Chapter 1 -- Introduction to Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server

Chapter 1

About This Chapter

Almost a decade ago, Microsoft began its development of a powerful enterprise messaging system, which years later became known as Microsoft Exchange Server. The first Visual Basic demo of the Exchange Administrator program was shown at computer fairs in 1994. However, the market had to wait until July 1996, when Microsoft finally released Exchange Server version 4.0, which relied on a full-featured X.400 (88) message transfer agent. In the early 1990s the X.400 standard was widely recognized as the framework for global messaging.

Today, the Internet is the single most important global messaging environment, so Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server focuses entirely on Internet technologies. It is Microsoft's most recent answer to the demand for a high-end, Internet-aware messaging and collaboration system. When you take a closer look, you will find that Exchange 2000 Server opens new avenues for exciting technologies and eliminates some of the limitations of earlier Exchange Server versions.

This chapter discusses basic messaging features and describes Microsoft's design goals for Exchange 2000 Server. It also covers in brief Exchange 2000 Server's support for industry messaging standards and interoperability issues.

Before You Begin

To complete this chapter:

• Prepare your test environment according to the descriptions given in the "Getting Started" section of "About This Book."
• Understand Windows 2000 Server networking technologies and the TCP/IP protocol suite.
• Be familiar with the concepts of the Active Directory directory services.