the sender in the
Exchange Server 2003 antivirus API version. New in Service Pack 1
(SP1) is the ability to enable scanning of encrypted messages.
Clustering Exchange Server 2003 clustering supports Kerberos authentication
authentication against an Exchange virtual server. Exchange Server 2003 also
supports IPSec between front-end servers and clustered back-end
servers running Exchange.
Reliability
New Features
Mailbox Recovery The Mailbox Recovery Center tool provides bulk reconnection of
Center mailboxes to the appropriate user in the Microsoft Active Directory®
directory service to support disaster recovery scenarios. This tool
scans the mailbox database to determine all disconnected
mailboxes, automatically matches user mailboxes to user accounts in
Active Directory, recovers individual or multiple mailboxes, and
identifies conflicts.
Automatic error Error reporting allows server administrators to easily report errors to
reporting Microsoft. Microsoft collects the reports and uses the information to
improve product functionality.
Enhanced Features
Cluster failover time The dependency hierarchy of Exchange services has been flattened
so that the Exchange protocol services are no longer dependent on
the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service. This allows
administrators to bring the Exchange store online and offline in
parallel with the protocols.
Virtual memory usage The virtual memory (VM) usage in Windows Server 2003 in
and monitoring conjunction with the Microsoft Exchange Information store service
reduces fragmentation and allows higher-end servers with a large
number of users to achieve higher availability.
Integration with Dr. Dr. Watson 2.0 enables error reporting for the Exchange System
Watson 2.0 Manager, System Attendant, DSMx, Exchange Management Service,
Exchange Setup, and Microsoft Exchange Information Store service.
Performance
New Features
Suppressing Out of If a user is not specified on the To: or Cc: line, the Out of Office
Office messages to message is not sent. This prevents sending Out of Office messages
distribution lists to distribution lists, whose readers frequently do not want to see
them.
Enhanced Features
Outlook synchronization Client performance improves by reducing the number of change
performance notifications when a client is working in the cached Exchange mode.
In addition, the server detects the native format of messages and
only sends that format to the client. Clients using a cached Exchange
mode also receive the number and size of messages to be
downloaded.
Distribution list member The Exchange Server 2003 implementation improves performance
caching by redesigning the cache so that lookups, insertions, and expiration
can be completed more efficiently, resulting in a 60 percent
reduction of Active Directory queries.
Enhanced DNS-based DNS-based Internet mail delivery achieves load balancing, better
Internet mail delivery performance characteristics, and better tolerance of network/host
unavailability and external DNS server responsiveness problems.
Administration
New Features
Support for Volume Exchange Server 2003 supports the Volume Shadow Copy service
Shadow Copy service implemented in Windows Server 2003. The copy service functionality
provides a near-instantaneous backup and restore because a
Enhanced Features
Exchange System Enhancements include the following:
Manager User interface improvements include simplified search filter,
improved sorting by columns, and the ability to select multiple
queues and message for manipulation.
Queues are centralized on a per-server basis as opposed to a per-
virtual basis, which means all queues on a server can be viewed in
one location.
Performance in queue enumeration is improved, and all queues are
initially displayed in Exchange System Manager. User control of
Exchange System Manager is returned before all queues are
displayed.
System queues are now exposed, which helps with troubleshooting.
Exchange System Manager includes the Enable Forms-Based
Authentication feature on the virtual servers so authentication
cookies can be enabled or disabled easily through the UI.
Exchange System Manager now has the ability to move log files and
queue data. Before Exchange Server 2003, moving log files was
done manually by directory modification tools and Microsoft
Knowledge Base articles. Now message tracking log files are moved
by means of Exchange System Manager, as well as X.400 message
transfer agent (MTA) queue data, and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP) queue data.
Exchange System Manager includes Windows Management
Instrumentation (WMI) classes, as well as many other new features.
Public folder Improvements in the user interface for public folders include several
management new tabs: Details, Content (shows content using Outlook Web
Access), Find (uses new search capabilities), Status (provides the
folder’s server, the folder’s public store, folder size, the number of
items in the folder, and the last time it was accessed), and
Replication (statistical data on replicas).
Link state Two improvements in link state are:
No change in link state if no alternate path exists. If no alternative
path for the link (or route) exists, Exchanges considers the path
available.
