Microsoft Exchange Server

• June 11, 1996 - Exchange Server 4.0 release. This version was significantly different from Exchange Server 3.5, which was written by Network Courier.
• May 23, 1997 - Exchange 5.0
• November 1997 - Exchange 5.5, two versions of Standard ("5.5 / S") and Enterprise ("5.5 / E") were released. Standard had the same limitations as the previous version (16 GB maximum size of the mail database), the Enterprise limit was expanded to 8 TB, with a practical recommended limit of 100 GB.
• November 29, 2000 - Exchange Server 2000 (version 6.0)
• September 28, 2003 - Exchange Server 2003 (version 6.5)
• December 8, 2006 - Exchange Server 2007 (version 8.0)
• November 9, 2009 - Exchange Server 2010 (version 14.0)
• December 3, 2012 - Exchange Server 2013 (version 15.0)
• October 1, 2015 - Exchange Server 2016 (version 15.1)
• July 24, 2018 - Exchange Server 2019 (version 15.2)

There is a list of Exchange Server edition code names .

Exchange Server is tightly integrated with Active Directory : most user data is stored in Active Directory (linking user accounts and mailboxes, contact lists). Only the mailboxes themselves are stored separately from Active Directory (due to the significant size). Thanks to the Active Directory replication mechanism, when using multiple Microsoft Exchange Servers, data on all servers is kept up to date. Also, a hierarchical system of trust relationships between domains is “automatically” maintained.

OIS / OWA uses IIS capabilities.

Supported Protocols and Clients

Microsoft Exchange Server supports the following protocols:

• MAPI - The main protocol for client interaction with Exchange Server, has the broadest support for the functions of e-mail messaging and collaboration on documents, calendars and address books. Starting with Exchange Server 2007, it is also the primary protocol for exchanging data between the Mailbox role and other Exchange Server 2007 roles.
• SMTP is the primary protocol for forwarding mail messages on the Internet and within your Exchange organization.
• POP3 is one of the client access protocols for Exchange Server.
• IMAP4 is one of the client access protocols for Exchange Server.
• HTTP / HTTPS is one of the client protocols for accessing the Exchange Server; in addition, it is used to access mobile devices to the Exchange Server, as well as to forward and distribute address books and calendars to the Exchange Server customers.
• LDAP / LDAPS SSL is a communication protocol between Exchange Server and Microsoft Windows Active Directory .
• DAVEx - in Exchange 2003, a protocol for exchanging data between Exchange subsystems and IIS , based on WebDAV .

The following clients can work with Microsoft Exchange Server:

• Microsoft Outlook (from Microsoft Office ) is the main MAPI client for working with the server from workstations; it also supports POP3 / SMTP, IMAP4 / SMTP, HTTPS, RSS, ATOM.
• Outlook Express ( OE ) is a free, simplified Outlook client that ships with Microsoft Windows , right down to Windows XP . Supports all full version protocols except MAPI.
• Windows Mail , the successor to OE in Windows Vista , has the same features.
• Outlook Web Access ( OWA ) - Exchange web client (almost full outlook functionality is supported, except for the ability to edit tasks from the scheduler and the local spam filter).
• Outlook Mobile Access ( OMA ) - (only in Exchange 2000, 2003) an extremely simplified interface for access from mobile devices of various manufacturers (the interface consumes minimal traffic and is optimized for screens of various resolutions). Discontinued in Exchange Server 2007 due to the global spread of ActiveSync.
• ActiveSync is a mobile client, an analogue of Microsoft Outlook for communicators and smartphones of various manufacturers. For Exchange 2000 Server, mobile clients ( Windows Mobile ActiveSync only) supported the Microsoft Mobile Information Server; in Exchange 2003 Server, these features were integrated as Exchange ActiveSync ( EAS ); for Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft opened and transferred the source code of the client ActiveSync to the consortium of Symbian , the manufacturer of Palm , and Apple for the iPhone , in connection with which ActiveSync for mobile devices was implemented not only for the Windows Mobile platform, but also for SymbianOS, PalmOS, iPhone OS and others.
• Outlook Voice Access ( OVA ) - Voice access system for mail, calendars, address book, tasks (starting with Exchange Server 2007). It supports the conversion of text information into voice ( text-to-speech ) in reading text mail messages and calendar events on the calendar, as well as the conversion of voice to text ( speech-to-text ). It supports listening to recorded telephone voice messages, dictating response messages, notes on the calendar, forwarding messages to all invitees, as well as managing text, voice messages and calendar events, in the Exchange 2007 user mailbox. Does not require client software, access to OVA is possible with any phones that support tone dialing. Management of the contents of the mailbox can be carried out both by voice commands and phone keys. 16 languages ​​of access and recognition are supported. Russian language support is implemented in Exchange 2010 (Exchange 14) .
• Arbitrary email clients - according to any of the above protocols, since they are open (except for MAPI).

