Exchange 2000 makes use of Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
technology in five key ways:
Exchange uses Windows 2000 Active Directory to store and share
directory information with Windows 2000.
Exchange is administered from the Windows 2000 Microsoft
Management Console (MMC).
Exchange uses transport protocols that are built into the
operating system through Microsoft Internet Information Services
(IIS).
Exchange uses the Domain Name System (DNS) in Windows 2000 to
enable clients and servers to automatically register themselves
without the need for administrators to manually define
records.
Exchange uses your Windows 2000 network infrastructure as
Exchange sites so you don't have to create and maintain a separate
infrastructure for Exchange.
Active Directory
You can use Active
Directory as a single-source directory for all of the
objects in your organization, such as users and printers. With
Active Directory, you can store and organize information about user
accounts, such as names, passwords, and phone numbers. You can also
extend the Active Directory schema to include custom attributes and
object types to centralize and minimize your data administration,
as well as make that data available to applications that can access
Active Directory information.
In addition to storing Windows 2000 user account information,
you can also store Exchange configuration and user messaging
information. Because Exchange 2000 uses Active Directory, all of
the directory information you create and maintain in Windows 2000,
such as organization unit structure and groups, can also be used
from Exchange, rather than maintaining separate directories for
each.
If your messaging topology contains both Exchange 2000 and
previous versions of Exchange, you can use Active Directory Connector to replicate
directory information between the Exchange directory and Active
Directory. This allows you to take advantage of Active Directory
while still supporting your existing Exchange infrastructure.
Microsoft Management Console
Windows 2000 Server includes the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). MMC is a
user interface framework that you use to administer both the
operating system and other Microsoft server applications in your
enterprise. MMC contains snap-ins, such as the Exchange System
Manager snap-in, that control a specific set of functions within
the operating system or an application.
Although previous versions of Exchange had their own separate
administrator program, you administer Exchange 2000 through the
MMC. Most Exchange functions are administered through the System
Manager snap-in, enabling you to use a single console for managing
different servers.
To find specific information about which snap-in to use for a
particular function, see the online documentation for that
function. For more information about how to use MMC, see the
Windows 2000 MMC documentation.
Integrated Transport Protocols
Windows 2000 Server has integrated support for many of the most
common industry standard transport protocols using Internet
Information Services (IIS). Once you install Exchange, all of the
Exchange-supported protocols, except HTTP, are administered from
Exchange, rather than from IIS. Exchange supports the following
protocols:
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and WebDAV. HTTP is an
Internet standard protocol that allows Web browser clients, like
Microsoft Internet Explorer, to access information and
applications. Exchange 2000 supports HTTP with Distributed
Authoring and Version (DAV). The DAV protocol allows HTTP clients
to both read and write information. Exchange 2000 extends DAV so
that HTTP\DAV clients can read and write information to Microsoft
Web Storage System.
Internet Mail Access Protocol version 4 (IMAP4). IMAP is an
Internet messaging protocol that enables a client to access e-mail
on a server rather than downloading it to the user's computer. IMAP
is designed for an environment where users log on to the server
from a variety of different workstations.
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). NNTP is an Internet
standard protocol used over Transport Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) networks for accessing newsgroups through an
NNTP-compatible client, like Microsoft Internet Explorer. Exchange
uses NNTP to allow clients to participate in online discussions and
access public folders.
Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3). POP3 is an Internet
protocol that allows a client to download e-mail from their Inbox
on a server to the client computer where messages are managed. This
protocol works well for computers that are unable to maintain a
continuous connection to a server.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). SMTP is an industry
standard for Internet e-mail delivery and is the native protocol
that Exchange uses to transfer messages among servers. Exchange
extends the Microsoft SMTP Service by enhancing the basic delivery
functions of the protocol and giving administrators greater control
over the routing and delivery of messages.
Domain Name System
Exchange requires that Domain Name System (DNS) be running in
the forest where your Exchange server is installed. Exchange uses
DNS in many ways, including enhancing security, resolving names for
non-local message delivery, masking IP addresses, and performing
reverse DNS lookups.
Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure
Because Exchange 2000 makes use of your Windows 2000 network
structure, your Windows 2000 topology planning should consider
placement of the global catalog and how that placement will effect
Exchange sites. Ultimately, your Exchange infrastructure topology
could mirror your Windows 2000 topology.