Versions of Exchange Server 2003

Microsoft provides two distinct editions of Exchange Server 2003. Each is basically identical in function but includes a slightly different set of features. The two editions are Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition and Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.

Exchange Server 2003 Standard

The standard edition is designed to meet the basic messaging needs of small to medium-sized companies. Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition has the following limitations:

• It offers support for only one storage group per server; each storage group can contain only two databases.

• Databases are limited to 16 GB.

• Clustering is not supported.

• The X.400 connector is not included.

Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise

The enterprise edition is designed to meet enterprise-level messaging and collaboration needs. Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition includes all the features in Exchange Server 2003 plus the following:

• It offers support for up to four storage groups per server. Each storage group can contain up to five databases.

• Databases are limited to 16 terabytes.

• Clustering is supported through the Microsoft Cluster Server service.

• The X.400 connector is included.

Note

Throughout this book, we refer to Exchange Server in different ways, and each has a different meaning. Typically, we refer to the software product as “Exchange Server.” If you see this term, you can take it to mean Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise. When necessary, we use “Exchange Server 2003” to draw attention to the fact that we are discussing a feature that is new or has changed in the most recent version of the product. Each of these terms means essentially the same thing. If we refer to a previous version of Exchange Server, we always do so specifically, such as “Exchange 2000 Server” or “Exchange Server 5.5.” Finally, we often use the term “Exchange server” (note the lowercase s in “server”) to refer to an actual server computer, as in “There are eight Exchange servers in this routing group.”