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I moved all my old post on Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions and Answers from
Spaces.live.com, because of Microsoft is going to decommission the facility. Here I structured the
Interview questions and Answers in a way, which will be helpful for all too easily navigate on the
topics they wish.
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Q & A – High Availability – LCR, CCR, SCC & SCR
October 31, 2010
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions & Answers – Overview
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 8:21 pm
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
1. What are the same between Exchange 2000/2003 and Exchange Server 2007?
Core infrastructure of exchange 2000/2003 versus Exchange Server 2007 is same, both are
using the same JET EDB database as the database store
Exchange 2007 still has the concept of a Mailbox server where EDBs are stored; Storage
groups remain the same where databases are created.
Users can use the Microsoft Outlook client and can access Exchange using OWA.
Exchange 2007 still uses the VSS Backup application programming interface (API) to freeze
the state of the Exchange database to perform a backup of the Exchange database.
Recovery Storage Group has been removed. Exchange 2007 comes with the high reliable and
recoverable solution
The STM database introduced in Exchange 2000 has been removed; Microsoft incorporated the
streaming database into a new single EDB database file.
From administration point, Administrative group and Routing Group introduced in Exchange
2000 have removed.
Microsoft noted that Public Folder is deemphasized in Exchange 2007. Not completely
removed. Replaced by SharePoint server 2007
New Exchange Administration Tool
Exchange Scripting Language
Removal of Front end and Bridgehead Severs with new Server roles
Runs on X64 bit platform
3. What’s new in Exchange Management console?
EMC looks similar to Exchange System Manager; Exchange 2007 now organizes objects as a whole.
Administrator can see all users, all servers, and all resources in the Exchange organization in a single
view. The Exchange administrator can regroup users, computers, and resources into smaller
delegation groups.
Edge Transport Server – placed on the Edge of the Network replaced the frontend server,
functionalities includes virus and spam blocking, perform antivirus and anti spam filtering, and route
the messages internal to the organization.
Hub Transport Server – replaced the bridgehead server act as a policy compliance server,
TLS – includes server to server Transport Layer Security for server – server message transport with a
secured manner. It’s an Encryption technology.
Encryption – by default Exchange 2007 encrypts the content between exchange server 2007 and
outlook 2007 client. Provides full support for certificate based PKI.
Exchange 2007 holds to copies of user information in the network with the help of reliable and
recoverability features introduced.
Local Continuous Replication – Two copies of user information in another drive (same server)
Cluster continuous Replication – holds the replication of information across the server
Single Copy Cluster – configured in SAN, DAS, and ISCSI etc. NAS not supported
It is a command line utility introduced in Exchange server 2007, which provides an administrator the
ability to configure, administer, and manage an Exchange 2007 server environment using text
commands instead of solely a graphical user interface (GUI).
The Edge Transport Server Role is to transfer mails from inside of your organization to the outside
world. This role installed on the edge of your network (perimeter Network). Main purpose is to prevent
your exchange server from all kinds of Attack. Must have ports 25 (SMTP) and 50636 (LDAPS) open
from it to the hub transport server on the internal LAN. Port 25 is to send mail in. Port 50636 is to
replicate the Exchange information that it needs, such as changes to users’ safe and blocked senders
lists
The Main Purpose of the Hub Transport Server Role is to transfer the mails throughout you exchange,
This server role is responsible for internal mail flow, This Server role replace the bridge head servers
of Exchange server 2003. This can be used as an edge transport server in Smaller Organization. This
must be the first role installed in Exchange 2007. You can install the client access server role and the
mailbox server role at the same time as the hub transport role, but not before.
The role that handles client requests for OWA, Outlook Anywhere, ActiveSync, OVA and offline address
book distribution. This role must be installed after the hub transport role and before the mailbox
server role. You can install the mailbox server role at the same time as the client access role, but not
before.
Mailbox Server holds the Mailbox database and Public folder databases for your organization. It only
retains the mailbox and it won’t transfer your mails. Transferring mails between your mailbox server
are handled by Hub Transport servers. The mailbox server roles will be introduced only after the
installation of Hub Transport Server and Client Access Server Roles. If we are installing Mailbox server
with the clustering options Like CCR, SCC, or SCR, then no other server roles to be installed with this
server role.
12. Explain Unified Messaging Server Role?
Functions as the interface point for the VOIP gateway or IP-PBX phone system. This Role uses the user
mailboxes to be the single point for storage and access of voice mail and fax messages, in addition to
their normal email.
4 Storage Groups / 5 Database in single Storage group – Mailbox database and Public Folder Database
can be combined
1 storage group / 2 Database (Mailbox & public folder database) in single storage group – In which
contain 1 Mailbox Database and 1 Public Folder Database
14. What are the supportable client connections available in Client Access Server?
OWA is to access the mail via browser from outside the corporate network. The Outlook Web Access
(OWA) client is now nearly indistinguishable from the full Outlook client. The one major component
missing is offline capability, but nearly every other Outlook functionality is part of OWA.
ActiveSync provides for synchronized access to email from a handheld device, such as a Pocket PC or
other Windows Mobile device. It allows for real-time send and receives functionality to and from the
handheld, through the use of push technology.
Outlook Anywhere (previously known as RPC over HTTP) is a method by which a full Outlook client can
dynamically send and receive messages directly from an Exchange server over an HTTP or Hypertext
Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) web connection. This allows for virtual private network (VPN)–free
access to Exchange data, over a secured HTTPS connection.
The Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is a legacy protocol that is supported in Exchange 2007. POP3
enables simple retrieval of mail data via applications that use the POP3 protocol. Mail messages,
however, cannot be sent with POP3 and must use the SMTP engine in Exchange. By default, POP3 is
not turned on and must be explicitly activated.
Legacy Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) access to Exchange is also available, which can enable
an Exchange server to be accessed via IMAP applications, such as some UNIX mail clients. As with the
POP3 protocol, IMAP support must be explicitly turned on.
1. An incoming message from the Internet first goes to the Edge Transport server.
2. The Edge Transport server performs first-level recipient validation as well as spam and virus
filtering. The message is then passed on to the Hub Transport server.
3. The Hub Transport server performs compliance content assessment and then looks at the
internal routing for messages and forwards the message to another Hub Transport server or
directly to a Mailbox server.
4. The Mailbox server places the incoming message into the user’s mailbox and notifies the user
that a message has arrived.
5. The user launches Outlook, OWA, their Windows Mobile device, or another client System and
connects to the Client Access server. The Client Access server confirms the destination point of
the user’s mailbox and provides the user access to their mailbox data.
6. In parallel, if a voice mail message comes in for a user, the Unified Messaging server
processes the incoming voice message, and then takes the message and places the voice
message into the user’s mailbox residing on the Mailbox server for the recipient.
A mail exchange (MX) specifies a mail forwarder or delivery server for SMTP servers. MX records are
the cornerstone of a successful Internet mail routing strategy.
.CHK – check point file, keeps track of which transactional logs moves into database files. Keep on
check the log file entering the database in a current order
1. Current Transactional log – eoo.log file which write the current transactions into transactional
logs. If it reaches 1 MB, it will rename the log file into E00000001.log
2. Transactional log – If Current Transactional log reaches 1 MB , it will rename the log file into
E00000001.log
Temp.EDB – Temporary database file, which will process the transactional logs that are to be to write
in .EDB Database file
.JRS – Reserved Log files – if the size of the disk is full and you can’t write any mails as transactional
logs these files will help into action
24. Explain the difference between Exchange Management shell and windows Power shell?
The Exchange Management Shell is based on Microsoft Power Shell, which provides access to all .NET
objects and classes. When the administrator installs Exchange Server 2007, the setup program
automatically installs the .NET Framework and Power Shell. It also installs all the Exchange 2007
specific cmdlets.
The cmdlets were written by the Exchange 2007 team to perform Exchange-specific tasks.
There are over 350 cmdlets unique to Exchange and each cmdlet has its own set of help.
