Greg Todd, et al.
201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46290
To my wife, Shelly, and my daughter, Katie.
Greg Todd
FIRST EDITION
My how times change. When I came to Microsoft over 7 years ago as the program manager for what was to eventually become Microsoft Exchange Server, the world was a different place. Windows 3.0 was not yet in beta, IBM and Microsoft were uneasy business partners, Windows NT was not even a code name (I still have a coffee cup that heralds the grand and glorious future of "Microsoft OS/2") and my mom did not own a PC. My first machine at Microsoft was (at the time) a ridiculously lavish Compaq 386/20 with a huge 20MB hard drive and a whopping 4MB of RAM. How could anyone possibly take advantage of such power or utilize such vast storage?
E-mail was certainly still in its infancy. Workgroup computing was an academic subject. Terms like "Client-Server Computing" and "Application Server" were at best buzz words used by marketing types, at least when used in conjunction with PC-class computers. The few PC LAN e-mail systems that did exist were toys with little, if any, administration capabilities. Most people who used e-mail did so on a mainframe and were limited to simple plain text messages, often with limitations on line lengths and allowed characters. The ability to send attachments was generally available only within proprietary systems and then only by using convoluted commands. Interoperability between systems was poor to non-existent and rich text or embedded OLE objects in e-mail messages was essentially unheard of. Group scheduling and calendaring products did not exist.
At Microsoft, we used a home-grown character-mode user interface that accessed a patchwork Xenix server back end using a proprietary protocol tied to XNS. All user mail was managed locally by users as files in their local file system. The average message size at Microsoft was less than 700 bytes. There was no directory service. Users addressed each other by remembering each other's "aliases"a short unique string eight characters or lessa concept that still pervades Microsoft corporate culture today. I'm sure I'll be known simply and uniquely as "ericl" for the rest of my life. Back when Bill Gates was single, a female friend of mine sold T-shirts with big hearts on them that read "BillG, Pick Me!".
E-mail was and still is however, tightly ingrained into the Microsoft culture and way of doing business. If you need a quick response from someone at Microsoft, you send them e-mail. Voice mail goes unchecked and unanswered for days. Paper memos are few and far between and generally get recycled with little or no attention. Users at Microsoft have come to expect the e-mail system to be available all the time, day or night, from home or at work and even when off-line on airplanes or in hotel rooms. End-to-end delivery times worldwide are expected to be counted in seconds, not minutes or hours. Lacking a non-delivery report, messages are always assumed to have arrived. Everything from contractor time cards to reporting vacation time is done via electronic forms using the messaging system. The email/scheduling/workgroup system at Microsoft is literally the company's lifeblood. Well over 1 million messages flow throughout the system each day, with over 100,000 messages a day exchanged with other companies or users using the Internet.
Working in the "e-mail group" at Microsoft can have its downsides. Because everyone from BillG to the cooks in the kitchen use e-mail, everyone in the company is essentially an e-mail expert. Not only are their expectations on system availability and performance incredibly high, but every user has his or her own opinions of how the system should work and which features are critical to them. And they let me know them, via e-mail of course, in no uncertain terms every day. No other application at Microsoft is so heavily used or so heavily relied upon. We are, in many ways, our most demanding customer.
Microsoft Exchange Server is a ground-breaking product that was designed to meet and exceed the needs of this demanding environment. From messaging to scheduling to workgroup computing, the scope of the product is vast and the range of technologies it represents is simply phenomenal. From distributed, replicated public folders to a true directory service to the fault tolerant database architecture, Microsoft Exchange Server was designed from the ground up as a truly robust client-server messaging, scheduling, and workgroup computing system for organizations from 50 to 500,000 users or more. A far cry from those dark days of Xenix mail, Exchange Server has in many ways far exceeded the demands of those opinionated users as well as delivering on the management capabilities administrators demand. It was seven years in the making, and in that time the Exchange group at Microsoft has grown from a single program manager to over 300 people focused exclusively on messaging, scheduling, and workgroup computing products.
I've known Greg Todd for several of those years now, working closely with him while he was still at Compaq Computer and I was running the Exchange Server Performance Team. Outside of Microsoft, Greg is the most knowledgeable Exchange Server expert I know. The book you are holding in your hand is a testament to that knowledge.
Eric Lockard
Group Program Manager
Exchange Product Unit
Microsoft Corporation
ericl@microsoft.com
July, 1996
This book was a huge project. Those who were involved from the beginning and stuck it out to the end are particularly aware of the effort it took to complete this endeavor. There were many people whose hard work and patience made it happen.
So here goes.
First I'd like to thank my wife, Shelly, for her gracious support and love during this entire project, and for bringing a new life into our family, Katie. There were many things going on in our lives during this project, and I could not have made it without you. Can we be bored for awhile now?
