Chapter 1: Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Administration Overview

Overview

Exchange Server 2007 completely redefines the Exchange Server messaging platform and provides the essential foundation on which small, medium, and large organizations can build their next-generation IT infrastructure. Every Exchange Server 2007 implementation has three layers in its architecture:

• Network layer The network layer provides the basic foundation for computer-to-computer communications and essential name resolution features. The network layer has both physical and logical components. The physical components include the IP addresses, the IP subnets, LAN or WAN links used by messaging systems as well as the routers that connect these links, and the fire-walls that protect the infrastructure. The logical components are the DNS zones that define the naming boundaries and contain the essential resource records required for name resolution.

• Active Directory layer The Active Directory layer provides the basic foundation necessary for authentication, authorization, and replication. The Active Directory layer has both physical and logical components. The physical components include the domain controllers, global catalog servers, and site links used for authentication, authorization, and replication. The logical components include the Active Directory forests, sites, domains and organizational units that are used to group objects for the purposes of resource sharing, centralized management, and replication control. The logical components also include the users and groups that are part of the Active Directory infrastructure.

• Messaging layer The messaging layer provides the basic foundation for messaging and collaboration. The messaging layer has both physical and logical components. The physical components include individual Exchange servers that determine how messages are delivered and mail connectors that determine how messages are routed outside an Exchange server's routing boundaries. The logical components specify the organizational boundaries for messaging, the mail-boxes used for storing messages, the public folders used for storing data, and the distribution lists used for distributing messages to multiple recipients.

As you get started with Exchange Server 2007, you should concentrate on these areas:

• How Exchange Server 2007 works with your hardware

• What versions and editions of Exchange Server 2007 are available and how they meet your needs

• How Exchange Server 2007 works with Windows–based operating systems

• How Exchange Server 2007 works with Active Directory

• What administration tools are available