Viruses have existed in the computer world long before the first email message was sent. However,
just as email provides users with an easy method of communication, it also is an extremely efficient
method of spreading malicious or troublesome code. Once considered the largest problem that email
administrators had to face, viruses have been combated by an entire industry devoted to their
prevention.
The proliferation of unsolicited messages, often referred to as ―spam‖ mail, has truly become the bane
of the messaging world with recent estimates stating that spam accounts for 85%–90% of the
messaging traffic on the Internet today. These unsolicited, usually unwanted, and often offensive
advertisements cost companies and users billions of dollars annually in lost time and productivity.
Unfortunately, because sending bulk messages to thousands (or millions) of recipients can be
accomplished with very little expense, offending companies do not need a large response to maintain
profitability. It is sad to note that as long as this method of advertising is profitable and effective,
spam will be with us to stay. Fortunately, Exchange 2007 has several features to help alleviate the
problem.
One tool that is commonly used by the distributors of both viruses and spam is known as address
spoofing. By changing the From line in a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) message, users can
often be fooled into opening a message that they think is from a friend or co-worker, only to find that
the message originated somewhere else entirely. This method has been especially effective in the
distribution of email worms. Because the message appears to come from a known associate, and often
has an intriguing Subject line, the unwitting recipient opens the message and, if not properly
protected, becomes a distributor of the virus to others.
Over the past several years, a relatively new type of fraudulent email has emerged. Known as
phishing, this attack comes in the form of an official looking email message, often appearing to be
from a reputable organization, such as a credit card company or a large electronics retailer. The
message usually contains a link that, once clicked, brings up an official looking website—often an
exact replica of the official site that is being mimicked. However, the fraudulent site has one purpose,
to fool you into giving away personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or Social
Security numbers. With this information in hand, the offending party can steal your identity, make
charges to your credit card, or otherwise profit from your loss.
29. What are the planning considerations in installing Edge transport Server?
30. What are the options available in Edge transport Server to configure?
Edge Sync – it’s a one way replication from Hub Transport Server to Edge Transport Server, while
Edge Sync happens the recipient configuration will be replicated from Active Directory to ADAM in
Edge Transport Server
Address Rewriting Agent runs in Edge Transport Server. The main purpose of Edge Transport Server is
to rewrite the Address the address to some other address. This plays an important role, consider if
there are 5 Sub domain inside a forest and the entire sub domain want send mail outside with a
unique address space.
33. What happen if mails come into exchange server?
Once the mail comes into the exchange server it writes the mails as transactional logs and also the
same in system memory simultaneously. What the transactional log will do in the sense, it will hold
the mails for a while until the mailbox database is freed up. The transactional logs are 1 MB in size
and if the mail comes with size of 5 MB, the transaction log will first write the 1Mb log and creates a
another transactional log, it will write the log files until the mails have completed.
Database Files: if we move the database to different disk and if you are making backup the
transactional logs will be added into the Backup. Provides better recoverability, RAID5 (Stripe set with
Parity)
Transactional Log Files: in order to handle load, it’s good to have Transactional log files in different
disk. If both the log file and database file are in same disk, increase performance and reliability.
RAID1 (Mirroring)
35. What are the preparation switches used in while installing exchange Server 2007? Why?
1. /prepare legacy exchange permissions – when we are having exchange 2000 or 2003 in our
existing environment
2. /prepare schema – this will add various objects and attributes related to that object
3. /prepare AD – prepare the current domain and prepare a universal security group for the new
exchange 2007 installation
4. /prepare domain ―domain name‖– only in the domain on the remote sites, or in the different
domain going to have Exchange Server 2007
Exchange Server Interview Questions & Answers – Migration
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 8:40 pm
This part of Exchange Server 2007 includes the interview Questions and
Answers on Exchange Server 2007 Installation, Migration, Transition and
Co – existence options introduced in Exchange Server 2007.
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
2. What’s the order to install Exchange Server 2007 Roles in a exchange Server 2003
organization?
4. What are the Operating system requirements to install Exchange Server 2007?
5. What are the Active directory requirements to install Exchange Server 2007?
Transition is the scenario in which you upgrade an existing Exchange organization to Microsoft
Exchange Server 2007. To perform the transition, you must move data from the existing Exchange
servers to new Exchange 2007 servers. For example, when upgrading from an Exchange Server 2003
or Exchange 2000 Server organization to an Exchange 2007 organization, you perform a transition
When transitioning to Exchange 2007, you cannot perform an in-place server upgrade on an existing
Exchange server. Instead, you must install a new Exchange 2007 server into the existing organization,
and then move data to the new Exchange 2007 server.
The migration process includes installing a completely new Exchange 2007 organization, and then
migrating mailboxes from the old messaging system to the new Exchange 2007 messaging system,
using various tools for migration.
10. Is it possible to do in place upgrade from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server
2007?
No in-place upgrade on existing Exchange server organization. Install new Exchange Server 2007
server into existing organization, and move data to new server.
11. What are the transition options available in Exchange Server 2007
Single forest to single forest – you have an existing single forest Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000
topology, you can transition to a single forest Exchange 2007 organization
Single forest to cross forest – If you have an existing single forest Exchange 2003 or Exchange
2000 topology, you can transition to a cross-forest Exchange 2007 topology
Cross forest to cross forest – If you have an existing cross-forest Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000
topology with Exchange servers and mailboxes in each forest, you can transition to an Exchange 2007
cross-forest topology.
12. What are the considerations for Exchange Server 2007 to co exists with Exchange
server 2000 and Exchange Server 2003?
Exchange Organization in Exchange Native Mode· Exchange Server 2007 routing group
(DWBGZMFD01QNBJR) is created only for coexisting with earlier versions of Exchange.
Routing Group Connector is required between Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange
Server 2007 (created during setup).
Exchange Server 2003 computers cannot interoperate with the Unified Messaging
server role. Exchange 2003 mailboxes cannot be Unified Messaging–enabled.
Exchange 2003 Front-ends cannot talk to Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox Server Roles.
No in-place upgrade on existing Exchange server. Install new Exchange Server 2007
server into existing organization, and move data to new server
13. Will Front End server talk to Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox server in an Exchange
organization having both exchange 2003 and exchange Server 2007?
Exchange Server 2003 Front-end server cannot talk to Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox Server Roles
14. What is the status of routing group connector in co existed of Exchange Server 2003
and 2007?
Exchange Organization in Exchange Native Mode· Exchange Server 2007 routing group
(DWBGZMFD01QNBJR) is created only for coexisting with earlier versions of Exchange.
Routing Group Connector is required between Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007
(created during setup).
15. Which service should not be installed in Exchange Server 2007 installation?
1. Standard Edition
2. Enterprise Edition
You cannot upgrade an existing Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 organization to Exchange
Server 2007. You must first migrate from the Exchange Server 5.5 organization to an Exchange
Server 2003 or an Exchange 2000 Server organization. Then you can transition the Exchange 2003 or
Exchange 2000 organization to Exchange 2007.
19. What are the Planning considerations for Client Access Server Role?
The Client Access server role supports the Outlook Web Access, Outlook Anywhere, and Exchange
ActiveSync client applications, in addition to the POP3 and IMAP4 protocols. The Client Access server
role also hosts several key services, such as the Auto discover service and Exchange Web Services.
In order to have better client access functionality we have to perform a Planning consideration on
Exchange Active Sync. Outlook web Access, outlook anywhere, POP3 and IMAP4 protocols and also
securing client access
20. What are the Planning Considerations of Hub Transport Server Role?
Hub Transport server role is a required role in a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 organization that
provides routing within a single organizational network by using the Active Directory directory service
site. Hub Transport server role installed handles all mail flow inside the organization, apply transport
rules, apply journal rules, and deliver messages to recipients’ mailboxes
Topology for mail flow inside and outside the Exchange organization
Server capacity – determine how to perform performance monitor
Security – includes delegation of administrative roles and verification that IP
connections are only enabled from authorized servers
Transport Features – determine the transport features that you will enable at the Hub
Transport server and how they will be configured
The Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox server role hosts mailbox databases and provides e-mail
storage and advanced scheduling services for Microsoft Office Outlook users The Mailbox server role
can also host a public folder database, which provides a foundation for workflow, document sharing,
and other forms of collaboration
22. What are the Planning Considerations for Edge Transport Server Role?
Exchange Server 2007 Edge Transport server role is designed to provide improved antivirus and anti-
spam protection for the Exchange organization. Computers that have the Edge Transport server role
also apply policies to messages in transport between organizations. The Edge Transport server role is
deployed in an organization’s perimeter network.
