Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a groupware and e -mail transport server software company Microsoft. It serves the central storage and management of e -mails, appointments, contacts, tasks and other items for multiple users and enables cooperation in a workgroup or in a company. Exchange Server requires a Microsoft Windows Server software and therefore is especially dominated by Microsoft products infrastructure use.
To use as a user with the capabilities of Exchange Server, an additional client software is required. Microsoft will provide the separate program Microsoft Outlook in Exchange Server itself is already the Web application containing Outlook Web App for browser access.
As part of Microsoft's online service Office 365 server software may be entitled Exchange Online also or in addition to Microsoft ( " cloud computing " ) instead of in their own companies ( " On Premise " ) are operated, what especially smaller companies is interesting without pronounced IT infrastructure.
- 3.1 roles
- 3.2 Client -server communication
- 4.1 Version History
- 8.1 Notes and references
Details
The current version of Exchange Server 2013 can be operated 2012 R2 on Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server. In the network of Microsoft Active Directory directory service must be present since Exchange Server integrates intensively in these including user management.
Since the 2013 version is a new product care model by Microsoft in force: Approximately once per quarter a so-called Cumulative Update (CU ) is published, reflecting the complete status of the product in terms of bug fixes and feature enhancements at this time and not only for updates but also for new installations can be used. This includes an additional release of conventional service packs are not made . Note, however, that Microsoft provides only for the two most recent Cumulative product support updates.
Licensing
The product is available in the variants Standard and Enterprise. The standard version is designed for use in smaller companies because it allows only 5 databases per server. In contrast, the Enterprise version allows up to 100 databases per server. Each database can contain up to 2 terabytes of data in each server solutions.
Each user of the software requires an additional client access license ( CAL). These are available in the basic variant standard and as an additional add-on license in the Enterprise version to use advanced server features.
Functions
Was an extensive groupware solution from the initial simple e- mail system. In the 2003 version a server- side filtering was implemented using the Intelligent Message Filter (IMF ) for the first time, which makes it possible to filter out unwanted e-mails. Since the 2013 version is also included a rudimentary anti - virus software.
The functionality includes:
- Schedule / Calendar
- Tasks
- Contacts / Addresses
- Notes
- Mobile e- mail access via Microsoft Active Sync technology
- E -mail retrieval means POP3/IMAP4, e -mail delivery via SMTP
- Global Address Book
- Certificate-based authentication
- Support for Secure / Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S / MIME)
- Intelligent Anti -spam filter: SmartScreen Filter technology, the Intelligent Message Filter (IMF )
- Global Accept and Deny List (whitelist / blacklist)
- Anti -virus filtering and anti -virus API, can be connected with the anti -virus software from third-party
- Support for the Sender ID e -mail authentication protocol
- Outlook Web App, Web access to the functions of the server
- Mixed operation with an Office 365 Exchange Online service
Basically, data is divided into one hand, personal and user-dependent and on the other hand shared data such as the so-called public folders, which group work is possible.
As a front-end application is used mostly Microsoft Outlook. As an alternative under Linux Evolution can be used. However, use of Exchange Server and Web application by using Outlook Web App, or mobile devices via ActiveSync or phone (Outlook Voice Access ) is possible.
If you use Outlook with Exchange Server limits the functionality of Outlook is expanded. For example, an office assistant is offered, answered the incoming e -mails with a recorded message. Outlook rules are partially processed directly on the server, even if the user has Outlook does not start. A delegation of the user mailbox, calendar, etc. can be allowed by the user to other users. When planning a meeting, the inviter is immediately displayed, for example, if the invitee is available or already has another appointment.
Exchange Server can work with the portal software Microsoft SharePoint Server as well as the instant messaging product Microsoft Lync.
Shall be managed by Exchange Server through a Web application, the Exchange Administration Center.
Technology
Roll
The Exchange functionality is divided into three so-called roles that are defined during installation, where a server may hold multiple roles:
- Mailbox - contains the main functionality and maintains the databases from
- Forwarding proxy server that accepts client requests and at the appropriate mailbox server - Client Access
- Edge Transport - additional backup of e -mail delivery between the internal network and the Internet; usually located in a DMZ
Client -server communication
Microsoft Exchange Server uses to communicate with the client a proprietary interface called MAPI, their calls are transported by means of RPC and HTTP protocols and used including Microsoft Outlook for Windows. When using current versions of Exchange Server and Outlook (both from 2013 SP1 ), the RPC layer will be disabled in favor of greater flexibility and MAPI is transferred directly via HTTP.
Other hand, Outlook for Mac uses the newer server interface EWS. In the future, third-party should also use this instead of the MAPI interface.
History
Originally offered Microsoft the mail system MS Mail ( up to version 3.5), but could no longer meet the requirements of larger environments. So it was only possible to create a maximum of 500 mailboxes on a server, and the storage of data in a file tree turned out with increasing volume of mail more and more as a problem if the amount of data to be managed. Exchange itself was developed from scratch. To suggest a proximity to Microsoft Mail and the customer to suggest the transition to Exchange, the version number 4.0 was used on the first Exchange server. In developing played from the beginning to the secure data processing ( relational database with two - phase commit transactions ) and the scalability of a particular role. The base forms since the beginning of the JetEngine ( Jet Blue ), which was later also used for products such as Active Directory or Kerberos Distribution Server.
Version History
Alternatives
For Microsoft Exchange Server there are many competing products such as Lotus Domino Server, GroupWise, Scalix, Atmail, Axigen, MDaemon and the open source alternatives Zarafa, Open -Xchange, SOGo, Zimbra, Kolab and Citadel / UX. Furthermore, there are alternative implementations of the MAPI protocol, which enable the connection of standard-compliant groupware and e- mail programs to Microsoft Exchange Server.