Logo
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
Home
programming4us
XP
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server
programming4us
Windows Phone
 
Windows Server

Exchange Server 2007 : Designing Exchange Infrastructure, Integrating Client Access into Exchange Server 2007 Design

- Free product key for windows 10
- Free Product Key for Microsoft office 365
- Malwarebytes Premium 3.7.1 Serial Keys (LifeTime) 2019
8/8/2012 3:14:12 PM

Designing Exchange Infrastructure

After Active Directory and the physical OS has been chosen and deployed, the Exchange infrastructure can be set up and optimized for the specific needs of the organization. With these needs in mind, you can do several things to optimize an Exchange 2007 setup, as detailed in the following sections.

Determining the Exchange Version

When installing Exchange, the choice of Exchange version needs to be made. As with Windows Server 2003, there are two versions of Exchange, Standard and Enterprise. The Standard Edition enables all Exchange 2007 functionality except the following:

  • Multiple databases

  • Databases larger than 75GB

  • Clustering support

The advanced feature set of the Enterprise Edition is geared toward larger deployments. The critical factor that pushes the midsize to large organizations to the Enterprise Edition, however, is the 75GB database limit. Some organizations require large mailbox sizes and could potentially require multiple databases larger than 75GB. Because this functionality is available only with the Enterprise Edition of the software, it must be installed.

Caution

Because the Standard Edition of Exchange does not support databases larger than 75GB, keep track of the size of the private database store, ensuring that it stays well below the designated limit. The database will shut down if it passes this limit, so it is critical to keep a watchful eye on database size if using the Standard Edition.


In addition to the ability to house multiple databases and databases greater than 75GB, the Enterprise Edition also allows for clustering support. In addition, the OS version must be Windows Server 2003 Enterprise or DataCenter Edition for clustering to be supported.

Determining Exchange Databases and Storage Groups Layout

As previously mentioned, the Enterprise Edition of Exchange enables the concept of multiple databases, up to a maximum of 50. This enables a greater amount of design freedom and gives administrators more flexibility. A maximum of 50 production storage groups can be created, and each storage group can contain up to five databases. This does not mean that a server can support 250 databases, however, as Exchange 2007 limits an administrator to 50 total databases across all storage groups.

Outlining Exchange Recovery Options

Deploying Exchange requires considerable thought about backup and recovery solutions. Because Exchange is a live, active database, special considerations need to be taken into account when designing the backup strategy for email.

Microsoft designed Exchange 2007 to use the backup application programming interfaces (APIs) from Windows Server 2003. These APIs support the Volume Shadow Copy Service, which enables Exchange databases to be backed up through creation of a “shadow copy” of the entire disk at the beginning of the backup. The shadow copy is then used for the backup, so that the production disk is not affected.

Note

The Windows Server 2003 backup utility can be used to back up Exchange using the traditional online backup approach. Volume Shadow Copy requires a third-party solution that has been written to support the Windows Server 2003 backup and restore APIs.


Exchange 2007 also includes support for the concept of a recovery storage group, which is an additional storage group (available with either Standard or Enterprise Exchange) and which can be used on a running server to restore databases and mailboxes “on the fly.” This streamlines the mailbox recovery process because restore servers are no longer a necessity.

Considering Exchange Antivirus and Antispam Design

Viruses are a major problem for all organizations today. Email is especially vulnerable because it is typically unauthenticated and insecure. Consequently, design of an Exchange implementation should include consideration for antivirus options.

Exchange 2007 enhances the Virus Scanning Application Programming Interface (VSAPI) that was introduced in Exchange 2000 and improved in Exchange 2003. The enhanced VSAPI engine enables quarantine of email messages, as opposed to simply attachments, and enables virus scanning on gateway servers. Third-party virus products can be written to tie directly into the new VSAPI and use its functionality.

Spam, unsolicited email, has become another major headache for most organizations. In response to this, Exchange 2007 has some built-in antispam functionality that enables email messages to contain a spam rating. This helps determine which emails are legitimate, and can be used by third-party antispam products as well.

Monitoring Exchange

Email services are required in many organizations. The expectations of uptime and reliability are increasing, and end users are beginning to expect email to be as available as phone service. Therefore, the ability to monitor Exchange events, alerts, and performance data is optimal.

Exchange 2007 is a complex organism with multiple components, each busy processing tasks, writing to event logs, and running optimization routines. You can monitor Exchange using one of several methods, the most optimal being System Center Operations Manager 2007 (previously named Microsoft Operations Manager or MOM). SCOM 2007 is essentially a monitoring, alerting, and reporting product that gathers event information and performance data, and generates reports about Microsoft servers. An Exchange-specific management pack for SCOM contains hundreds of prepackaged counters and events for Exchange 2007. Use of the management pack is ideal in midsize and larger environments to proactively monitor Exchange.

