Verifying Your Installation

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You've installed Exchange Server, but don't pat yourself on the back just yet. You still need to perform some basic postinstallation tasks to make sure that everything is running well. The very first thing you should do is restart your server. After you've done so, check the Windows 2000 event log for any problems. Each of the Exchange components that make up your new server run as standard Windows 2000 services. You can verify that these services are running in the Services snap-in, available from the Windows 2000 Administrative Tools folder on the Programs menu. Figure 7-12 shows the Services console window. You should see the following services listed:

• Microsoft Exchange System Attendant
• Microsoft Exchange Information Store
• Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine

Depending on the optional components you installed with Exchange 2000 Server, you may also see several other Microsoft Exchange services running.

Figure 7-12. The Services console window.

Microsoft releases service packs for Exchange 2000 Server, just as it does for Windows 2000. To avoid possible problems later on, it is best to install the latest available Exchange 2000 Server service pack. See "Getting Service Packs" earlier in this chapter for more information. If you are concerned about the latest service pack introducing new problems (and they often do), consider testing the service pack on a nonproduction server first. After you've installed the service pack, you should restart the system again. When the server is back on line, again check the Services console window to ensure that the Exchange Server services are up and running. Your new Exchange server is ready to be configured. Now you can pat yourself on the back. And now that you've installed Exchange 2000 Server, you're ready to apply the other software you need to integrate your Exchange environment, such as third-party backup software, virus-detection utilities, or content filtering applications.

NOTE

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To verify that services are running on a remote Exchange Server, you can use the Connect To Another Computer feature of the Computer Management snap-in. You can also use server monitors to keep watch over services for you in the Exchange System snap-in. You'll learn how to set up these monitors in Chapter 23.

One of the first things you might be tempted to do after successfully installing Exchange 2000 Server is go poking around the system to see what was put where. This is fine, of course, and is a great way to learn more about how Exchange is laid out.