Oscillating Connections. Exchange Server 2003 improves the routing
of link state code by reviewing the link state queue. If there are
Move Mailbox tool Selection of multiple mailboxes in the Move Mailbox tool eases
mailbox movement from one server to another or to a different
Exchange store. New with SP1 is the ability to support cross-site
mailbox moves.
Outlook Web Access New Web-based administration tool for Outlook Web Access setup.
Administration Previously this had to be set-up with registry key settings.
Deployment
New Features
Deployment tools and A set of new deployment tools and documentation helps Exchange
Help files Server 2003 be deployed easily into an existing Exchange 5.5
topology. The deployment tools provide a step-by-step approach by
giving detailed information, analyzing the existing topology, checking
for prerequisites, recommending a configuration setting, and
validating each step. New in SP1 is support for cross-site mailbox
moves, which helps organizations to move mailboxes from remote
site Exchange 5.5 servers back to a centralized servers running
Exchange 2003.
Active Directory As an extension of the Active Directory Connector manager snap-in,
Connector tools the Active Directory Connector wizard helps deployment by
analyzing an existing Exchange 5.5 topology, automatically
preparing the Exchange 5.5 directory, and creating the needed
connection agreements to ensure successful deployment.
Internet Mail Wizard This wizard makes it easier to configure Internet mail connectivity
with Exchange Server 2003.
Support for Domain New with SP1, Exchange Server 2003 supports domain rename
Rename functionality offered with Windows Server 2003.
Enhanced Features
Active Directory Exchange 2003 includes an updated version of Active Directory
Connector Connector with many customer-requested features included.
Support for Notes R5 Connectors allow Exchange to co-exist with Lotus Notes R5 and R6
and R6 and GroupWise and Novell GroupWise 5.x
5.x
Notes Application The Notes Application Analyzer is a separate tool that runs in Notes
Analyzer environment to provide a high level report on an organizations Notes
application that can help organizations to plan on their migration
from Notes to Exchange and other solutions.
Setup Several setup enhancements make deployment of an Exchange
server easier:
• Outlook Mobile Access and Exchange Server ActiveSync are
installed by default on all Exchange Servers, meaning every
Exchange Server 2003 is mobile-enabled and able to
support mobile phones and Windows-powered mobile
devices.
• Setup permission requirement changes allow additional
Exchange servers to be added to an existing Administration
Group without the need of a Full Exchange Administrator.
• Target domain controller option enables a target to be
specified during setup.
Enhanced Features
Incremental change Today, when interruptions occur during the off-line synchronization
synchronization process, the entire process must start again from the beginning.
Incremental change synchronization allows the synchronization
process to resume where the outage occurred, instead of starting
the entire synchronization process again.
Smart change When items are marked read/unread/flagged or slightly modified in
synchronization other ways, only the header that is listing the change is sent back to
the server. This is different from the previous version of Outlook
where the entire message and body was sent back to the server.
Skip bad items During synchronization, items marked as bad or conflicting are now
moved to the Sync Items folder, allowing the synchronization to
continue.
Pre-synchronization A synchronization progress meter (found in the lower right corner of
reporting the Outlook 2003 UI) shows detailed synchronization information
such as new e-mail headers, total size left to synchronize, and
whether the folder is up-to-date.
Enhanced Features
Performance Added deferred search for new messages after delete.
improvements New logon page allows choice between Basic (Netscape and versions
of Internet Explorer prior to Internet Explorer 5.01) and Premium
(Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher) client versions of Outlook Web
Access. Basic clients may perform faster in low-bandwidth scenarios.
Once enabled by the Exchange administrator, GZip compression can
provide substantial performance improvements for Outlook Web
Access users connecting via dial-up, or other low-bandwidth
networks.
Features in Mobile Device Support
New Features
3
Requires Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 desktop operating systems.
