Connection Agreements act as a control mechanism for replicating directory and configuration information between an Exchange 5.5 server and Active Directory. On the Exchange side, the Exchange 5.5 bridgehead server must be running Exchange Server version 5.5 SP1 (SP3 recommended).
Although only Connection Agreements that replicate directory information can be created with ADC, there are three types of Connection Agreements that you can view in ADC:
Recipient Connection Agreements replicate recipient objects and the data they contain between the Exchange directory and Active Directory. ADC displays these Connection Agreements showing the names of the Connection Agreement.
Public folder Connection Agreements replicate public folder objects and the data they contain between the Exchange directory and Active Directory. ADC displays these Connection Agreements showing names of the Connection Agreement. If you want to use Exchange 5.5 public folders, you must create a public folder Connection Agreement for each Exchange 5.5 site in the organization.
Configuration Connection Agreements replicate Exchange-specific configuration information between the Exchange 5.5 directory and Active Directory. These agreements help Exchange 2000 to coexist with previous versions of Exchange and Windows NT. ADC displays these Connection Agreements showing the bridgehead servers they use.
Recipient Connection Agreements replicate recipient objects and the data they contain between the Exchange 5.5 directory and Active Directory. Public folder Connection Agreements replicate public folder objects and their contents between the Exchange 5.5 directory and Active Directory.
Both recipient and public folder Connection Agreements are user-defined. However, ADC automatically selects many options for public folder Connection Agreements and does not allow you to change them. Public folder Connection Agreements differ from recipient Connection Agreements in the following ways:
Although you can install only one instance of ADC on a computer running Windows 2000 Server, you can establish multiple Connection Agreements. You can configure each Connection Agreement to perform unique replication tasks; for example, one Connection Agreement can continuously update Active Directory, while another Connection Agreement can update Windows contacts to the Exchange directory daily at 6:00 P.M.
Note To have the option of adding Exchange mailboxes when you create new users in Active Directory Users and Computers, you must configure a two-way Connection Agreement or a one-way Connection Agreement from Windows to Exchange. A one-way Connection Agreement from Exchange to Windows does not provide the option of adding a mailbox for the user because one already exists.
You can also establish a primary Connection Agreement. A primary Connection Agreement creates new objects, while all other Connection Agreements only replicate information to existing objects.
This feature is designed to reduce the amount of ADC configuration that is needed when establishing public folder and recipient Connection Agreements. Exchange automatically generates Connection Agreements between the Exchange 5.5 directory and Active Directory. These are created when you install Exchange 2000 in an existing Exchange 5.5 organization.
Note ADC does not display auto-generated Connection Agreements until you manually create at least one two-way Connection Agreement.
Important Auto-generated Connection Agreements are created with a replication schedule set to Never, so you can review the schedule and other Connection Agreement settings (such as import/export containers and authentication credentials) before ADC starts replicating server objects.
For more information about Connection Agreements, see Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Planning and Installation.
Related Topics
Designate a Primary Connection Agreement Replicate a Mailbox that Doesn't Have a Primary Windows Account in the Domain Managing ADC and Coexistence with Previous Versions Manage Connection Agreements