This part of Exchange Server 2007 includes the interview Questions and
Answers on Exchange Server 2007 Recipient Objects and the options
that are introduced in Exchange Server 2007.
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
In Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, recipients are comprised of mailbox users, mail-enabled users,
mail contacts, distribution groups, security groups, dynamic distribution groups, and mail-enabled
public folders.
1. Mailbox-enabled recipients
2. Mail-enabled
3. Contacts
4. Resource mailbox
In previous versions of Exchange Server, you performed recipient management tasks in Active
Directory Users and Computers. In Exchange 2007, you can perform these management tasks in both
the Exchange Management Console and the Exchange Management Shell. However, although you can
perform all recipient management tasks in the Exchange Management Shell, only some are performed
in the Exchange Management Console.
A recipient is any mail-enabled object in the Active Directory directory service to which Exchange can
deliver or route messages.
User mailbox: A mailbox that is assigned to an individual user in your Exchange organization. It
typically contains messages, calendar items, contacts, tasks, documents, and other important
business data.
Linked mailbox: A mailbox that is assigned to an individual user in a separate, trusted forest
Shared mailbox: A mailbox that is not primarily associated with a single user and is generally
configured to allow logon access for multiple users
Legacy mailbox: A mailbox that resides on a server running Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange
2000 Server.
Resource mailboxes are mailboxes that represent conference rooms or shared equipment. Resource
mailboxes can be included as resources in meeting requests, providing a simple and efficient way to
utilize resources for an organization.
Room mailbox: A resource mailbox that is assigned to a meeting location, such as a conference
room, auditorium, or training room. Room mailboxes can be included as resources in meeting
requests, providing a simple and efficient way of organizing meetings for your users
Equipment mailboxes are assigned to a resource that is not location specific, such as a portable
computer projector, microphone, or company car
Users can log on to networks and access domain resources. Users can be added to groups and appear
in the global address list (GAL).
Mailbox-enabled users can send and receive messages and store messages on their Exchange server.
Mail-enabled users can receive messages at an external e-mail address only. They cannot send or
store messages on Exchange.
Mail contacts are mail-enabled Active Directory directory service objects that contain information
about people or organizations that exist outside your Exchange organization. Mail contacts are ideal
for representing people external to your Exchange organization who do not need access to any
internal resources
There are two types of mail contacts in Exchange 2007: mail contacts and mail forest contacts. Mail
forest contacts are read-only recipient objects that are updated only through Microsoft Identity
Integration Server (MIIS) or a similar custom synchronization. You cannot remove or modify a mail
forest contact by using the Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell.
Mail contacts are mail-enabled Active Directory directory service objects that contain information
about people or organizations that exist outside your Exchange organization. Mail contacts are ideal
for representing people external to your Exchange organization who do not need access to any
internal resources.
Mail users are similar to mail contacts. Both have external e-mail addresses, contain information about
people outside your Exchange organization, and can be displayed in the GAL and other address lists.
However, unlike a mail contact, mail users have Active Directory logon credentials and can access
resources to which they are granted permission. If a person external to your organization requires
access to resources on your network, you should create a mail user instead of a mail contact
9. What is a Distribution group? What are the supported distribution groups in Exchange
Server 2007?
Distribution groups are mail-enabled Active Directory directory service group objects that are created
to expedite the mass sending of e-mail messages and other information within an Exchange
organization.
Mail-enabled universal distribution groups These are Active Directory distribution group
objects that are mail-enabled. They can be used only to distribute messages to a group of
recipients.
Mail-enabled universal security groups These are Active Directory security group objects
that are mail-enabled. They can be used to grant access permissions to resources in Active
Directory and can also be used to distribute messages.
Mail-enabled non-universal groups These are Active Directory global or local group objects
that are mail-enabled. In Exchange 2007, you can create or mail-enable only universal
distribution groups. You may have mail-enabled groups that were migrated from previous
versions of Exchange that are not universal groups. These groups can still be managed by
using the Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell.
Dynamic distribution groups These are distribution groups for which membership is based
on specific recipient filters rather than a defined set of recipients. Dynamic distribution groups
were called query-based distribution groups in Exchange 2003.
Open the Exchange Management Console to preview the list of members for a dynamic distribution
group that uses a pre scanned filter
To create a Recipient in Exchange Server 2007, you should have the following permission
The Microsoft Exchange recipient is a special Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 recipient object that
provides a unified and well-known message sender that differentiates system-generated messages
from other messages. The Microsoft Exchange recipient is functionally equivalent to an internal
postmaster. The Microsoft Exchange recipient replaces the "System Administrator" sender that was
used for system-generated messages in earlier versions of Microsoft Exchange Server. Messages from
the Microsoft Exchange recipient display "Microsoft Exchange" as the sender. The types of messages
that are sent by the Microsoft Exchange recipient include the following:
DSN messages
Journal reports
Quota messages
Agent-generated messages
Allow or prevent the application of the default e-mail address policy to the Microsoft Exchange
recipient. By default, the default mail address policy is applied to the Microsoft Exchange
recipient.
Configure a recipient object to receive messages that are sent to the Microsoft Exchange
recipient. By default, no recipient is configured to receive messages that are sent to the
Microsoft Exchange recipient.
Configure the e-mail addresses of the Microsoft Exchange recipient. This includes specifying a
primary Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address.
Recipient scope refers to the specified portion of the Active Directory directory service hierarchy that
the Exchange Management Console and the Exchange Management Shell uses for recipient
management. When you set the recipient scope to a specific location within Active Directory, you can
view and manage all recipients stored in that location and all of the containers under it.
MIME = Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions It defines non-ASCII message formats. It is a coding
standard that defines the structure of E-Mails and other Internet messages. MIME is also used for
declaration of content from other Internet protocols like HTTP, Desktop environments like KDE, Gnome
or Mac OS X Aqua. The standard is defined in RFC 2045.
With MIME it is possible to exchange information about the type of messages (the content type)
between the sender and the recipient of the message. MIME also defines the art of coding (Content-
Transfer-Encoding).
MAPI = Messaging Application Programming Interface It’s the programming interface for email. It is a
Microsoft Windows program interface that enables you to send e-mail from within a Windows
application and attach the document you are working on to the e-mail note. Applications that take
advantage of MAPI include word processors, spreadsheets, and graphics applications. MAPI-compatible
applications typically include a Send Mail or Send in the File pulls down menu of the application.
Selecting one of these sends a request to a MAPI server
16. What are the client options available to access the mails?
1. Outlook 2003/2007
2. Outlook web access
3. Outlook Mobile access
4. Outlook voice access
5. IMAP4/POP3
OWA is to access the mail via browser from outside the corporate network. The Outlook Web Access
(OWA) client is now nearly indistinguishable from the full Outlook client. The one major component
missing is offline capability, but nearly every other Outlook functionality is part of OWA.
ActiveSync provides for synchronized access to email from a handheld device, such as a Pocket PC or
other Windows Mobile device. It allows for real-time send and receives functionality to and from the
handheld, through the use of push technology.
Outlook Anywhere (previously known as RPC over HTTP) is a method by which a full Outlook client can
dynamically send and receive messages directly from an Exchange server over an HTTP or Hypertext
Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) web connection. This allows for virtual private network (VPN)–free
access to Exchange data, over a secured HTTPS connection.
The Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is a legacy protocol that is supported in Exchange 2007. POP3
enables simple retrieval of mail data via applications that use the POP3 protocol. Mail messages,
however, cannot be sent with POP3 and must use the SMTP engine in Exchange. By default, POP3 is
not turned on and must be explicitly activated.
Legacy Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) access to Exchange is also available, which can enable
an Exchange server to be accessed via IMAP applications, such as some UNIX mail clients. As with the
POP3 protocol, IMAP support must be explicitly turned on.
By using RPC over HTTP, users no longer have to use a virtual private network (VPN) connection to
connect to Exchange mailboxes. Users who are running Outlook 2003 on client computers can connect
to an Exchange server in a corporate environment from the Internet. The Windows RPC over HTTP
feature enables an RPC client such as Outlook 2003 to establish connections across the Internet by
tunneling the RPC traffic over HTTP.
Server Requirement
RPC over HTTP/S requires Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003. RPC over HTTP/S also
requires Windows Server 2003 in a Global Catalog role.
Client Requirement
The client computer must be running Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later.
Verify that your server computer and your client computer meet the requirements to use RPC over
HTTP/S.
25. What are the mailbox permissions available in Exchange Server 2007?
· Full Access
· External Account
· Delete Item
· Read Permission
· Change Permission
· Change Owner
In addition to the standard Active Directory permissions that you can configure on any user object,
you can grant permissions that apply only to mailbox-enabled users. These additional permission
settings are known as extended rights. You can configure the following extended rights for a mailbox-
enabled user in Active Directory:
· Send As
· Receive As
· View Information Store Status
A catch-all mailbox is typically a mailbox in your organization that is used to collect all of the e-mail
messages that are sent to your organization. Depending on your preferences, the catch-all mailbox
may receive all messages or only messages that are sent to mailboxes that do not exist. Transport
rules on Edge Transport servers are used to copy or redirect messages that are received by your
organization to the catch-all mailbox.
October 31, 2010
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions & Answers – Mailbox Server Role
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 8:48 pm
This part of Exchange Server 2007 post includes the interview Questions
and Answers on Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox Server Role and the
options that are introduced in Exchange Server 2007.
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
Mailbox Server holds the Mailbox database and Public folder databases for your organization. It only
retains the mailbox and it won’t transfer your mails. Transferring mails between your mailbox server
are handled by Hub Transport servers. The mailbox server roles will be introduced only after the
installation of Hub Transport Server and Client Access Server Roles. If we are installing Mailbox server
with the clustering options Like CCR, SCC, or SCR, then no other server roles to be installed with this
server role.
The Mailbox server role hosts mailbox databases, which contain users’ mailboxes. If you plan to host
user mailboxes, public folders, or both, the Mailbox server role is required. The Mailbox server role
also improves the information worker experience by providing richer calendaring functionality,
resource management, and offline address book downloads
Sizing the database – When planning for the size of your databases, you should also plan for how
you will enforce limits on database size, either at the database level or at the individual mailbox level
Planning for public folder – Exchange Server public folders are intended to serve as a repository for
information that is shared among many users. You should use public folders when your business
requires data replication to multiple servers. Make sure your organization needs Public Folders
Co hosting with other server roles – Provided that you are not deploying clustered Mailbox
servers, 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
Planning for clustered Mailbox server Role – The decision to deploy clustered Mailbox servers
should be based on the availability goals and the available resources of your organization. Exchange
2007 offers two clustered solutions for Mailbox servers: CCR and single copy clusters (SCC).
Only the Mailbox server role can be installed in a failover cluster. Therefore, if you plan to deploy a
clustered Mailbox server, you cannot install any other server roles on the same computer as the
Mailbox server role.
In exchange Server 2007, we can manage the following things in mailbox server
Resource scheduling
Meeting item
Out of office assistance
Storage groups and databases
Public folders
Mailbox databases
E-mail address policies
Exchange Search
Offline address book
Address list
5. How mailbox server interactions will happen if all the server roles are installed in a single
server
1. The Mailbox server accesses recipient, server, and organization configuration information from
Active Directory.
2. 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 the
Outbox of a sender on the Mailbox server to the transport pipeline.
3. 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 offline address book 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 are messages, free/busy data, client profile settings, and
offline address book data.
4. The Unified Messaging server retrieves e-mail and 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.
5. Outlook clients that are inside your firewall can access a Mailbox server directly to send and retrieve
messages. Outlook clients outside the firewall can access a Mailbox server using remote procedure call
(RPC) over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
6. 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.
Full Access
External Account
Delete Item
Read Permission
Change Permission
Change Owner
You can configure the following extended rights for a mailbox-enabled user in Active Directory:
Send As
Receive As
View Information Store Status
Granting the Send on Behalf permission to other recipients allows those recipients to send e-mail
messages on behalf of a mailbox user. Specifically, recipients who are granted this permission can
enter the mailbox user’s name in the From field for the messages that they send.
Granting the Send As permission to other recipients allows those recipients to send e-mail messages
as that mailbox user. Like the Send on Behalf right, recipients who are granted this permission can
enter the mailbox user’s name in the From field for the messages that they send.
10. Explain the storage and Database features involved in Exchange Server 2007 Standard
and Enterprise Edition?
Storage groups Five storage groups are supported. 50 storage groups are supported.
11. What are the high availability features involved in Exchange Server 2007 for Mailbox
servers?
The following are the high availability features supported for Mailbox server
.CHK – check point file, keeps track of which transactional logs moves into database files. Keep on
check the log file entering the database in a current order
1. Current Transactional log – eoo.log file which write the current transactions into transactional
logs. If it reaches 1 MB, it will rename the log file into E00000001.log
2. Transactional log – If Current Transactional log reaches 1 MB , it will rename the log file into
E00000001.log
.JRS – Reserved Log files – if the size of the disk is full and you can’t write any mails as transactional
logs these files will help into action
Database Files: if we move the database to different disk and if you are making backup the
transactional logs will be added into the Backup. Provides better recoverability, RAID5 (Stripe set with
Parity)
Transactional Log Files: in order to handle load, it’s good to have Transactional log files in different
disk. If both the log file and database file are in same disk, increase performance and reliability.
RAID1 (Mirroring)
Before changes are actually made to an Exchange database file, Exchange writes the changes to a
transaction log file. After a change has been safely logged, it can then be written to the database file.
One of the most important components of Exchange server is the transaction logs. Exchange server
was designed to write all transactions to these log files and commit the changes to the databases
when the system allows. Users can send and receive messages without touching the database thanks
to this write-ahead method of logging.
When a message is sent, the transaction is first recorded in the transaction logs. Until the transaction
is committed to the Exchange database (EDB), the only existence of this data is in the system
memory and the transaction logs. In the event of a crash, you lose the contents of the memory and all
you are left with is the record in the transaction log. These transaction logs are crucial to the recovery
of a failed Exchange server, whether it was a minor crash that required a reboot, or a more
catastrophic failure requiring the deployment of your disaster recovery plans. The same goes for other
transactions such as received messages, deleted items and messages moved to different folders
15. What are the recommendations for configuring Storage Groups and Databases?
Following are the recommendation consideration for storage groups and Databases
Database Sizing – Smaller databases are generally better because they can be backed up and restored
more quickly than larger databases. However, database size should be balanced against other factors,
especially capacity and complexity
Recommended Database per storage Group – We recommend that you place each new database in its
own storage group until the maximum number of storage groups is reached. This recommendation
allows you to spread the load of mailboxes across as many databases and storage groups as possible.
It also creates an Exchange storage topology that can be managed more easily.
Disk Configuration – Because I/O to log files is sequential and I/O to database files is random, for
increased performance, we recommend placing log files on a separate disk from database files. By
using one log file for many databases, you can reduce the number of disks that are required.
However, there are two disadvantages to this approach:
If the disk that contains the log files fails, multiple databases are corrupted or lost instead of
just one.
Recovery from log files takes longer because the logs replay data for more databases.