I would also like to thank those at SAMS Publishing: Kim Spilker, Cari Skaggs, Sunthar Visuvalingam, Tonya Simpson, Dean Miller, Greg Wiegand, Richard Swadley, and many others who made this thing happen. I enjoyed working with you.
I'd like to acknowledge the contributing authors for their excellent work: Rick and Diane Andrews, Kimmo Bergius, Dennis Brazil, Kevin Chestnut, Robert Henriksen, Liz Hookway, David Mosier, Wesley Peace, Ron Sonntag and Ray Sundstrom. This book would not have made it without your efforts. Thanks to each of you.
Special thanks to Eric Lockard of Microsoft for his insight, his knowledge of Exchange Server, and his willingness to help. It all started with some drawings on a white board in building 16. A lot can change in a year, right?
Thanks to fellow writer Ed Whalen of Compaq, author of the excellent Sams book, Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization, for the phone number. You might ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?" Also thanks to Arthur Knowles for my start with his book, BackOffice Administrator's Survival Guide.
I want to thank Paul Garner, Vice President, and David Black, President of Insource Technology Corporation, for their support in writing this book. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Mr. Rod Canion, CEO and Chairman of Insource, whose vision and leadership have helped shape the personal computer industry into what it is today.
Finally, I'd like to thank God for the talent and opportunity He has given me to accomplish this project.
Greg Todd holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of South Florida. He currently works for Insource Technology Corporation in Houston, Texas as a Senior Technology Consultant in the Internet Solutions Group. Previously, Greg was a Systems Engineer at Compaq Computer Corporation for six years.
Greg got his start in 1980 with his first computer, a TRS-80 Level II 16K system. Since then he has spent over 10 years in the industry during which time he has written white papers on performance and systems integration, given technical presentations, worked extensively with networks and operating systems, and participated as a contributing author on other technical books, including the recent BackOffice Administrator's Survival Guide. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his wife, new baby, and his Rottweiler, along with writing software utilities and making music in his home studio.
Kevin L. Chestnut is Director of Advanced Products and Technology at Active Voice, the leading provider of PC-based voice messaging and voice processing systems worldwide. He is responsible for investigating new and evolving technologies and applying them to leading-edge computer telephony and messaging products. In this role, Kevin worked closely with Microsoft during the early development of Exchange to integrate third-party voice and fax messaging systems.
Diane Andrews is a Windows consultant with Fountainhead Software, Inc. in Seattle, Washington. Under contract with Microsoft, she is currently a software test engineer for the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer. In addition, Diane does technical writing for user documentation and enjoys VB programming. She can be reached via e-mail at DianeAndrews@MSN.COM.
Rick Andrews is a Windows consultant with Fountainhead Software, Inc. in Seattle, Washington. Under contract with Microsoft, he was the Visual Basic technical lead/developer for the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer. In addition, Rick is the developer of the Visual Basic Setup Toolkit for Microsoft. He can be reached via e-mail at RickAndrews@MSN.COM.
Dennis Brazil is a Staff Systems Administrator for Clarify, Inc. Clarify provides the industry's most comprehensive suite of client/server software for enterprise sales and support solutions. Clarify's products integrate the key components of customer interaction: sales and marketing, customer service, problem resolution, field service, logistics, defect tracking and help desk applications.
Dennis maintains support for all desktop applications including the messaging and Wide-Area networking infrastructure for Clarify.
With over 11 years of related experience, Dennis has extensive project management and implementation expertise in Novell and Windows NT-based LANs and WANs, Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Exchange Server (worldwide), and various Microsoft Backoffice and desktop applications. Other specialities include database administration and ISDN WAN implementations.
With his current status as a Microsoft MVP, he frequents the Microsoft newsgroups (msnews.microsoft.com) to help provide support to users in need of Microsoft Exchange help.
He is currently working on his Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Certification. He can be reached via e-mail at dbrazil@clarify.com.
Robert Henriksen is a network consultant and the MIS Director for the University of Houston Law Center (http://www.law.uh.edu). He is a Microsoft Certified Product Specialist in WindowsNT, specializing in NT-based networks, remote access, Exchange, and ISDN. He can be reached at RHenriksen@uh.edu.
Liz Hookway is President of MicroStaff Corporation, a Microsoft Solution Provider focusing on implementing Microsoft Exchange and BackOffice components into intranet and Internet solutions for Fortune 500 companies. The author has specialized in midrange server BackOffice applications, networking, and messaging solutions for 13 years and has dedicated the last three years to testing and implementing Microsoft Exchange at beta and production sites. She holds degrees from the University of North Carolina and South Carolina, and consults and trains on Microsoft BackOffice products when she is not out with her two labradors, Bert and Rufse.
