Exchange Server 4.0 is this thing. It's packed with so much function
and so many features that you wonder whether all things will be possible with
it, or--because of all the functions and features--whether anything will be
possible. Exchange is a powerful Windows NT client/server email application. It
combines scheduling, folders (the basis of information sharing), and custom
forms with database access and connectors to Exchange and non-Exchange systems.
So, Exchange allows mission-critical email capability and much more on an
NT Server. When did email become mission critical? At our company, it happened
on the first day we used email as the primary line of communication with
customers (I think it was a Tuesday). "Exchange's Core
Components" gives a basic picture of it. Because Exchange runs on NT,
you also get the benefit of NT's native reliability. Exchange's client/server
architecture provides an extensible platform that lets you easily add Exchange
servers when your message traffic begins to strain your hardware. You can also
readily add people--and, more important, groups of people--to your
Exchange-based system.
Several features, such as Exchange's transaction log files and its
link and server monitors, make it a good choice for mission-critical
applications. Exchange logs transactions to the databases in separate
transaction log files for each database. This feature means you can use a
combination of the database backup and the incremental log files to perform
database recovery. Transaction logging also improves overall system performance,
because Exchange writes database activity to the sequential log file and then
updates the database from the log. Additionally, transaction logs allow for hot,
or online, database backups, a requirement for 24 X 7 operation.
SQL Server's implementation of transaction logging makes sizing and
locating transaction log files part of database creation. In contrast,
Exchange's implementation runs an optimization program during installation and
determines the best location (database path) and size for the database and
transaction log files, based on your answers to the questions about users,
number of messages, and so on. You can change the database paths as necessary.
An NT backup removes the transaction logs, or if you activate circular logging
(in the Advanced Properties dialog accessible in the Servers menu of the
Exchange Administrator), Exchange can write over previous transaction logs as
necessary.
Exchange's link monitor lets you monitor external connections, such as your
connection to the Internet. The link and server monitors show the status of your
entire email network and can send email to report problems on the network. This
capability lets you repair such problems before your email users call you. And
don't forget the message tracking feature, which lets you follow a message to
its recipient. This feature is good for those support calls that start, "I
sent a message to Elmer in Duluth, and he says he didn't get it."
Add to these features data replication, dynamic server failover, and
least-cost routing, and you have a system that supports a high-traffic email
environment. Microsoft internally stores about 5GB of message data per day on
its Exchange system.
Getting Started
So this thing, Exchange, makes a lot
possible. The problem is getting started with it. And if you already have an
email system, the hardest part about starting is answering the question, "How
can I use Exchange without disrupting my existing system?" Without having
to know the product inside out and backwards, you can get results from Exchange
as soon as you install it ("Installation Tips," page 118, offers some
help). In fact, I'll show you seven useful tasks you can do immediately: convert
selected email accounts to post to the Exchange server, post information to a
folder, use Inbox Assistant to organize your email, take folders on a road trip,
create a conference registration form to post information to a public folder,
track an email message, and monitor your connection to the Internet and to other
Exchange servers.
Convert Selected Email Accounts
You can begin to send and
receive email via Exchange without changing the rest of the company's email
system--meaning you can test and learn Exchange without affecting day-to-day
business operations. Here are two ways to accomplish this feat. The first is to
configure an Internet Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service on the
client. To do so, you open the Exchange client, select Services from the Tools
menu, add the Internet Mail service to the services list, and enter the personal
and mailbox information as you see in Screen 1. When you restart the Exchange
client, your SMTP and Internet email will post to it. This method will move the
mail directly to your client, not to the Exchange Server.
The second approach is to forward your Internet mail from an existing
Internet post office to the Exchange server (most post office software has
forwarding capability). Be sure to set up an SMTP address in the recipient
properties email address page that matches the forwarded address. When you're
ready to convert your entire organization to Exchange, alter the Domain Name
System (DNS) entries to point all Internet email to an individual DNS entry to
the Exchange server. If an Internet Service Provider (ISP) handles your DNS
services, make sure the ISP clearly understands the DNS changes.
Post Information to a Folder
Posting information to a folder is how you store, share, and retrieve
information in Exchange. To create a public folder, you click the plus sign next
to the Public Folders icon. Then highlight All Public Folders, select New Folder
from the File menu, and enter a new folder name. You'll see the new folder on
the right side of the screen.
To post information to the folder, select an existing document from your
system and drag it to the new folder. Keeping the same folder open, select
Compose from the Exchange client menu, and then select New Post in This Folder.
Fill out the keywords and subject. You can add text to the message box on the
form or paste text from a document into the message box. Click Post when you
finish. You'll see the document you posted and the message you added in the new
folder. If you use Microsoft Office 95 7.0 applications, you'll notice that
Exchange adds the Post to Exchange Folder option to their File menus. This
option lets you post your documents directly to an Exchange folder.
Use Inbox Assistant
Inbox Assistant automatically organizes
incoming email for you based on criteria you specify. You can have Inbox
Assistant copy a message to a folder, move a message to a folder (leaving the
original message in the inbox), forward a message to another user, reply to the
sender, or create an automatic response to a message.
For example, I want Inbox Assistant to copy all my email from Linda at Duke
Communications to a folder called News400. Here's how I set it up: I Select
Inbox Assistant from the Tools menu and choose Add Rule to create a new rule.
Screen 2 shows the Edit Rule dialog, which is for editing and adding
rules. In the From field, I enter the address (lindah@duke.com). I want only
mail that is sent to me, so I enter my name in the Sent To field. To
have Inbox Assistant alert me when I get messages that meet these criteria, I
click the Alert with check box (you can customize the alert you want to
receive by clicking Action). To tell Inbox Assistant to copy the message to my
News400 folder, I click the Copy to check box and enter the folder name.
Then I click OK, and Inbox Assistant presents a screen showing the rule I just
set up.
Inbox Assistant is especially handy for organizing email you receive
regularly. For instance, if you subscribe to an electronic newsletter, you can
have one copy delivered to a special email address and use Inbox Assistant to
put the newsletter in a public folder so everyone can read it.
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