The retention period specifies how long Exchange will keep items that users have deleted. Upon
deleting an item, Exchange marks the item for complete removal based on the retention period. The
default retention period is set to 30 days
A managed folder mailbox policy is a logical grouping of managed folders. When a managed folder
mailbox policy is applied to a user’s mailbox, all the managed folders that are linked to the policy are
deployed in a single operation, thereby making the deployment of messaging records management
(MRM) easier.
A managed default folder is a default folder in the mailbox (such as the Inbox, Calendar, or Contacts)
that is linked to a managed folder mailbox policy. If a default folder in the mailbox is not linked to a
managed folder mailbox policy, then the ―entire mailbox‖ policy will apply to that default folder
For a recipient to receive or send e-mail messages, the recipient must have an e-mail address. E-mail
address policies generate the primary and secondary e-mail addresses for your recipients (which
include users, contacts, and groups) so they can receive and send e-mail. By default, Microsoft
Exchange contains an e-mail address policy that specifies the recipient’s alias as the local part of the
e-mail address and uses the default accepted domain. The local part of an e-mail address is the name
that appears before the at sign (@). For e-mail address policies, you define how the recipients’ e-mail
addresses will display
Managed content settings are applied to the managed folders in users’ mailboxes to control the
retention and journaling of messages for messaging records management (MRM). Managed content
settings define when messages that are no longer needed are to be removed or journaled (copied) to
a separate storage location outside the mailbox
Managed content settings help you control how the contents of managed folders are handled. By
applying managed content settings to managed folders, you can control the contents in ways that are
not possible with folders that do not have managed content settings. For example, the managed
content settings that you apply to a user’s Inbox folder could specify that its contents should be
automatically deleted or moved to another folder after 60 days.
A managed custom folder is a managed folder that is created by an Exchange administrator and
placed in a user’s mailbox for messaging records management (MRM) purposes. The retention and
journaling of messages in managed custom folders are controlled by managed content settings that
are applied to the folder.
October 31, 2010
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions & Answers – Client Access Server
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 8:52 pm
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
The role that handles client requests for OWA, Outlook Anywhere, ActiveSync, OVA and offline address
book distribution. This role must be installed after the hub transport role and before the mailbox
server role. You can install the mailbox server role at the same time as the client access role, but not
before.
Outlook
Outlook Web Access
Exchange Active Sync
POP3
IMAP4
3. What are services that are used by Client Access Server Role?
Following are the important services that Client Access Server depends to function properly
Exchange Data Service provides the read/write access to mailbox and public folders mails, contacts,
tasks and calendar
Synchronization and Notification service alerts on changes in mailbox folders and public folders data
and also it provides mailbox and public folder synchronization
The Availability service is the replacement for Free/Busy functionality in Exchange 2000/2003. It is
responsible for making a user’s calendar availability visible to other users making meeting requests,
and also it retrieves the published free/busy information from public folders and meeting time
suggestions
8. What is POP3?
The Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is a legacy protocol that is supported in Exchange 2007. POP3
enables simple retrieval of mail data via applications that use the POP3 protocol. Mail messages,
however, cannot be sent with POP3 and must use the SMTP engine in Exchange. By default, POP3 is
not turned on and must be explicitly activated.
9. What is IMAP4?
Legacy Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) access to Exchange is also available, which can enable
an Exchange server to be accessed via IMAP applications, such as some UNIX mail clients. As with the
POP3 protocol, IMAP support must be explicitly turned on.
ActiveSync provides for synchronized access to email from a handheld device, such as a Pocket PC or
other Windows Mobile device. It allows for real-time send and receives functionality to and from the
handheld, through the use of push technology.
If your device is lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised, you can issue a remote wipe command from
the Exchange Server computer or from any Web browser by using Microsoft Office Outlook Web
Access. This command erases all data from the mobile device.
13. What are the configurable tasks that are allowed when managing Exchange Active
Sync?
Outlook Anywhere (previously known as RPC over HTTP) is a method by which a full Outlook client can
dynamically send and receive messages directly from an Exchange server over an HTTP or Hypertext
Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) web connection. This allows for virtual private network (VPN)–free
access to Exchange data, over a secured HTTPS connection.
There are several benefits to using Outlook Anywhere to enable Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007
clients to access your Exchange messaging infrastructure. The benefits are as follows:
Outlook Web Access in Exchange Server 2007 lets you access your e-mail from any Web browser.
Outlook Web Access has been redesigned in Exchange Server 2007 to enhance the user experience
and productivity in many ways. New features, such as smart meeting booking, Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services and Universal Naming Convention (UNC) file share integration, and improvements
in reminders and the address book, give you a rich user experience from any computer that has a
Web browser.
17. What are the virtual directories created when installing Exchange Server 2007 CAS?
Following are the virtual directories created when installing Exchange Server 2007 CAS
\OWA – used by Outlook Web Access to access mailboxes on Exchange 2007 mailbox servers.
\Public – used to access public folders by using the Outlook Web Access application
\Exchange – used by OWA when accessing mailboxes on computers that are running Exchange 2003
or Exchange 2000
\Exchweb – used with the Outlook Web Access application for mailboxes on computers that are
running Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000
\EXCHADMIN – An access the same folders that are available through other virtual directories and is
used to change administrative settings and properties, only users who have administrative
permissions can access the /exadmin virtual directory
19. What are the new features in OWA with Exchange Server 2007 sp1?
· Additional customization features that have been added include the following:
· The ability to integrate with custom message types in the Exchange store so that they are
displayed correctly in Outlook Web Access.
· The ability to customize the Outlook Web Access user interface to seamlessly integrate
custom applications into Outlook Web Access.
20. Name the Two versions of OWA clients and explain them?
There are two versions of Outlook Web Access included in Exchange Server 2007: the full-featured
Premium Outlook Web Access client and the new Outlook Web Access Light client. Outlook Web Access
Light is designed to optimize your Outlook Web Access experience for mobile devices and slower
connections.
Outlook Web Access Premium is designed especially for IE6 and IE7. It has the OWA full functionality
CAS in user’s mailbox AD site not available on Internet, OWA will proxy user request to the CAS in the
Mailbox AD site
CAS in User’s Mailbox on the internet, but user accesses different OWA URL. OWA shows page telling
user the correct OWA URL for their home site
The voice mail form includes the embedded Windows Media Player and a notes field. The embedded
Player and notes field are displayed in either the preview pane when you are previewing a voice
message or in a separate window when the voice message is opened by the user. If a user is not
enabled for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging or Outlook 2007 has not been installed
on the client computer, they receive voice messages only as attachments, and the voice mail form is
not available
October 31, 2010
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions & Answers – Hub Transport Server
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 8:54 pm
This part of Exchange Server 2007 includes the interview Questions and
Answers on Exchange Server 2007 Hub Transport Server Role introduced
in Exchange Server 2007.
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
Hub Transport server role handles all mail flow inside the organization, applies transport rules, applies
journaling policies, and delivers messages to a recipient’s mailbox. Messages that are sent to the
Internet are relayed by the Hub Transport server to the Edge Transport server role that is deployed in
the perimeter network. Messages that are received from the Internet are processed by the Edge
Transport server before they are relayed to the Hub Transport server. If you do not have an Edge
Transport server, you can configure the Hub Transport server to relay Internet messages directly
The Hub Transport server role stores all its configuration information in Active Directory. This
information includes transport rules settings, journal rule settings, and connector configurations.
Because this information is stored in Active Directory, you can configure settings one time, and then
those settings are applied by every Hub Transport server in the organization.
3. What is categorizer?
The categorizer is a component of Exchange transport that processes all inbound messages and
determines what to do with the messages based on information about the intended recipients.
The Hub Transport server uses the categorizer to expand distribution lists and to identify alternative
recipients and forwarding addresses. After the categorizer retrieves full information about the
recipients, it uses that information to apply policies, route the message, and perform content
conversion
Although these Built-in Protection features are designed for use in the perimeter network on the Edge
Transport server role, the Edge Transport agents can also be configured on the Hub Transport server.
