Exchange Server 2003 Product Overview
To compete successfully in today's challenging business climate,
organizations must enable more efficient ways for information workers to
communicate and collaborate. E-mail is currently the most widely used
collaborative technology. More businesses use Exchange for e-mail-based
collaboration than any other product. Exchange 2003 enables information workers
to gain access to critical business communications almost whenever and wherever
they need to and is designed to deliver greater security, availability, and
reliability. Exchange 2003 sets a new benchmark for low total cost of ownership
(TCO) by helping your information technology (IT) staff to do more with less
through improved management tools.
If you're in an Exchange Server 5.5 environment, Exchange 2003 offers large
costs savings by operating on fewer servers. With new resources and tools, the
upgrade and migration to Exchange 2003 is smooth, fast, and cost-effective.
Exchange 2003 is available in two editions:
- Exchange 2003 Standard Edition is designed to meet the messaging and
collaboration needs of small and medium-size corporations. With Exchange 2003
Standard Edition, you get:
- Exchange 2003.
- The flexibility to be configured as a Microsoft Office Outlook® Web Access
front-end server.
- 16-gigabyte (GB) data storage maximum.
- Recovery Storage Group.
- Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition is designed for large enterprise
corporations and enables you to create multiple storage groups and multiple
databases. Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition provides an unlimited message store
that removes the constraints on the amount of data that a single server can
manage. With Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition, you get:
- All the features and products included in Exchange 2003 Standard Edition.
- Database size limited only by your hardware (with a maximum size of
16 terabytes).
- Multiple databases per server.
- Clustering support for four nodes on Microsoft Windows® 2000 Advanced Server
or eight nodes on Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Enterprise
Edition.
To determine which edition best suits your business needs, explore the tables
on the Choose Your Edition
page.
Features at a Glance
| Active Directory integration |
- Integrated with Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Active Directory®
directory service for lower TCO
- Single-seat administration with Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
- Policies for quickly changing a wide range of objects such as mailboxes
- Use of Windows Server 2003 system access control lists (SACLs) to make
secure e-mail messaging and collaboration easy
- Windows Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) 2.0 helps ease the migration
of Microsoft Windows NT® Server 4.0 accounts to Active Directory with its
password migration
|
| Scalable database architecture |
- Up to 16 GB per mailbox database and up to 20 mailbox databases per server
- Multiple message databases per server running Exchange for fast backup and
restore, flexible data management, and increased reliability
|
| Coexistence |
Organizations do not have to upgrade or migrate
overnight. Exchange 2003 operates with Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 and
coexists with Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000, all within the same
topology.
Exchange 2003 also operates with Microsoft Office Outlook 2003,
Outlook 2002 (Office XP), and Outlook 2000. Outlook Web Access can be used on
other client platforms through browsers. |
| Enhanced security |
- Secure defaults (for example, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol [SMTP] relay,
Post Office Protocol 3 [POP3], and Internet Message Access Protocol [IMAP] are
turned off by default)
- Improved ability to restrict connections and e-mail messages
- Support for Outlook Web Access automatic logoff, Secure/Multipurpose
Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), HTML, and attachment blocking
- New antispam features and integration with Office Outlook 2003 Safe and
Block Sender lists
- New Virus Scanning API 2.5 for improved antivirus solutions
- Support for Windows Server 2003 Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0,
which isolates applications
|
| Low TCO messaging and collaboration
environment |
- Multiple database architecture enables new consolidation opportunities for
users of Exchange 5.5
- Enhanced administrative tools for mailbox management
- New client logging and error reporting tools for faster problem resolution
- Integration with Windows Server 2003 Volume Shadow Copy service for fast,
reliable backup and restore
|
| Outlook Web Access |
New, enhanced Outlook Web Access for fast access to
Exchange from the Internet and with greater security. The new user interface
(UI) is updated to mirror the Outlook 2003 UI and includes new features such as
spelling checker, tasks lists, S/MIME support for security, and HTML content
blocking for security. |
| Integrated support for mobile devices |
- Windows powered mobile devices can synchronize directly with Exchange 2003
for enhanced security
- Integrated support for HTML, Extensible HTML (XHTML), Wireless Application
Protocol (WAP) 2.x, and compressed HTML (CHTML) mobile microbrowsers
|
| Integration with Outlook 2003 |
- Enhanced performance and Exchange Cached Mode enables use over low bandwidth
as well as over latent and poor network connections
- Improved UI enables users to prioritize overloaded
Inboxes
|
| High availability |
- Improved virtual memory management
- Improved Outlook performance logging to the server
- Faster cluster failover times with Windows Server 2003
- Support for four-node and eight-node clusters
- Support for Windows Server 2003 IIS 6.0, which isolates
applications
|
| Faster deployment |
- New resources and prescriptive guidance on deployment
- New premigration analysis and reporting tools
- New Active Directory Migration Tools (ADMT 2.0)
- Active Directory Connector Wizard
- Internet Mail Setup Wizard
- Mailbox and public folder migration tools
|
| Clustering support |
|
For more information about Exchange 2003 features and abilities, see the Exchange 2003 Features
page.