Table 5 Exchange 2003 features available with Windows Server 2000 or Windows
Server 2003 and specific version of Microsoft Outlook
Exchange Server Feature Exchange Version Windows Version Outlook Version
DISASTER RECOVERY
Clustering
Available in N/A
2–Node clustering Exchange 2000 Windows 2000
Available in Windows 2000 N/A
4–Node clustering Exchange 2000 Advanced Server
New in Requires Windows N/A
8–Node clustering Exchange 2003 Server 2003
Enhanced in N/A
Improved cluster failover time Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Storage
Mount points overcome the 24–drive New in Requires Windows N/A
letter limitation Exchange 2003 Server 2003
Standard storage area network New in N/A
connectivity Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Backup/Restore
Standard backup with non-Microsoft Available in N/A
Windows 2000
hardware (Requires Windows–certified Exchange 2000
backup vendor)
Database backup (Volume Shadow New in N/A
Requires Windows
Copy service) (Requires Windows Exchange 2003
Server 2003
Volume Shadow Copy service–certified
backup vendor)
New in N/A
Mailbox Recovery Center tool Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
New in N/A
Recovery Storage Group Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
PERFORMANCE
Improved Memory Allocation
Available in N/A
2–GB standard allocation Exchange 2000 Windows 2000
Enhanced in Windows 2000 N/A
3–GB user mode allocation Exchange 2003 Advanced Server
Public Folders
Enhanced in Windows 2000 N/A
Improved public folder store
Exchange 2003
administration and replication
E–Mail
Enhanced in N/A
Improved distribution list caching Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Suppression of Out of Office messages New in Windows 2000 Outlook
COLLABORATION
Requires Real- Outlook
Real–time collaboration (Replacement Time 2000/XP/2003
for Exchange Instant Messaging and Collaboration Requires Windows
Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server) service Server 2003
SharePoint™ Web Parts (Requires Enhanced in Outlook
SharePoint Portal Server and/or Exchange 2003 Requires Windows 2000/XP/2003
Windows SharePoint Services) Server 2003
SERVICEABILITY
Exchange System Manager on Enhanced in N/A
Windows XP Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Queues are centralized on a per-server New in Windows 2000 N/A
basis Exchange 2003
Enhanced in Windows 2000 N/A
UI improvements Exchange 2003
Enhanced in Windows 2000 N/A
All system queues are exposed Exchange 2003
New in Windows 2000 N/A
Exchange 2003 (SP4 or
Cookie authentication enablement Windows 2003)
Move log files and queue data by New in N/A
means of Exchange System Manager Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
New in N/A
Public Folder Send hierarchy Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
New in N/A
Public Folder Search capabilities Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
New in N/A
Public Folder Send Contents Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Public Folder affinity to control New in N/A
referrals Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Public Folder migration from New in N/A
Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Multi-threaded, multi-user Move New in N/A
Mailbox function Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
New in N/A
Dynamic distribution lists Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
New in Requires Windows N/A
GZip compression Exchange 2003 Server 2003
MANAGEMENT
New in Windows 2000 N/A
Multiple Windows forest support Exchange 2003 (Requires MMS)
New in N/A
Automatic error reporting Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
1,700 Exchange–specific events using New in N/A
Microsoft Operations Manager Exchange 2003
Windows 2000
(Requires Microsoft Operations
Manager)
Deployment
Enhanced in N/A
Deployment and migration tools Exchange 2003 Windows 2000
Active Directory Connector Enhanced in Windows 2000 N/A
Deployment
Active Directory It is now easier to migrate to Active Directory through a number of
Migration Tool 2.0 improvements that have been made to the Active Directory
(ADMT) Migration Tool (ADMT). ADMT 2.0 now allows migrating passwords
from Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 to Windows 2000 and Windows
Server 2003, or from Windows 2000 to Windows Server 2003
domains.
Create replica from This feature enables the source for the initial replication of a new
media domain controller to be backup media. This eases the replication
burden of a domain controller in a branch office or low bandwidth
scenario.
Linked-value replication For multi-value, linked-value attributes, metadata is stored per-
value. This Active Directory change makes it possible to replicate the
individual changes instead of the whole membership and eliminates
the 5,000 direct member limit.
Improved Inter-Site The Active Directory Inter-Site Topology Generator has been
Topology Generator enhanced for greater scalability. It can now support more topology
complexity such as very large hub-and-spoke topologies and more
branch office numbers (up to 5,000 sites). These improvements
make automatic replication possible for topologies with more than
200 sites (previous limit).
Replication Active Directory replication improvements include reduction of intra-
improvements site replication latency from 15 minutes to 1 minute, allowance for
multiple bridgehead servers, an improved compression algorithm to
reduce CPU load on bridgehead servers, and an enhanced
repadmin.exe tool to concurrently read and manage multiple domain
controllers.
