Exchange Key Concepts

Communicating with Other Messaging Systems

Exchange 2000 Server includes specialized connectors that you can use to connect Exchange to other messaging systems. Connectors establish the ability to send messages between the two systems, synchronize the two system's directories, and exchange free\busy information.

The primary goal of a connector that provides messaging connectivity is to translate between the native formats of each messaging system so that sending an e-mail message or a schedule request from one system to the other is transparent to the user. Most connectors have software that retains rich-text formatting between systems and retains any attachments to the message.

The secondary goal of a connector is directory synchronization. By importing the directory contents from another messaging system into Active Directory, a connector allows users to look up the information they need about a recipient on the other system just as if they were a user on Exchange.