Chapter 1. Exchange Server 2003 Technology Primer

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Using Exchange 2003 As an Email and Calendaring Solution

• Taking Advantage of Active Directory in Exchange

• Leveraging the Exchange 2003 As a Web Access Solution

• Expanding into the New Wireless and Mobility Technologies

• Choosing the Right Time to Migrate to Exchange 2003

• Understanding the Two Versions of Exchange 2003

• Understanding How Improvements in Windows 2003 Enhance Exchange 2003

• Reliability Enhancements in Exchange Server 2003

• Expanding on Manageability and Administration Benefits of Exchange 2003

• Improvements in Exchange 2003 Security

• Leveraging Mobility in Exchange 2003

• Performance Improvements in Exchange 2003

• Solidifying Core Technologies for Exchange 2003

• Best Practices

Exchange Server 2003 is the latest release of the electronic messaging–focused application server products from Microsoft. Some are calling it a major service pack for Exchange Server 2000, and others are touting it as the strategic evolution of the Exchange messaging product's extension beyond just email and calendaring.

Because a migration from Exchange 5.5 or Exchange 2000 typically does not require a change in the Outlook client used by email users, many users might never know they were upgraded to Exchange 2003. However, when you look under the hood, Exchange Server 2003 is a major improvement of the Exchange messaging system, with significant changes that improve mobile user access, server reliability, message and server fault tolerance, and system scalability.

This chapter introduces the significant enhancements and diverse capabilities of the Exchange 2003 messaging system and references the chapters through the balance of this book that detail these improvements. The differences that Exchange Server 2003 adds to a messaging environment require a re-education so that design and implementation decisions take full advantage of the enhanced communications capabilities.