10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Exchange 5.0
- Lesson 1 -
Welcome to Exchange
In this lesson, you learn how Microsoft Exchange handles the interaction between
the Exchange Client software installed on your computer (also known as the workstation
or the Exchange Client) and the Exchange Server software installed on the network
server. The server software is what controls the exchange of messages between your
computer and others on the network.
Understanding Microsoft Exchange Server
Your Microsoft Exchange software is part of Microsoft Exchange Server, a network-wide
system that's been installed in your company to handle messaging, scheduling, and
other exchanges of information among employees, as well as between employees and
the outside world.
Microsoft Exchange Server consists of two components:
- The server. A server is a computer that contains information valuable
to one or many users. Placing information on a server makes it available to multiple
users simultaneously. This information could include annual reports, graphics, spreadsheets,
or anything else that can be stored electronically. In the case of an Exchange Server,
the server also holds users' e-mail messages and schedules.
- The client.A client is a computer that connects to a server computer to
access information. Client computers are also called workstations. Workstations
use the Exchange client software to connect to an Exchange Server. Then, workstations
send and receive e-mail messages and/or update and retrieve schedule information.
There are a number of elements within each of these two components, and they all
work together to accomplish tasks across a network or a group of networks.
The Exchange Client Software
The client software for Microsoft Exchange Server runs on the following operating
systems:
- Windows 3.1
- Windows for Workgroups 3.1
- Windows NT 3.51 Workstation
- Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
- Windows 95
- Macintosh 7.x
While the client software also runs on DOS (version 5.0 or later), only messaging
functions are supported; all other features are inaccessible.
The Windows NT Workstation and Windows 95 versions of Exchange Server Client are
the most commonly used. They also look and behave the same, so throughout this book,
I'll discuss Exchange Server Client from that perspective. If you're using Windows
3.x or Macintosh, your Exchange software may look slightly different, but the functions
will operate the same.
How Client and Server Software Work Together
Microsoft Exchange Server is a modular client/server system. It is modular because
a number of different components are available, so each company can install and use
the features it needs. It is client/server based because the performance of tasks
takes place at both the client and the server.
Performing a client process may require information that is maintained on the
server (such as getting a name from the company's e-mail address book). If this occurs,
the client requests the information from the server. Upon receiving the request,
the server sends the information to the client. The client can then use the data
to complete a process, such as composing a message. Figure 1.1 illustrates the process
that takes place when a client requests this type of information from the server.

Figure 1.1 Clicking the button that displays the list of names sends
a request to the server that holds that list. The server sends the list to the user's
workstation, and the user selects one or more names and continues the task without
any further input from the server.
Sometimes when a client sends a request to a server, the completion of the task
requires a server-based process. In that case, the server proceeds with the task.
For example, the client might ask the server to deliver a message to another user.
Figure 1.2 shows that server process.

Figure 1.2 After preparing a message at the workstation, the user sends
it to the recipient. This causes the message to be sent to the server, where all
the mailboxes are stored. The message is placed in the recipient's mailbox, and a
copy is stored in the sender's mailbox.
Understanding Objects
Object is the term used by Exchange to describe the way the elements in
your Exchange software are viewed. Every element is treated as an object, including
files, folders, messages, lists, and even computers. Objects are represented on your
screen as icons.
Even though you see many objects in the Exchange window when you're using the
software, they aren't all stored in the same place—they are just displayed in
one place. You can't tell by looking at an object where it is stored.
Your mailbox, for example, is located on a server that is running Microsoft Exchange,
and you are connected to that server. The server receives the messages you've composed
and sends them to the server-based mailboxes of the recipients. When other users
send mail to you, it is placed in your mailbox.
If your company has multiple locations, and therefore has installed multiple Microsoft
Exchange servers, the administrators have devised a system of delivering mail among
all the servers.
Your mailbox name appears on the list of users all through your company, and the
mailbox names displayed on your computer include everyone in your company. When you
send a message, you can't tell where the recipient is, or to which server that recipient
is attached. But it doesn't matter. Microsoft Exchange Server follows a route from
server to server to get and deliver your mail.
Figure 1.3 shows how all the users end up being displayed on your computer's monitor
as one group, regardless of their locations or which server they're connected to.

Figure 1.3 All the networks a company maintains have servers that are
linked (usually by telephone lines). So each user sees every mailbox available in
the company, no matter where the individual mailboxes are stored.
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LAN LAN stands for Local Area Network. A LAN consists of computers that are
grouped together. They are connected by wiring and software that allows them to communicate
with each other. A company may have many separate LANs at a single location, or they
may establish a single LAN at each office they maintain. Regardless of its location,
each LAN can be configured so that it can communicate with other LANs.
In this lesson, you learned how the Microsoft Exchange Server and the Exchange
Client software work together, and what it means to be working in a client/server
environment. In the next lesson, you learn how to open and close the Microsoft Exchange
Client software, and you'll also learn how to use your mailbox.
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