David Mosier is a consultant for USConnect in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been working on NT systems since the second beta release of NT in July of 1992 and has been an MCSE since 1994. With over 12 years experience as a Systems Engineer and Network Consultant, he has worked with a variety of systems including several large TCP/IP WAN-based NT networks, wireless LANs, and even a DOS-based PC or two. He used to enjoy reading Science Fiction, especially Orson Scott Card. Then one day all the NT, IP, and messaging books got together and kicked the SF books off the shelf. David can be reached at David_Mosier@Wash-Balt.USConnect.com.
Wesley H. Peace III is a Senior Consultant in the Technology Consulting Practice for NCR Corporation. As a consultant, Wesley specializes in Microsoft Networking, LAN, electronic mail, Windows, Windows 95, NT, and NT Application, UNIX, and Systems Consulting.
He has been involved with the implementation of worldwide electronic messaging networks since 1986. He developed and deployed an 8A1/8B1 electronic messaging system for the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department. He has been involved in the design of numerous electronic mail systems supporting both local, national, and international organizations, the troubleshooting and tuning of LAN environments, the implementation of a DHCP/WINS network for Novell clients, the installation and registration of DNS services for a major insurance provider, and most recently is involved in the deployment of Microsoft Exchange for a major West Virginia hospital system.
He has attended over five years of networking training with AT&T, including two years of extensive Computer Systems training at MIT, and extensive telecommunications training. Professionally, he has completed Microsoft Product Specialist Certification in NT Server and Microsoft Exchange Specialist, and has been granted Microsoft BackOffice MVP status. He is currently working on his Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Certification.
Special thanks to GOD for the skills he has given me, and to my wife and family for the patience when I said "I'm going downstairs to work." Also, I'd like to thank Dave Evans of NCR for the opportunity and encouragement to complete this book.
Ron M. Sonntag is the President of Analytical Software, Inc.
He was born 1954 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but moved to the US at an early age. He is an accomplished classical pianist and enthusiastic rock and alpine climber. He studied Physics and Astronomy at the University of Washington.
Ron founded Analytical Software, Inc. in 1980 after designing an easy-to-use high-resolution geographic mapping program. Since then, he has conducted research and development projects spanning Bowhead Whale population studies to creating maps for the Boeing AWACS used in Desert Storm. Ron is also the author of several published scientific papers regarding population studies of whales and pinnipeds. He currently has over 20 years background as a consultant, project manager, analyst, designer and developer of mission-critical information systems for public and private sector clients and has been a key participant in over 100 U.S. and international consulting projects. Ron's extensive experience includes process analysis, project management and project design, risk assessment and feasibility studies, database design, lead programming, technical advice, specifications and documentation, user documentation and strategic implementation. His ASI clients have included such recognized international names as Nordstrom, Hoffman-La Roche, Windshields America, Shurgard Public Storage, NOAA and Hubbs Seaworld Research Institute. Ron is also a Microsoft Certified Professional and Project Management Institute Certified Project Management Professional, as well as chairman of the Seattle Chapter of the National Association of Solution Providers steering committee. ASI can be reached at http:\\webasi.com, or through NASP at http:\\nasp.seattle.webasi.com. Ron's e-mail address is rons@asi-consulting.com.
I would like to thank my wife, Renee M. Engel, for putting up with my late-night efforts to achieve some "clarity by example," and for letting our cats know that I still love them.
Ray Sundstrom is a consulting system engineer for Analytical Software, Inc. in Seattle, Washington. Ray has 20 years experience in computer applications and systems design. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Certified Exchange Specialist. Ray's career has taken him from ten years of consulting, to a large corporate data processing department for seven years, and back to consulting.
In addition to being a confirmed computer nerd, Ray is an avid Alpine skier, wine collector, and traveler. You are as likely to find him on the slopes of Sun Valley, in the vineyards of Burgundy, or the back alleys of Hong Kong as you are to find him staring at a computer screen.
Ray can be reached at rays@asi-consulting.com.
By Greg Todd
Microsoft Exchange Server is quickly becoming a popular product in Microsoft's BackOffice suite. As the weeks go by since its April, 1996 introduction, the momentum behind Exchange Server continues to build. In its first version, Exchange Server 4.0 is a powerful, feature-rich product that is finding its rightful place in the hands of the corporate world both as a replacement for MS Mail 3.x and as a new messaging system.
Although there are several books available on Exchange, none of them really gets to the heart of the server side of the product like this book does. There are plenty of folks out there who are trying to make things happen with Exchange Serverit's precisely those folks who literally need a survival guide for Exchange Server. Therefore, this book is aimed directly at them. Network administrators, technical decision makers, those who would deploy Exchange Server; this book is targeted at them and more. And the book is useful for large and small installations alike.
The Microsoft Exchange Server Survival Guide emphasizes the essentials needed to get up and running, and stay up and running. This approach is key to keeping the size of this book manageable. Otherwise, you'd be buying the book by the pound. On the other hand, an exhaustive approach like Microsoft had to undertake with the product documentation is overwhelming. Such an approach here would probably frighten away more readers than it would attract.