Backup

Microsoft Exchange Server, prior to version 2003, during installation complements the standard Windows archiving tool - NTBackup - with support for Exchange storage. If there is a need to backup / restore not only mail storages, but also personal mailboxes, then you can use third-party backup tools, for example Symantec Backup Exec, or the standard Restore-Mailbox function. In Microsoft Windows Server 2008, NTBackup is not available, and its counterpart is not suitable for archiving Exchange databases; instead, Microsoft recommends using the Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager server application ( Microsoft SC) for backing up Exchange mail databases and Active Directory service information. DPM ), or alternative solutions by approved vendors. The situation has been fixed with the release of Service Pack 2 for Exchange 2007, in this release there are components for archiving partitions with Exchange databases in Windows Server 2008.

In addition, Microsoft also publishes a list of server applications for archiving ^[2] , production of partner companies, for archiving Exchange Server storages. Backing up storages in a “file-by-file” way, only if the storages are disconnected for the duration of the backup, is highly not recommended. The shadow copy mechanism is supported, and the possibility of its application depends on the selected product for archiving.

Continuity and Availability

Exchange 2007

Replication Technologies:

• SCR (Standby Countinuous Replication) - asynchronous database replication between servers
• LCR (Local Continuous Replication) - asynchronous database replication to another local disk

Cluster Technologies:

• CCR (Cluster Continuous Replication) - asynchronous database replication between nodes in the cluster, protection against data loss during switching is implemented by delaying messages in the HT queue for a specified time interval)
• There is a cluster option with a single repository.

Exchange 2010

To implement fault tolerance, the only DAG technology is proposed, the old SCR, LCR, CCR technologies and a cluster with a single storage are removed. DAG (Database Availability Group) - asynchronous database replication between DAG nodes; protection against data loss during switching is implemented by delaying messages in the HT queue until replication to all DAG nodes is complete. DAG is not a pure cluster technology, since there is no virtual shared node. In this regard, the MAPI client connection point has been moved from the MB role to the CA role. As the CA role has become a critical component, support for the NLB cluster has been implemented. Only the base is clustered in the DAG, which can be moved between the servers included in the DAG. But the Windows clustering service is still used to determine the quorum. DAG can only work on block devices (local disks and SANs) and cannot work on NAS network drives. Some SAN vendors offer integration with DAG and replace its replication mechanism with hardware-based replication.

Architecture

Exchange 2007

Under the Exchange 2007 model for servers, the following server roles are allocated (similar to Windows 2003/2008 server roles):

• Mailbox server ( English Mailbox server, MB )
• Client Access Server ( CA )
• Hub Transport ( Hub Transport )
• Edge Transport Server ( Edge Transport, ET )
• Unified Messaging Server ( UM )

With the exception of the Edge Server role, all other roles can be combined in any combination on each server. Throughout the entire Exchange mail organization or a separate Active Directory site, the roles of the Mailbox Server, Client Access Server, and the Transport Hub must be installed on at least one instance. As with previous versions, Exchange Server 2007 is highly discouraged to combine with an Active Directory Domain Controller.

All Exchange Server 2007 roles must be hosted on Windows Server 2008 or 2003 server operating systems that are members of an Active Directory domain. An exception is the Edge Transport server, which is installed on the DMZ network.

Exchange Server 2007 is fully compatible, within the Active Directory forest / Exchange organization with Exchange 2003 and 2000, and is completely incompatible with Exchange 5.5 or earlier.

Exchange Server 2007

There are two editions of Exchange 2007: Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition. Editions differ in cost, with the maximum number of supported databases: up to 5 in the Standard edition and up to 50 in the Enterprise edition, with support for clustering. Limitations on the size of the base are 100GB (recommended) and 16TB (theoretical), in order to distribute the load between storages.

Starting with Exchange 2007, only 64-bit implementation can be used in practical work. 32-bit is for test environments only and cannot be licensed.

• IBM Lotus Notes (also Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes / Domino)
• EMC² Documentum
• Novell GroupWise
• Zimbra

• According to the assumptions of individual resources on the Internet, the released version of Exchange 2010 could have extremely limited compatibility with older versions of the program. ^[3] However, Microsoft has officially approved full compatibility of Exchange 2010 in the common organization with previous versions - Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2003. The version of Exchange 2000, released more than 10 years ago, and previous ones are not supported in organizations. ^[four]

• Rand Morimoto, Michael Noel, Guy Yardeni, Chris Amaris, Andrew Abbate. Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. Complete Guide = Exchange Server 2013 Unleashed. - M .: "Williams" , 2014. - 800 p. - ISBN 978-5-8459-1863-5 .
• Rand Morimoto, Michael Noel, Chris Amaris, Andrew Abbate. Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Complete Guide = Exchange Server 2010 Unleashed. - M .: "Williams" , 2010. - S. 1280. - ISBN 978-5-8459-1655-6 .

• Official Microsoft Exchange Page
• Trial versions of Microsoft Exchange
• Microsoft Official Blog About Exchange
• Microsoft Exchange Official Russian Blog
• Microsoft TechNet Library
• Microsoft Exchange Server Site
• FAQ about Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2007