By default, these agents are not enabled on the Hub Transport server role. To use the anti-spam
features on the Hub Transport server, you must register the agents in a configuration file and enable
the features that you want to use by running a provided Exchange Management Shell script
You can install the anti-spam agents on the Hub Transport server role by using the provided Install-
AntiSpamAgents.ps1 script. The script is located in the %program files%\Microsoft\Exchange
Server\Scripts folder.
The Journaling agent is a compliance-focused agent that you can configure to journal e-mail messages
that are sent or received by departments or individuals in your Exchange 2007 organization, to and
from recipients outside your organization, or both, for use in the organization’s e-mail retention or
archival strategy
Exchange 2007 provides the following two journaling options to meet your organization’s
requirements:
Standard journaling Standard journaling enables the Journaling agent in Exchange 2007 to journal
all messages that are sent to and from recipients and senders that are located on a specific mailbox
database on a computer running the Mailbox server role. You must configure journaling individually on
each mailbox database in your organization if you want to journal all messages to and from all
recipients and senders
Premium journaling Premium journaling enables the Journaling agent in Exchange 2007 to use
rules that you configure to match the specific needs of your organization. You can create journal rules
for a single mailbox recipient or for entire groups within your organization. To use premium journaling,
you must have the Exchange Enterprise Client Access License (CAL)
8. What are the features in premium journaling that won’t work with standard Journaling
Agent?
Per-recipient or distribution list journaling: With standard journaling, you can only
enable journaling on a per-mailbox database basis. All recipients and senders on a journaling-
enabled mailbox database will be journaled.
Journal rule scope: All messages to and from recipients and senders on a journaling-
enabled mailbox database are journaled.
Journal rule replication: Because standard journaling is applied on a per-mailbox database
basis, this configuration cannot be replicated throughout the organization.
Transport rules in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 let you apply messaging policies to e-mail
messages that flow through an Exchange Server 2007 organization. In Exchange 2007, the following
two transport rules agents can act on messages
The Transport Rules agent runs on all computers that have the Hub Transport server role installed.
This agent helps you apply compliance- and policy-based rules to all messages that flow through an
Exchange 2007 organization.
Edge Rules agent The Edge Rules agent runs on all computers that have the Edge Transport server
role installed. This agent helps you manage antivirus problems.
Messages that are sent by users in your organization are picked up from the sender’s Outbox by the
store driver and are put in the Submission queue on a server that runs the Hub Transport server role
When messages are submitted to the Hub Transport server, they are processed by the categorizer.
The categorizer is a component of Exchange transport that processes all inbound messages and
determines what to do with the messages based on information about the intended recipients. In
Exchange 2007, the Hub Transport server uses the categorizer to expand distribution lists and to
identify alternative recipients and forwarding addresses. After the categorizer retrieves full information
about the recipients, it uses that information to apply policies, route the message, and perform
content conversion. Messages are then delivered locally by the store driver to a recipient’s mailbox, or
they are delivered remotely by using SMTP to send messages to another transport server. Messages
that are sent by users in your organization are picked up from the sender’s Outbox by the store driver
and are put in the Submission queue on a server that runs the Hub Transport server role
By default, the Pickup Directory and the Replay directory exists on every Microsoft Exchange Server
2007 computer that has the Hub Transport server role or the Edge Transport server role installed.
Pickup Directory: A Directory that receives RFC-822 compliant files from the file system for the
purpose of creating message objects that can be passed to the Submission queue.
Replay Directory: The Replay directory receives messages from foreign gateway servers and
resubmits messages that administrators export from the queues of Exchange 2007 servers.
A persistent queue that is used by the categorizer in Exchange Server 2007 to gather all messages
that have to be resolved, routed, and processed by transport agents. After categorization, the
message is moved to a delivery queue or to the Unreachable queue. Users cannot take actions on the
Submission queue.
A group of temporary queues that hold messages that are being delivered to a Mailbox server by using
encrypted Exchange RPC. Mailbox delivery queues exist on Hub Transport servers only. A different
mailbox delivery queue exists for each Mailbox server destination. The destination Mailbox server must
exist in the same Active Directory directory service site as the Hub Transport server. Mailbox delivery
queues are dynamically created as needed and are automatically removed.
A connector that is used to receive mail from remote mail systems based on administrator-defined
address spaces. Receive connectors apply a customized set of limits and other configuration options
that apply only to messages received from remote mail systems that match the address space that is
configured on the send connector
A connector used to send mail to remote mail systems based on administrator-defined address
spaces. Send connectors apply a customized set of limits and other configuration options that apply
only to messages destined for remote mail systems that match the address space configured on the
Send connector.
Archiving refers to reducing the strain of storing data by backing up the data, removing it from its
native environment, and storing it elsewhere
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 includes the ability to add text disclaimers to e-mail messages that
are processed on a computer that has the Hub Transport server role installed. Disclaimers are typically
used to provide legal information, warnings about unknown or unverified e-mail senders, or for
various other reasons as determined by an organization
Message classifications are a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
feature that is intended to help organizations comply with their e-mail policies and regulatory
responsibilities. When a message is ―classified,‖ the message contains specific metadata that describes
the intended use or audience of the message. Outlook 2007 or OWA may act on this metadata by
displaying a user-friendly description of the classification to senders and receivers of a classified
message. In Exchange 2007, the Microsoft Exchange Transport service may act on the metadata if
there is a transport rule that meets specific criteria that are configured by the Exchange administrator.
23. Is it possible to install Forefront security in Exchange environment having only Hub
Transport server for mail flow?
Yes, we can install Forefront security in Exchange environment having only Hub Transport server for
mail flow
24. What is the post installation tasks involved on Hub Transport Server?
After install the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Hub Transport server role, you must enable and
configure the agents that provide the messaging features that you want to deploy. An agent is a
managed software component that performs a task in response to an Exchange 2007 event. Transport
agents in Exchange 2007 perform tasks that support messaging policy and compliance and the Built-in
Protection features that support anti-spam and antivirus prevention and management.
You can install the anti-spam agents on the Hub Transport server role by using the provided Install-
AntiSpamAgents.ps1 script. The script is located in the %programfiles%\Microsoft\Exchange
Server\Scripts folder.
Administrators can use the MRM features in Exchange 2007 to help users and the organization retain
the messages that they need for business or legal reasons and delete message that they don’t need.
You do this by configuring managed folders, which are Inbox folders to which retention policies are
applied.
Messaging records management (MRM) in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 helps you:
Reduce the risks that are associated with e-mail and other communications by making it
easier to keep what is needed to comply with company policy, government regulations, or
legal needs.
Remove content that has no legal or business value
26. Name the E-Mail Policy and Compliance features included in Exchange Server 2007?
1. Address Rewriting
2. Disclaimer
3. Journaling
4. Transport Rules
5. Message Records Management
Address Rewriting Agent runs in Edge Transport Server. The main purpose of Edge Transport Server is
to rewrite the Address the address to some other address. This plays an important role, consider if
there are 5 Sub domain inside a forest and the entire sub domain want send mail outside with a
unique address space
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions & Answers – Unified Messaging
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 9:02 pm
This part of Exchange Server 2007 includes the interview Questions and
Answers on Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging options introduced
in Exchange Server 2007.
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
Unified messaging is the handling of voice, fax, and regular text messages as objects in a single
mailbox that a user can access either with a regular e-mail client or by telephone. The PC user can
open and play back voice messages, assuming their PC has multimedia capabilities. Fax images can be
saved or printed.
2. What is the function of Unified Messaging Server role in Exchange Server 2007?
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging Server role enables Unified Messaging for an
Exchange 2007 organization. Unified Messaging lets users access their Exchange 2007 mailbox over
any telephone for e-mail, voice mail, fax messages, and calendaring and contact information
There are two important Exchange Server Services in unified Messaging Server Role. They are
Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging service (UMservice.exe) – enables voice and fax
messages to be stored in an Exchange 2007 mailbox and gives users telephone access to e-mail, voice
mail, calendar, and contacts
A Unified Messaging worker process is a process that is created during the startup of the Microsoft
Exchange Unified Messaging service. UM worker processes interact with all incoming and outgoing
requests that have been received by the Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging service.
