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As previously mentioned, the Microsoft Exchange Internet News Service can bring a Usenet news feed to Microsoft Exchange Server, from which administrators can distribute the feed to users through the public folder interface in Microsoft Exchange Server. Items within a newsgroup are assembled by conversation topic the view preferred by most discussion group users. Users can then read the articles and post replies to be sent back to the Internet newsgroup.
Using the standard Microsoft Exchange Client Post Note feature, users can post a new article or a follow-up to an article or send a reply to the author of an article. Users have all the composition features of the Microsoft Exchange Inbox for composing posts to discussion groups. As with E-mail, however, the extent to which these composition features can be viewed by other users depends on the encoding format used.
The Internet News Connector automatically uses UUENCODE or MIME to encode outgoing and decode incoming post attachments. Thus, when users see an attachment in a post, they need only double-click and watch the attachment pop up. There is no waiting for the decoder to process the file.
This capability provides a different, but equally important, kind of integration with the Internet. Outlook Web Service translates the information stored in Microsoft Exchange Server folders into HTML and makes it available at the document or item level as a uniform resource locator (URL) to any user with a Web browser. This capability teams up with the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), which hosts the URL. As a result, organizations with documents or discussions they want to make available to Web users inside or outside their organization can accomplish this without storing the information in two different places, manually changing its format into HTML, or requiring that everyone use the same kind of client.
While Microsoft Exchange Server offers the tight integration with desktop applications previously available only with LAN-based E-mail systems, it also offers the centralized administrative capabilities previously available only with host-based systems. Its easy-to-manage, reliable messaging infrastructure gives administrators a single view of the entire enterprise.
Microsoft Exchange Server includes a number of tools that help administrators reduce administration time while keeping the system running at peak performance. The graphical Administrator program lets administrators manage all components of the system, either remotely or locally from a single desktop. Built-in intelligent monitoring tools automatically notify the administrator of a problem with any of the servers and can restart the service or the server if necessary. Microsoft Exchange Server integrates tightly with Windows NT Server monitoring tools as well, so administrators can even create new user accounts and new mailboxes in one simple step for those users.
To keep the right information flowing to the right people, users need to be able to count on reliable message delivery. Using powerful monitoring and management tools, Microsoft Exchange Server helps ensure that the entire organization enjoys uninterrupted service. It even seeks out and corrects problems based on administrator guidelines. If a connection goes down, Microsoft Exchange Server automatically reroutes messages as well as public folder and directory changes, balancing them over the remaining connections. This greatly simplifies administration and ensures reliable and efficient communication.
Lets take a closer look at Microsoft Exchange Server components: private folder, public information store, directory, directory synchronization agent (DXA), and message transfer agent (MTA) objects reside in the server container on Microsoft Exchange Server.
Each server installation of Microsoft Exchange Server automatically contains an instance of the directory, the information store, and the MTA. These Windows NT-based services control directory replication and mail connectivity within a site. Directory and public folder replication between sites, as well as mail connectivity between sites and with other mail systems, are controlled through the Administrator program.
Private Folders: Central Storage for Private User Data. Private folders provide central storage for all the mailboxes that exist on that server. Users have the option to store messages locally, but server-based private folders are recommended for security, management, and backup purposes. Synchronizing server folders to the local machine is the best of both worlds and is the default configuration for people who travel with their computer.
Public Information Store: Centrally Replicating Global Access Store. On each server, the public information store houses data that can be replicated throughout the organization. Using the Administrator program to customize this replication, you can allow some data to be replicated everywhere, while other data is replicated only to key servers in each site. Data replication can be tightly controlled because rich status screens, available at all times, enable the administrator to track the replication of data throughout the enterprise.
Exchange Directory Replication and Synchronization. The Microsoft Exchange Server directory provides a wealth of customizable end-user information and covers all the routing information required by a server. Automatic replication of directory information between servers in a site eliminates the need to configure servers.
Directory synchronization has been perceived as the single biggest weakness in LAN-based messaging. Microsoft Exchange Server changes this perception with a process that keeps directories automatically synchronized on a daily basis. This makes it possible to communicate quickly and easily with users on a wide range of messaging systems such as Microsoft Mail for PC Networks, Microsoft Mail for AppleTalk Networks, Lotus cc:Mail, and optionally other messaging systems.
Message Transfer Agent. The MTA delivers all data between two servers in a site and between two bridgehead servers in different sites. The MTA is standards-based and can use client/server remote procedure calls (RPCs), Internet Mail (SMTP), or X.400 to communicate between sites.
All transport objects that enable connectivity to other sites and other mail systems reside in the Connections Container in Microsoft Exchange Server. These objects can be accessed directly through the Administrator program. The Connections Container on a Microsoft Exchange Server site houses four objects that enable site-to-site connectivity: Microsoft Exchange Site Connector, Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Connector, Microsoft Exchange X.400 Connector, and the Remote Access Service (RAS) Connector.
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