Configure Outlook for improved performance
Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 has several components you can use to improve
client, server, and networking performance. You can optimally configure
Microsoft Outlook 8.03 to interact with Exchange by using the same techniques you used to optimize previous versions of Outlook and the Exchange client.
Optimizing network communications improves Outlook's startup time. If you misconfigure the client, it might have trouble locating the Exchange server. Two networking configuration areas you need to control are the network binding order and name resolution order. You can also optimize performance if you configure optimal address storage, message storage, and message archival.
Outlook Client Connections
When Outlook needs to communicate with the Exchange server, it establishes a
remote procedure call (RPC) connection to the server, based on the RPC binding
order you specify in the Registry. Depending on your Exchange and Outlook
configuration and how you use the client, Outlook might frequently establish
such a connection. An Outlook client connects to an Exchange server when Outlook
starts up, connects to your mailbox, opens another person's special folder, and
views Microsoft Schedule+ information or public folders.
When Outlook starts up or views special folders, it establishes connections
to the Exchange server's private information store. Outlook identifies the
Exchange server to connect to from your home server. Your user profile specifies
this server. After you connect to your private information store, Outlook
establishes a session to your home server and then uses that session for future
communication.
Another user might give you access to a special folder. To view the folder,
you must establish an RPC connection to the user's home server (which might also
be your server). Select File, Open Special Folder, Exchange Server Folder.
Specify the user's name and the folder to view.
A special public folder stores the Microsoft Schedule+ free and busy
information. By default, the first server in a site contains the free and busy
time for users in the site. When you invite users to a calendar-requested
meeting, the calendar automatically connects to the public folder to retrieve
free and busy information. If your home Exchange server doesn't house the free
and busy public folder, Outlook establishes an RPC connection to the server in
your site to get the free and busy information.
Multiple servers in a site can house public folders. As with the free and
busy information folder, the client establishes an RPC connection to the server
that contains the requested public folder. Large Exchange organizations with
multiple sites can replicate public folders to all sites for easy access.
A client might have access only to public folders in another site. In this
situation, Exchange uses public folder site affinity to inform the client which
sites contain public folder servers and what order to use in connecting to them
(based on affinity value). If the requested public folder is not on a server in
the client's site, the client connects to other Exchange sites, in order of
affinity, to look for the folder. A client might have to connect to multiple
Exchange servers in the site before it finds the requested folder. Thus, a quick
RPC connection between the client and Exchange servers is important.
RPC Binding Order
To connect to the Exchange server from Outlook, you must first find the
server. This process involves checking the available network paths and resolving
the server name. Outlook uses RPCs to communicate with the Exchange server. The
RPC binding order determines the order in which networking protocols and
applications protocols search for the server. Networks use multiple protocols
and network programming interfaces. Outlook is network independent, so it
methodically searches for the server on the network interfaces. The RPC binding
order on the network interface is specific to Outlook and Exchange and is not
related to the network binding order in Control Panel.
When an Outlook client communicates with an Exchange server, it uses the
RPC binding order identified in the Registry to determine the appropriate
protocol and interface for connecting to the server. Table 1 lists available
transports.
The default binding order for a Windows NT or Windows 95 client is ncalrpc,
ncacn_ip_tcp, ncacn_spx, ncacn_np, netbios, ncacn_vns_spp. The Outlook client
attempts to use the first transport in the Rpc_Binding_Order Registry line. The
client waits for a transport to time out before attempting to use the next
transport listed. To improve connection time to a server, edit the binding order
so the client uses the first binding in the list to connect to the server. The
binding order you use depends on the protocols your server and client support.
On TCP/IP protocols, the binding order depends on the name resolution
mechanism.
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