Technology Components for More Secure Client Access
Exchange 2003 is designed to interoperate with multiple clients.
In Figure 1, each client is shown accessing Exchange 2003 through the
Internet and secured by a combination of firewalls and, in this particular case,
Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA Server) acting as a
gateway with enhanced security for Exchange and other server infrastructure.
Outlook Compatibility
Outlook 2003, Outlook 2002, and Outlook 2000 can connect to
Exchange 2003*. Outlook 2003 and Exchange 2003
are designed to perform over slow, latent, or poor network connections. Examples
are dial-up lines and wireless data links such as 1xRTT and General Packet Radio
Service (GPRS). New Outlook 2003 features include:
- Exchange Cached Mode.
- VPN-less connections that use the new remote procedure call (RPC) over HTTPS
capability in Outlook 2003.
Remote Access
Outlook Web Access in Exchange 2003 has been improved for easier use, speed,
and greater security. The popularity of Outlook Web Access is in part because
the product is easy to support and use and no installation is necessary. Any
browser-based computer can access Exchange with greater security, and, with the
new UI, most users have to look twice to see if they are using Outlook 2003 or
Outlook Web Access. The features include:
- Spelling checker
- Task list support
- HTML and attachment blocking (prevents spam and potential beacon-finding
code)
- Automatic logoff (Forgot to logoff? Don't worry—the inactivity time-out
automatically logs off and closes out your session.)
You also get support for S/MIME in Outlook Web Access so that you can
digitally sign and encrypt your e-mail messages.
Exchange Server ActiveSync
Windows powered mobile devices, such as the Pocket
PC, come with the Microsoft ActiveSync® client and Pocket Outlook built in,
which enables you to sync your e-mail messages, calendar, and contacts lists
directly with Exchange 2003. Exchange administrators can enable this from the
same screen used to manage Exchange e-mail accounts.
Outlook Mobile Access
Similar to Outlook Web Access for desktop browsers, Outlook Mobile Access is
designed for security-enhanced access from mobile device browsers. With
Exchange 2003, users can gain access to their mailboxes from mobile devices with
HTML, XHTML (WAP 2.x), and CHTML-based microbrowsers.
Pervasive Productivity Scenarios
The flexible options for information access and the new ways to stay
connected enable information workers to be more productive and in control when
and how they communicate.
- Mobile workers, such as sales and service staff using portable
computers and running Outlook 2003 over a wireless network, are free to roam and
communicate. No longer tethered to a cable, they can check their e-mail
messages, look up their contacts and schedules, and continue to communicate with
their customers, partners, and coworkers wherever and whenever they choose—in
the car, at their customer's location, or even at the airport. Outlook 2003 is
designed to work over slow and poor network connections: Mobile workers are
shielded from network issues and can continue working with their Exchange
information while Exchange and Outlook use the available network resources.