The Unified Messaging Worker Process Manager is also a component of the Microsoft Exchange Unified
Messaging service. The UM Worker Process Manager handles the creation and monitoring of all the UM
worker processes that are created.
To consolidate unified messaging server, place all the Unified Messaging Server Role in a central
location and place IP gateways in branch offices.
Unified messaging puts all a UM-enabled user’s e-mail, voice, and fax messages into their Exchange
2007 mailbox and that can be accessed from a variety of devices.
It is a Unified Messaging feature that users can use to play their voice messages or play and record
personalized voice mail greetings, over a telephone or outlook 2007 or outlook web access
1. User receives a voice access mail messages and select the Play on Phone option in
outlook 2007 or outlook web access. They can either use the number already
configured or enter a new number
2. Outlook uses https to communicate with the UM web service located on the client
Access Server. The client access server talks via sip to the UM server.
3. Um server fetches the appropriate message from the mailbox server role
4. UM server puts the phone number the user entered through the UM outbound dialing
rules and sends the call. The endpoint phone will then ring and play the voice message
when the user picks up the phone
UM Auto Attend service is a series of voice prompts or .wav files the callers hear, instead of a human
operator, when they call an organization
UM auto attendants can be used to create a voice menu system for an organization that lets external
and internal callers move through the UM auto attendant menu system to locate and place or transfer
calls to company users or departments in an organization
PBX, sometimes known as a telephone switch or telephone switching device, is a device that connects
office telephones in a business to the public telephone network. The central functions of a PBX are to
route incoming calls to the appropriate extension in an office, and to share telephone lines between
extensions. Users of the PBX share a certain number of outside lines for making telephone calls
external to the PBX.
IP Gateway
IP gateway devices are integral to deploying Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging in your organization.
There are two types of IP gateway devices that you can use with Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging:
an IP PBX and IP gateway. Both types of devices can exist in a single organization. However, you must
configure each IP gateway or IP PBX device correctly to successfully deploy Exchange 2007 Unified
Messaging.
The IP PBX or the IP gateway devices in your organization are the intermediary components between
your organization’s telephony network and your organization’s data network. IP PBXs and IP gateways
act as a ―translator‖ and are used to convert the circuit-switched protocols that are found in your
telephony network to the packet-switched protocol, IP, that is found in your data network.
UM Auto attend
UM mailbox policy
UM IP gateways
UM hunt group
1. 1. UM-enabled user dials the subscriber access number configured on a dial plan
2. 2. UM server associated with the dial plan checks active directory for address and
access information
3. 3. User logs onto mailbox
4. 4. Interaction with the user’s mailbox can occur using the voice user interface or the
touch tone interface. The mailbox owner can
o
Listen to their voice mail messages
Play e-mail messages
Access their calendar
Takes action on meeting request
Get contact information
Locate and call a user in the directory
15. How Client Access Server helps unified Messaging Server to function?
16. What are the unified messaging Mailbox policies?
UM mailbox policies are required when you enable users for Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. They
are useful for applying and standardizing Unified Messaging configuration settings for UM-enabled
users. You create UM mailbox policies to apply a common set of policies or security settings to a
collection of UM-enabled mailboxes.
PIN policies
Dialing restrictions
Other general UM mailbox policy properties – increase the level of PIN security by
reducing the maximum number of logon failures
A hunt group describes a set of PBX or IP PBX resources or extension numbers that are shared by
users. Hunt groups are used to efficiently distribute calls into or out of a given business unit. For
example, a PBX or IP PBX might be configured to have 10 extension numbers for the sales
department. The 10 sales extension numbers would be configured as one hunt group. In a PBX or IP
PBX, hunt groups are used to efficiently locate an open line, extension, or channel when an incoming
call is received
A UM IP Gateway object is a container object that logically represents a physical IP gateway hardware
device, IP-PBX, or other SIP server that can interoperate with Exchange Unified Messaging. Before the
IP gateway can be used to process Unified Messaging calls, it must be represented by an object in
Active Directory.
October 31, 2010
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions & Answers – Edge Transport Server
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 9:04 pm
This part of Exchange Server 2007 includes the interview Questions and
Answers on Exchange Server 2007 Edge Transport Server Role options
introduced in Exchange Server 2007.
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
The Edge Transport Server Role is to transfer mails from inside of your organization to the outside
world. This role installed on the edge of your network (perimeter Network). Main purpose is to prevent
your exchange server from all kinds of Attack. Must have ports 25 (SMTP) and 50636 (LDAPS) open
from it to the hub transport server on the internal LAN. Port 25 is to send mail in. Port 50636 is to
replicate the Exchange information that it needs, such as changes to users’ safe and blocked senders
lists
Edge Transport Server Role placed on the Edge of the Network, functionalities includes virus and spam
blocking, perform antivirus and anti spam filtering, and route the messages internal Exchange
organization to external web.
2. Explain the Message flow from Edge Transport Server to Hub Transport Server?
The flow of messages in an Exchange 2007 environment with Edge Transport Server to the inside
organization by the following ways
1. An incoming message from the Internet first goes to the Edge Transport server.
2. The Edge Transport server performs first-level recipient validation as well as spam and virus
filtering. The message is then passed on to the Hub Transport server.
3. The Hub Transport server performs compliance content assessment and then looks at the
internal routing for messages and forwards the message to another Hub Transport server or
directly to a Mailbox server.
4. The Mailbox server places the incoming message into the user’s mailbox and notifies the user
that a message has arrived.
5. The user launches Outlook, OWA, their Windows Mobile device, or another client System and
connects to the Client Access server. The Client Access server confirms the destination point of
the user’s mailbox and provides the user access to their mailbox data.
6. In parallel, if a voice mail message comes in for a user, the Unified Messaging server
processes the incoming voice message, and then takes the message and places the voice
message into the user’s mailbox residing on the Mailbox server for the recipient.
3. What are the planning considerations to install Edge Transport Server Role?
Edge transport Server is not required for small organization; Hub Transport Server will
function as Edge Transport Server
Edge Transport Server Role should not be a member of the Active Directory
ADAM stores the configuration of Active Directory for Edge Transport Server
Edge Synchronization to connect Hub Transport Server and Edge Transport Server
Security Configuration Wizard, Important ports to be opened, Port 25, 50389, 50636
6. What are the Port setting to be done between Edge Transport Server and Hub Transport
Server?
Port 25 – Should be opened both internally and externally, mails flow takes place with this port
Port 50686 – SLDAP (Secure Light weight Directory Access Protocol) Edge Sync Synchronization
Edge Sync – it’s a one way replication from Hub Transport Server to Edge Transport Server, while
Edge Sync happens the recipient configuration will be replicated from Active Directory to ADAM in
Edge Transport Server
1. Create a Edge Subscription file from Edge Transport Server ( XML file)
New-EdgeSubscription –file ―c:\edge.xml, after entering this command it will ask for confirmation type
―Y‖
2. Move the file to Hub Transport Server – by using a pen drive or portable media.
10. What are the post installation tasks to be done in edge Transport Server?
Post Master Mailbox – create a New Post Master Mailbox which is used to receive the Non delivery
reports, Postmaster can be in Edge Transport Server and also in Edge Transport Server
DNS Setting – DNS setting is the most important setting for internal and external mail flow
Internal DNS – Host record for the Edge transport server has to be created
External DNS – MX Record pointing towards Edge Transport Server should be configured
Viruses have existed in the computer world long before the first email message was sent. However,
just as email provides users with an easy method of communication, it also is an extremely efficient
method of spreading malicious or troublesome code. Once considered the largest problem that email
administrators had to face, viruses have been combated by an entire industry devoted to their
prevention.
