Server Components

Now that you have looked at some of the new features supported in Windows Server 2003, it's time to examine the server components that you can implement as part of a new or upgraded Exchange 2003 site. This will help frame the discussion later in the chapter on different Exchange topologies.

The following sections explore the server components of Exchange 2003. You'll see how each is used and the best practice for implementation of the same.

Front-End Servers

Just like the front-end servers found in Exchange 2000, you can deploy Exchange 2003 servers as "protocol" servers to handle incoming requests from clients by using HTTP, IMAP, POP, and so on. Then you can route those requests to back-end servers for processing.

In addition to the obvious benefit of splitting workload across multiple machines, one new advantage of using this method of deployment with Exchange 2003 is that you can now deploy front-end servers that can communicate with Outlook using RPC over HTTP. Likewise, the new virus-scanning API provided with Exchange allows third-party virus-scanning applications to be installed on front-end servers. These applications scan traffic coming through these servers and catch viruses and trojans before they hit the Exchange information store.

For more information on virus scanning in Exchange and the virus-scanning API (VSAPI), check out Chapter 11, "Exchange Virus Scanning," page 139.

Back-End Servers

Back-end servers are the real workhorses of any Exchange implementation and service requests that are routed to them from front-end servers. The advantage of utilizing back-end servers is that the requests coming in can be load-balanced across multiple servers for operating efficiency.

Although the back-end server technology within Exchange 2003 is not that different from the technology found in Exchange 2000, the introduction of the Volume Shadow Copy for backup and restore and new monitoring tools should ensure that back-end servers running Exchange 2003 are easier to administer than their Exchange 2000 counterparts.

For more information on the new server-monitoring tools available in Exchange 2003, check out Chapter 6, page 69.

Public Folder Servers

For organizations that make extensive use of Public folders, you can also utilize dedicated servers to handle Public folder requests. If you are considering creating workflow applications or a third-party collaborative application that is based on Public folder technology, you might want to consider deploying servers specifically for this task.

Again, this is the same component concept found in Exchange 2000; therefore, any existing workflow or other applications can take advantage of the same type of dedicated server in Exchange 2003.

Other Server Types

When users are working in an offline mode, they can utilize an offline address list to give them access to Exchange users and groups and their addresses. Exchange creates offline address lists from Active Directory and stores these lists in a Public folder that is normally hidden from view. If you have many users who use offline address lists, you might want to consider adding additional Exchange servers to host this service.