In order to keep the size manageable, the authors have made some assumptions about the target users and the typical installation. Exchange scales from small, single-server sites of 50 or so users all the way up to enormous multiple-server, multiple-site organizations of half a million users. Microsoft itself is one example of a rather large implementation, with over 100,000 worldwide Exchange users at the time of this writing. Microsoft's documentation for Exchange covers this full range of possibilities. As a result, a major part of the product documentation deals with issues concerning large-scale systems. This stuff is naturally complex.
The majority of the readers are likely to be mid- to advanced-level users currently responsible for mail system functions in a primary, hands-on capacity. More likely than not the typical reader will be charged with replacing or integrating Exchange with Microsoft Mail or another existing system. He will have an interest in connecting to the Internet for SMTP mail transfers. He will want to get the most out of his current hardware or hardware purchase, and will need some direction about what to purchaseand how to maximize performance with what he already owns.
The typical Exchange Server installationthe "sweet spot" I call itwill be to support an average of 200-500 users per single server. An organization can consist of only one server, or there can be servers located at several physical locations. Any off-site users will most likely access the server via dial-up, modem connections. Of course, the book doesn't ignore large-scale users. We simply want to place the emphasis on the needs of the person most likely to buy a Survival Guide off the shelf. Large users have other resources, such as VARs, consultants, and so on. The rest of the users have to fend for themselves, and that's where this guide will become valuable.
One more thing. This guide doesn't simply focus on the "how" with regard to Exchange Server topics; it also gives the reader a feel for "why," "when," and "where" he should use something. For example, if there's a useful tool or feature in the product, you learn how to use it. But you also learn why it is beneficial or useful, when it should be used, and where it should be applied. This makes the book much more real-world and useful than the regular documentation. And hopefully, it will make it worth the dollars you have spent (or hopefully, will spend) to buy it.
A few words about software versions. By the time this book hits the shelves, Windows NT 4.0 should be shipping and Exchange Server 4.1 will probably be in beta. Some readers might wonder why there is no NT 4.0 coverage in these pages, or why there is very little mention of Exchange Server 4.1. It's simplethe subject of this book is Exchange Server, specifically version 4.0.
Windows NT Server 3.51 is the sole version of NT featured in this book. There are a few reasons why we chose to remain with NT 3.51 rather than attempting to give previews of NT 4.0. Exchange Server 4.0 originally shipped for Windows NT Server 3.51 with Service Pack 4. With that in mind, it is more germane for us to use NT 3.51 rather than NT 4.0. Furthermore, the performance characteristics of Exchange Server are more readily understood with NT 3.51. NT 4.0 is still in beta, and things in NT 4.0 will likely change before it ships, especially with respect to performance.
Finally, regarding the main functions of Exchange Server, the operating system is largely transparent. Exchange 4.1 will run on NT 3.51, and Exchange 4.0 (with Service Pack 2) will run on NT 4.0. Furthermore, everything in this book applies to Exchange 4.0 running on NT 4.0. Sure, there will be some new technologies in NT 4.0 that will enable Exchange Server to provide new features, but for the most part, the operating system is transparent to Exchange Server. It's supposed to be that way. The approach in this book is that if it can do justice to covering the fundamentals, you will have gotten your money's worth.
So what does all this version talk mean to you? How useful will this guide be, even after NT 4.0 and Exchange 4.1 ship? It will be very useful, even essential as a foundation to build on. As I write this, Exchange 4.1 has not yet entered the beta phase, so this book is centered around concepts and features you must understand to be effective with Exchange 4.0. But those concepts and ideas aren't going to just go away when a new version shipsthey will merely be extended.
The result? Instead of becoming outdated knowledge, what you learn in this book will be a valuable foundation for understanding future enhancements both to Exchange Server and to Windows NT. Things will change with Exchange 4.1you can be assured of thatbut many of those changes will be built upon ideas already presented in this book. Along the way you will gradually increase your knowledge and expertise as the new versions arrive. And who knows, maybe there will even be another edition of this guide to help you along the way.
The following is a breakdown of each section of the book and what it hopes to accomplish.
You probably won't just sit down and read this book cover to coverthat would take a while. More likely, you will find topics of interest, start reading about them, and then get pulled into other sections of the book. In that way, you will eventually end up reading the whole thingmaybe even more than once. Ultimately, I hope you find it a valuable reference for answering your Exchange questions. It might not hold all the answers, but it will provide more than you have now. Good luck, and happy messaging!
The following conventions are used in this book:
Computer font indicates commands, parameters, statements, and text you see on-screen.
Notes provide information that is pertinent to the subject matter.
Tips offer useful hints and information.
Caution boxes provide cautions and consequences to particular actions.