- Remote workers can work at home, a remote office, a customer site, an
802.11 hot spot such as their local Internet café, and can start Outlook or use
Outlook Web Access from any Internet-connected computer to gain
security-enhanced access to Exchange. Outlook Web Access adds more freedom by
enabling them to stay in touch through Exchange without their own portable
computer. Outlook Web Access extends the latest features in Exchange 2003 to any
browser-based computer, including non-Microsoft operating systems. And because
Outlook Web Access doesn't need installation, your IT departments can reduce
support costs.
- Traveling executives can run Outlook 2003 from their hotel or between
flight connections over a dial-up line and synchronize their e-mail messages.
With the latest synchronized Exchange data, they can continue working offline
until their next opportunity to dial in and reconnect. Outlook 2003 and
Exchange 2003 help them to be productive online and offline.
Don't want to carry a portable computer? Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition,
and Windows powered Smartphones enable you to synchronize your wireless device
directly to Exchange. E-mail messages, contacts, schedules, and attachments are
at your fingertips.
Cost Savings with Exchange 2003
The Exchange 2003 upgrade and administration tools increase your worker
productivity and help consolidate your servers to save you money.
Consolidation Scenario
For customers running Exchange 5.5, upgrading presents a great opportunity to
simplify operations, increase server availability and reliability, reduce the
time it takes to do backup and restores, and reduce the number of servers for
Exchange. This leads to lower TCO. Exchange 2003 takes the lead from
Exchange 2000 with a multiple database design (up to 20 databases per server).
Typical Exchange 5.5 organizations have 1,000–2,000 users per server, limited
primarily because of a single database architecture and the time required for
backup and restore operations and management. With Exchange 2003, however, the
number of supported users and mailboxes can easily be in the 3,000–5,000 range
or more, depending upon the user profiles, message traffic patterns, and mailbox
size limitations.
Administrative Productivity
Exchange 2003 is designed to help your messaging IT staff to be more
productive. Ongoing administration of an Exchange environment represents about
20–25 percent of TCO for Exchange. Typical tasks include backup and restore; new
mailbox setup; recovery; moves; implementing new hardware, storage, software,
and tools; and applying updates and fixes. New and enhanced tools help your IT
staff to do their job more efficiently. For example, an executive might need to
recover an old, but very important, e-mail message that was deleted a few months
ago. By using the new Recovery Storage Group, an administrator can recover an
individual user's mailbox to find the important e-mail message that was
previously deleted. Other new administrative features include:
- Move multiple mailboxes in parallel.
- Improved message tracking and Outlook client performance logging.
- Enhanced queue viewer that enables both SMTP and X.400 queues to be seen
from the same console.
- New query-based distribution lists that now support dynamic, real-time
lookups for members.
In addition, Exchange Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager
automates the monitoring of your entire Exchange environment, enabling proactive
management and rapid resolution of Exchange issues.
Sample Scenario: Migrating to Exchange 2003 from Exchange 5.5
Schedule your move to Exchange 2003 to match your schedule and budgets.
Exchange 2003 can operate on either Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 and is
designed to interoperate with Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000.
New tools and resources help you migrate from a Windows NT 4.0 and
Exchange 5.5 environment to a Windows and Exchange 2003 environment more
smoothly, easily, and quickly.
- Walk through the entire migration process with the prescriptive guidance.
Before migration, new tools can be used to receive a full report on the existing
Exchange 5.5 topology, including sites, servers, mailboxes, and public folders.
Active Directory Migration Tool 2.0 is used to migrate Windows NT account
passwords to the new Windows Active Directory environment. Tools can also be
used to validate that Active Directory is implemented and working properly and
that the Exchange components have been properly installed.
- To implement Active Directory Connector (ADC), designed so that existing
Windows NT 4.0 and Exchange 5.5 directory information can replicate to the new
Exchange and Windows environment, the new ADC Wizard helps to ease and automate
the setup and connection agreements between the Exchange 5.5 and new Windows and
Exchange 2003 organizations.
- The new mailbox and public folder migration tools enable fast and productive
moves of the individual mailboxes to Exchange 2003. You and your IT organization
will find that the new resources and tools enable a more productive, quicker,
and less disruptive migration.
 |
|