Although close monitoring of multiple Exchange servers is best supported through the use of SCOM, this might not be the most ideal approach for smaller organizations because SCOM is geared toward medium and large organizations. Exchange monitoring for small organizations can be accomplished through old-fashioned approaches, such as manual reviews of event log information, performance counters using perfmon, and simple Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) utilities to monitor uptime.

Integrating Client Access into Exchange Server 2007 Design

Although the Exchange server is a powerful systems component, it is only half the equation for an email platform. The client systems comprise the other half, and are a necessary ingredient that should be carefully determined in advance.

Outlining Client Access Methods

Great effort has been put into optimizing and streamlining the client access approaches available in Exchange 2007. Not only have traditional approaches such as the Outlook client been enhanced, but support for nontraditional access with POP3 and IMAP clients is also available. The following options exist for client access with Exchange 2007:

  • Outlook MAPI— The full Outlook client has been streamlined and enhanced. MAPI communications with Exchange 2007 systems have been compressed, and the addition of slow-link detection enables speedy mail retrieval for remote users. Outlook versions that support access to Exchange 2007 servers are limited to the 2002, 2003, and 2007 versions of Outlook.

  • Outlook Web Access (OWA)— The Outlook Web Access (OWA) client is now nearly indistinguishable from the full Outlook client. The one major component missing is offline capability, but nearly every other Outlook functionality is part of OWA.

  • ActiveSync— ActiveSync provides for synchronized access to email from a handheld device, such as a Pocket PC or other Windows Mobile device. It allows for real-time send and receive functionality to and from the handheld, through the use of push technology.

  • Outlook Anywhere— Outlook Anywhere (previously known as RPC over HTTP) is a method by which a full Outlook client can dynamically send and receive messages directly from an Exchange server over an HTTP or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) web connection. This allows for virtual private network (VPN)–free access to Exchange data, over a secured HTTPS connection.

  • Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3)— The Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is a legacy protocol that is supported in Exchange 2007. POP3 enables simple retrieval of mail data via applications that use the POP3 protocol. Mail messages, however, cannot be sent with POP3 and must use the SMTP engine in Exchange. By default, POP3 is not turned on and must be explicitly activated.

  • Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)— Legacy Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) access to Exchange is also available, which can enable an Exchange server to be accessed via IMAP applications, such as some UNIX mail clients. As with the POP3 protocol, IMAP support must be explicitly turned on.

Note

Exchange 2007 supports the option of disallowing MAPI access or allowing only specific Outlook clients MAPI access. This can be configured if an organization desires only OWA access to an Exchange server. It can also, for security reasons, stipulate that only Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003 can access the Exchange server. The Registry key required for this functionality is the following:

Location:HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem
Value Name: Disable MAPI Clients
Data Type: REG_SZ
String: Version # (i.e. v4, v5, etc)

					  

See Microsoft TechNet Article 288894 for more information:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;288894


Each organization will have individual needs that determine which client or set of clients will be supported. In general, the full Outlook client offers the richest messaging experience with Exchange 2007, but many of the other access mechanisms, such as Outlook Web Access, are also valid. The important design consideration is identifying what will be supported, and then enabling support for that client or protocol. Any methods that will not be supported should be disabled or left turned off for security reasons.

Other -----------------
- Exchange Server 2007 : Designing Exchange Server Roles in an Exchange Environment
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 : Infrastructure Design Considerations - Outlook Infrastructure Optimization
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 : Infrastructure Design Considerations - Office Communication Server Setup
- BizTalk 2009 : Implementing a Scatter or Gather Pattern
- BizTalk 2009 : Using PGP (part 2) - PGP Decode Component
- BizTalk 2009 : Using PGP (part 1) - PGP Encode Component
- SQL Server 2008 R2 : Implementing Policy-Based Management (part 2) - Creating a Category, Evaluating Policies, Importing and Exporting Policies
- SQL Server 2008 R2 : Implementing Policy-Based Management (part 1) - Creating a Condition Based on a Facet, Creating a Policy
- SQL Server 2008 R2 : Policy-Based Management Concepts
- Active Directory Domain Services 2008 : Add Attributes to Global Catalog Replication, Remove Attributes from Global Catalog Replication
 
 
Top 10
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 2) - Wireframes,Legends
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 1) - Swimlanes
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Formatting and sizing lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Adding shapes to lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Sizing containers
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 3) - The Other Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 2) - The Data Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 1) - The Format Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Form Properties and Why Should You Use Them - Working with the Properties Window
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Using the Organization Chart Wizard with new data
 
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server