Chapter Summary

The MS Mail Connector is an additional component that comes with both the Standard and Enterprise Edition of Exchange 2000 Server. It allows you to connect one or many MS Mail postoffices to an Exchange 2000 server and is the basis for directory synchronization and exchange of free/busy information. One MS Mail Connector is sufficient to connect an entire Exchange 2000 Server organization to an MS Mail network. Important connector components are the MS Mail Connector Interchange service, the Connector PO, and one or many MS Mail Connector MTA services. The connector is managed using Exchange System Manager.

To participate in MS Mail Dirsync, a DXA was implemented in Exchange 2000 Server. The DXA can function as a Dirsync server or a Dirsync requestor. As a Dirsync server, the DXA consolidates address updates for all those MS Mail postoffices that have been configured as remote Dirsync requestors. Configured as a DXA requestor, on the other hand, Exchange 2000 Server sends update messages to an MS Mail Dirsync server and expects global address updates from this postoffice. It is not possible, however, to let a DXA requestor participate in a Dirsync environment with another Exchange 2000 server functioning as the DXA server. The DXA synchronizes MS Mail address information with Active Directory recipient objects by means of ADSI and LDAP.

The Schedule+ Free/Busy Connector enables you to synchronize free/busy information between MS Mail and Exchange 2000 Server, which allows MS Mail and Exchange users to plan meetings and appointments efficiently. As a prerequisite, you need to configure the MS Mail Connector because free/busy information is transferred in e-mail messages. You also need to configure the directory synchronization because a recipient object in Active Directory must represent each user; otherwise, free/busy information cannot be maintained in the free/busy public folder of Exchange 2000 Server. The MS Mail counterpart of the Schedule+ Free/Busy Connector is SCHDIST.EXE, which propagates free/busy information across the MS Mail network.