Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2
Topic Last Modified: 2012-05-09
In Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, the Mailbox server role is one of several server roles that you can install and configure on a server running Windows Server 2008. The Mailbox server role is the most common server role and is at the core of an Exchange organization. Servers on which the Mailbox server role is installed are called Mailbox servers.
Mailbox servers perform the following functions:
- Host mailbox databases
- Provide e-mail storage
- Host public folder databases
- Calculate e-mail address policies
- Generate address lists and offline address books (OABs)
- Conduct Multi-Mailbox Searches
- Provide high availability and site resiliency
- Provide content indexing
- Provide messaging records management (MRM) and retention
policies
Looking for management tasks related to Mailbox servers? See Managing Mailbox Servers.
Contents
Coexisting with Other Server Roles
Mailbox Server Interactions
The Mailbox server must interact directly with the following:
- Active Directory
- Client Access server
- Hub Transport server
- Unified Messaging server
- Microsoft Outlook clients
The following process applies:
- The Mailbox server uses LDAP to access recipient, server, and
organization configuration information from Active Directory.
- The store driver on the Hub Transport server places messages
from the transport pipeline into the appropriate mailbox. The store
driver on the Hub Transport server also adds messages from a
sender's Outbox on the Mailbox server to the transport pipeline. To
learn more about the store driver, see Understanding Moderated
Transport.
- The Client Access server sends requests from clients to the
Mailbox server, and returns data from the Mailbox server to the
clients. The Client Access server also accesses OAB files on the
Mailbox server through NetBIOS file sharing. The types of data that
the Client Access server sends between the client and the Mailbox
server include messages, free/busy data, client profile settings,
and OAB data.
- The Unified Messaging server retrieves e-mail, voice mail
messages, and calendar information from the Mailbox server for
Outlook Voice Access. The Unified Messaging server also
retrieves storage quota information from the Mailbox server. To
learn more about Outlook Voice Access, see Understanding Outlook
Voice Access.
- Outlook clients inside your firewall access the Client
Access server to send and retrieve messages. Outlook clients
outside the firewall can access the Client Access server by using
Outlook Anywhere (which uses RPC over HTTP). However, Outlook
clients that are viewing or modifying public folders access the
Client Access server by using RPC over TCP. To learn more about
Outlook Anywhere, see Understanding Outlook
Anywhere.
- The administrator-only computer retrieves Active Directory
topology information from the Microsoft Exchange Active
Directory Topology service. It also retrieves e-mail address policy
information and address list information.
- The Client Access server uses LDAP or Name Service Provider
Interface (NSPI) to contact the Active Directory server and
retrieve users' Active Directory information.
Coexisting with Other Server Roles
The Client Access server role, Hub Transport server role, Mailbox server role, and Unified Messaging server role can coexist on the same computer in any combination. When considering what combination of server roles to deploy, you should base your decision on capacity and performance planning and on your security and availability requirements. For more information, see Mailbox Server Storage Design.
Server Role Configuration
To configure the Mailbox server role, use the Set-MailboxServer cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell. To retrieve Mailbox server role settings, use the Get-MailboxServer cmdlet. For more information, see Configure Mailbox Server Properties.
Services and Port Executables
When you install the Exchange 2010 Mailbox server role on a computer running Windows Server 2008, the services and port executables shown in the following table are installed. The Microsoft Search (Exchange Server) and Microsoft Exchange Monitoring services are set to start manually. All other services are set to start automatically.
Services
| Service short name | Service name | Associated executable | Port name |
|---|---|---|---|
|
MSExchangeIS |
Microsoft Exchange Information Store |
Store.exe |
MSExchangeISPorts |
|
MSExchangeADTopology |
Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology |
MSExchangeADTopologyService.exe |
MSExchangeADTopologyPorts |
|
MSExchangeMailboxAssistants |
Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Assistants |
MSExchangeMailboxAssistants.exe |
MSExchangeMailboxAssistantsPorts |
|
MSExchangeSearch |
Microsoft Exchange Search Indexer |
Microsoft.Exchange.Search.ExSearch.exe |
MSExchangeSearchPorts |
|
MSExchangeServiceHost |
Microsoft Exchange Service Host |
Microsoft.Exchange.ServiceHost.exe |
MSExchangeServiceHostPorts |
|
MSExchangeMonitoring |
Microsoft Exchange Monitoring |
Microsoft.Exchange.Monitoring.exe |
MSExchangeMonitoringPorts |
|
MSExchangeSA |
Microsoft Exchange System Attendant |
Mad.exe |
MSExchangeSAPorts |
|
MSExchangeMailSubmission |
Microsoft Exchange Mail Submission |
MSExchangeMailSubmission.exe |
MSExchangeMailSubmissionPorts |
|
msftesql-Exchange |
Microsoft Search (Exchange Server) |
Msftesql.exe |
msftesql-ExchangePorts |
|
MSExchangeTranportLogSearch |
Microsoft Exchange Transport Log Search |
MSExchangeTransportLogSearch.exe |
MSExchangeTransportLogSearchPorts |
Planning for Public Folders
Before you deploy public folders, it's important to familiarize yourself with the functionality that public folders provide to make sure that the public folders meet the needs of your organization.
Exchange public folders are intended to serve as a repository for information that's shared among many users. You should use public folders when your business requires data replication to multiple servers. Access to public folders is integrated with regular mailbox access through the MAPI protocol. For more information about public folders, see Understanding Public Folders and Managing Public Folders.