Introducing Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server

Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server is a comprehensive messaging platform that enables the widest possible range of collaborative solutions. INTRODUCING MICROSOFT(r) EXCHANGE 2000 SERVER provides a broad overview of the new features of Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server to help IT professionals with their evaluation and planning while they as they consider rolling out this premier messaging and collaboration platform. This book discusses the major new changes to Exchange Server, including integration with Microsoft Windows(r) 2000 Active Directory(tm) services, the ability to handle larger messages and attachments, and new integration features with Microsoft Internet Information Server. Other topics covered include clustering, and fundamental changes to Exchange's functionality as a result of new scalability capabilities in Windows 2000.

Microsoft seems to be indicating that Outlook will be more tightly integrated into future editions of Windows, and that it will become more of an all-purpose messaging and scheduling dashboard than a mere e-mail application. That makes the kind of knowledge that's presented in Introducing Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server all the more valuable. Like other books in the Introducing series, this one provides a fairly high-level overview of its eponymous technology. The emphasis is on getting technicians and managers to think in the right direction before they deploy Exchange 2000 Server, instead of providing them with specific how-to material.

Appropriately, there's a lot of emphasis on the latest version of Exchange Server in comparison to its forebears. Changes in terminology are documented, and the operation of new features is explained with the assistance of copious hierarchy charts and conceptual diagrams. Some of the more informative and readable coverage in this book has to do with Exchange 2000 Server's relationship with the Active Directory features in Windows 2000, but information about the Web Store concept and alternative strategies for deploying the server and its clients also merits close study. Take a look at this one if you're thinking about deploying Exchange 2000 Server and want to know what to expect. --David Wall

Topics covered: A high-level look at Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and its clients as a way to provide intra- and inter-organizational messaging solutions. Hardware and software requirements are documented, along with aspects of the software's architecture (including its integration with Active Directory, its message-routing mechanisms, its Web Store features, and its scalability features). There is also a section on implementation strategies for organizations of various sizes.