What is?
Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a messaging and collaborative software product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is widely used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure solutions.
Microsoft Exchange's major features consist of electronic mail, calendaring, contacts and tasks, and support for the mobile and web-based access to information, as well as supporting data storage. Microsoft Exchange Server can also be purchased as a hosted service from a number of web hosting providers.
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Microsoft's Exchange Server 2007
Exchange Server 2007 was released in late 2006 to business customers as part of Microsoft's roll-out wave of new products. It includes new clustering options, 64-bit support for greater scalability, voice mail integration, better search and support for Web services, better filtering options, and a new Outlook Web Access interface. Exchange 2007 also dropped support for Exchange 5.50 migrations, routing groups, admin groups, Outlook Mobile Access, X.400, and some API interfaces, amongst other features.
Key improvements
The principal enhancements, as outlined by Microsoft, are:
- Protection: anti-spam, antivirus, compliance, clustering with data replication, improved security and encryption.
- Improved Information Worker Access: improved calendaring, unified messaging, improved mobility, improved web access.
- Improved IT Experience: 64-bit performance & scalability, command-line shell & simplified GUI, improved deployment, role separation, simplified routing.
- Exchange Management Shell: a new command-line shell and scripting language for system administration (based on Windows PowerShell). Shell users can perform every task that can be performed in the Exchange Server graphical user interface plus additional tasks, and can program often-used or complex tasks into scripts that can be saved, shared, and re-used. The Exchange Management Shell has over 375 unique commands to manage features of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
- "Unified Messaging" that lets users receive voice mail, e-mail, and faxes in their mailboxes, and lets them access their mailboxes from cell phones and other wireless devices. Voice commands can be given to control and listen to e-mail over the phone (and also send some basic messages, like "I'll be late").
- Increased the database maximum size limit. Database size is now limited to 16Tb per database.
- Increased the maximum number of storage groups and mail databases per server, to 5 each for Standard Edition (from 1 each in Exchange Server 2003 Standard), and to 50 each for Enterprise Edition (from 4 groups and 20 databases in Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise).
Microsoft's Exchange Server 2007 (v8 or with SP1 v8.1) runs on 64-bit x86-64 versions of Windows Server only. This requirement applies to supported production environments only; a 32-bit trial version is available for download and testing. However, companies currently running Exchange Server on 32-bit hardware will be required to replace or migrate hardware if they wish to upgrade to the new version. Companies that are currently running Exchange Server on 64-bit capable hardware are still required to migrate from their existing Exchange 2000/2003 servers to a new 2007 server since in-place upgrades are not supported in 2007.
The first beta of Exchange Server 2007 (then named "Exchange 12" or E12) was released in December 2005 to a very limited number of beta testers. A wider beta was made available via TechNet Plus and MSDN subscriptions in March 2006 according to the Microsoft Exchange team blog.[citation needed] On April 25, 2006, Microsoft announced that the next version of Exchange Server would be called Exchange Server 2007.
Microsoft's Exchange Server 2007 is an integrated part of the Innovative Communications Alliance (a telecommunications alliance between Microsoft and Nortel) products.
Microsoft Exchange Server Licensing
Like Windows Server products, Microsoft Exchange Server requires Client Access Licenses (CAL), which are different from Windows CALs. Corporate license agreements, such as the Enterprise Agreement (EA), include Exchange Server Client Access Licenses (CALs). It also comes as part of the Core CAL. Just like Windows Server and other server products from Microsoft, you can choose to use User or Device Client Access Licenses(CALs). Device CALs are assigned to a device (workstation, laptop or PDA). User Client Access Licenses (CALs), are assigned to a user or employee (not a mailbox). User Client Access Licenses (CALs) allow a user to access Microsoft Exchange e-mail from any device. User and Device CALs are the same price, however cannot be used interchangeably. For Service Providers looking to host Microsoft Exchange, there is an SPLA (Service Provider License Agreement) available whereby Microsoft receives a monthly service fee in the place of the traditional Client Access Licenses. Two types of Microsoft Exchange Client Access Licenses are available: Microsoft Exchange Client Access License Standard and Microsoft Exchange Client Access License Enterprise. The Enterprise CAL is an add-on licence to the Standard CAL.
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