Cross-forest trusts The ability to create transitive trusts between domains in two forests
has been added to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory. This
allows for Kerberos authentication and cross-forest User Principal
Name (UPN) authentication between domains in different forests.
Active Directory Command line and admin tool improvements have been
manageability implemented in Windows Server 2003. These include ability to drag
and drop, save queries, and multi-select and edit user objects in the
admin tool as well as additional command line tools to query and
update Active Directory.
Application Integration
Schema redefine The schema redefine features eliminates the chance that an
application that is not performing correctly can claim a schema used
by another application. This is possible because Active Directory now
supports the redefinition of a class/attribute while preserving its
unique identity.
No Global Catalog full Windows Server 2003 allows for a synchronization of only added
synchronization global catalog attributes. This reduces the replication load when new
attributes are added to the global catalog.
Additional LDAP Active Directory in Windows Server 2003 has additional LDAP
standards support standards support including virtual list view support, correct auxiliary
class support, support for InetOrgPerson class, and dynamic entry
support.
Outward-facing To support large directories that are outward facing, Active Directory
directory improvements in Windows Server 2003 has many core performance improvements,
reduced storage improvements enabled by single instance store of
security descriptors, 64-bit support, and concurrent bind capabilities
to create a pipeline of binds down a single connection.
Security
Object quotas Object quotas can be assigned on a per-partition basis to reduce
threat of denial-of-service attack caused by a delegated admin that
can create an unlimited number of objects.
SIDfiltering on newly By default, SIDfiltering is enabled on new trusts to eliminate possible
created trusts attacks using SIDhistory credentials.
Other security-related To support the enhanced security provided by Windows Server 2003
updates Active Directory disables anonymous queries and enables auditing
on new domain installations.
• Outlook HTTP access IIS 6.0 and Windows RPC Proxy service in Windows
Server 2003 enable communication between Outlook 2003 and Exchange
Server 2003 by means of HTTP. Outlook 2003 users can synchronize
directly with the server running Exchange Server 2003 over a HTTP or
HTTPS connection.
• Internet protocol support IIS 6.0 provides Exchange with its support for
many common Internet access protocols that increase the flexibility of the
operating system, such as HTTP, Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3),
Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 (IMAP4), and Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
• Support for clustering Exchange Server 2003 provides better support for
clustering, which enables high availability of a company’s infrastructure.
Customers can choose to run up to 8-node clusters, with at least one
passive node, when running Exchange 2003 on Windows Server 2003,
Enterprise Edition. (In Windows 2000 Advanced Server, clustering was
limited to two nodes, one active and one passive; if a company chose to
run Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, clustering was limited to four nodes.)
• Volume Shadow Copy service This and Virtual Disk Service are part of a
storage framework that provides heterogeneous interoperation of storage
hardware, storage software, and applications. Exchange 2003 writes to the
Volume Shadow Copy service on Windows Server 2003, reducing
dramatically the backup and restore times for Exchange messaging
environments. This enables IT departments to support greater numbers of
users per server and reduces the total number of servers running Exchange
in their environment.
• Exchange 2000 Server will run on Windows 2000 Server, but it cannot
run on Windows Server 2003. However, an Exchange 2000 Server with
Service Pack 3 (SP 3) or later can operate in a Windows Server 2003 Active
Directory environment.
Customers who intend to upgrade from either Exchange 5.5 or Exchange 2000 to
Exchange Server 2003 can rest assured that operating in a mixed Windows
environment during the upgrade is fully supported.
Customers who are considering upgrading their Windows-based servers to Windows
Server 2003 can rest assured that doing so would not disrupt their messaging
infrastructure. Although Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000 cannot be installed on
servers running Windows Server 2003, file and print servers, domain controllers,
and global catalog servers can all be upgraded to Windows Server 2003 with no
impact on Exchange.
Additional Resources
For detailed information on each new Exchange Server 2003 feature, please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/
For more information about Exchange Server 2003 SP1 and new Tools, please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/downloads/2003.asp
For more information about Exchange 2000 SP3, please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/downloads/2000/sp3/default.asp
For more information on the Microsoft Office System and Outlook 2003, please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/office/
For more information on Windows Server and Windows Active Directory, please
visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.mspx
For more information on Microsoft mobile devices, mobile partner companies, or
enterprise mobile computing, please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/enterprise/
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