The proliferation of unsolicited messages, often referred to as ―spam‖ mail, has truly become the bane
of the messaging world with recent estimates stating that spam accounts for 85%–90% of the
messaging traffic on the Internet today. These unsolicited, usually unwanted, and often offensive
advertisements cost companies and users billions of dollars annually in lost time and productivity.
Unfortunately, because sending bulk messages to thousands (or millions) of recipients can be
accomplished with very little expense, offending companies do not need a large response to maintain
profitability. It is sad to note that as long as this method of advertising is profitable and effective,
spam will be with us to stay. Fortunately, Exchange 2007 has several features to help alleviate the
problem.
One tool that is commonly used by the distributors of both viruses and spam is known as address
spoofing. By changing the From line in a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) message, users can
often be fooled into opening a message that they think is from a friend or co-worker, only to find that
the message originated somewhere else entirely. This method has been especially effective in the
distribution of email worms. Because the message appears to come from a known associate, and often
has an intriguing Subject line, the unwitting recipient opens the message and, if not properly
protected, becomes a distributor of the virus to others.
Over the past several years, a relatively new type of fraudulent email has emerged. Known as
phishing, this attack comes in the form of an official looking email message, often appearing to be
from a reputable organization, such as a credit card company or a large electronics retailer. The
message usually contains a link that, once clicked, brings up an official looking website—often an
exact replica of the official site that is being mimicked. However, the fraudulent site has one purpose,
to fool you into giving away personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or Social
Security numbers. With this information in hand, the offending party can steal your identity, make
charges to your credit card, or otherwise profit from your loss.
Address Rewriting Agent runs in Edge Transport Server. The main purpose of Edge Transport Server is
to rewrite the Address the address to some other address. This plays an important role, consider if
there are 5 Sub domain inside a forest and the entire sub domain want send mail outside with a
unique address space.
Once the mail comes into the exchange server it writes the mails as transactional logs and also the
same in system memory simultaneously. What the transactional log will do in the sense, it will hold
the mails for a while until the mailbox database is freed up. The transactional logs are 1 MB in size
and if the mail comes with size of 5 MB, the transaction log will first write the 1Mb log and creates a
another transactional log, it will write the log files until the mails have completed.
19. What are the available Anti spam and Antivirus feature in Edge Transport Server?
· Anti-Spam Stamps
· Attachment Filtering
· Connection Filtering
· Content Filtering
· Recipient Filtering
· Sender Filtering
· Sender ID
· Sender Reputation
· Safelist Aggregation
· Spam Quarantine
The Connection Filter agent compares the IP address of the server that is sending a message to any of
the following data stores of IP addresses:
The Recipient Filter agent relies on the RCPT TO Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) header to
determine what action, if any, to take on an inbound message.
When you configure anti-spam agents on an Edge Transport server, the agents act on messages
cumulatively to reduce the number of unsolicited messages that enter the organization
The Sender Filter agent relies on the MAIL FROM: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) header to
determine what action, if any, to take on an inbound e-mail message.
When you configure anti-spam filters on an Edge Transport server, the filters act on messages
cumulatively to reduce the number of unsolicited messages that enter the enterprise
The Sender ID agent relies on the RECEIVED Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) header and a query
to the sending system’s domain name system (DNS) service to determine what action, if any, to take
on an inbound message.
Sender Reputation is anti-spam functionality that is enabled on computers that have the Microsoft
Exchange Server 2007 Edge Transport server role installed to block messages according to many
characteristics of the sender. Sender reputation relies on persisted data about the sender to determine
what action, if any, to take on an inbound message.
The term safelist aggregation refers to a set of anti-spam functionality that is shared across Microsoft
Office Outlook and Exchange. This functionality collects data from the anti-spam Safe Recipients Lists
or Safe Senders Lists and contact data that Outlook users configure and makes this data available to
the anti-spam agents on the computer that has the Edge Transport server role installed. Safelist
aggregation can help reduce the instances of false-positives in anti-spam filtering that is performed by
the Edge Transport server
Many organizations are bound by legal or regulatory requirements to preserve or deliver all legitimate
e-mail messages. In Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, spam quarantine is a feature of the Content
Filter agent that reduces the risk of losing legitimate messages. Spam quarantine provides a
temporary storage location for messages that are identified as spam and that should not be delivered
to a user mailbox inside the organization
Attachment filtering lets you apply filters at the server level to control the attachments that users
receive. Attachment filtering is increasingly important in today’s environment, where many
attachments contain harmful viruses or inappropriate material that may cause significant damage to
the user’s computer or to the organization as a whole by damaging important documentation or
releasing sensitive information to the public.
October 31, 2010
Exchange Server 2007 Interview Questions & Answers – High Availability
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 9:07 pm
This part of Exchange Server 2007 includes the interview Questions and
Answers on Exchange Server 2007 High Availability options introduced
in Exchange Server 2007.
If you want know more on Exchange Server 2007 Interview question and
Answers, please follow the Questions and Answers posted by me..
The basic premise of the Exchange 2007 high availability architecture is to introduce redundancy into
the deployment. A failure is recovered using the remaining computing resources to support the
Exchange services. As the failures are repaired, computing resources are again available to Exchange
and its clients. In this context, the computing resources may be computers or storage for mailbox or
other Exchange data.
2. What are the uses of high availability features available in Exchange Server 2007?
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 includes built-in features that can provide quick recovery, high
availability, and site resiliency for Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox servers.
3. What are the high availability features available in Exchange Server 2007 for Mailbox
server role?
4. What is LCR?
LCR is a single-server solution that uses built-in asynchronous log shipping technology to create and
maintain a copy of a storage group on a second set of disks that are connected to the same server as
the production storage group. LCR provides log shipping, log replay, and a quick manual switch to a
secondary copy of the data.
5. What do you know about LCR?
6. What is SCR?
SCR is a new feature introduced in Exchange 2007 SP1. As its name implies, SCR is designed for
scenarios that use or enable the use of standby recovery servers. SCR extends the existing continuous
replication features and enables new data availability scenarios for Exchange 2007 Mailbox servers.
SCR uses the same log shipping and replay technology used by LCR and CCR to provide added
deployment options and configurations. SCR can be used to replicate data from stand-alone Mailbox
servers and clustered mailbox servers.
The starting point for SCR is called the source, which is any storage group on any of the following:
As with LCR and CCR, SCR-enabled storage groups cannot contain more than one database. You
cannot enable SCR for a storage group that contains more than one database, and you cannot add a
second or subsequent database to an SCR-enabled storage group
The endpoint for SCR is called the target, and the target can be either of the following:
A stand-alone Mailbox server that does not have LCR enabled for any storage group
A passive node in a failover cluster where the Mailbox role is installed, but no clustered
mailbox server has been installed in the cluster
An SCR target computer must have the Mailbox server role installed, even if it does not host
production mailboxes. The Mailbox server role is required because it includes the Microsoft Exchange
Replication Service and other components necessary for SCR functionality
The Target Server holds the passive copy of Mailbox database
A stand-alone Mailbox server that does not have LCR enabled for any storage group
A passive node in a failover cluster where the Mailbox role is installed, but no clustered mailbox server
has been installed in the cluster
SCR is designed for scenarios that use or enable the use of standby recovery servers. SCR extends the
existing continuous replication features found in the release to manufacturing (RTM) version of
Exchange Server 2007 and enables new data availability scenarios for Mailbox servers running SP1.
SCR uses the same log shipping and replay technology used by local continuous replication (LCR) and
cluster continuous replication (CCR) to provide added deployment options and configurations
CCR is a clustered solution that uses built-in asynchronous log shipping technology to create and
maintain a storage group copy on a second server. CCR is designed to be either a one or two
datacenter solution, providing both high availability and site resilience.
It is a new type of Majority Node Set (MNS) quorum in Windows Server 2003. In Exchange Server
2007, cluster continuous replication (CCR) uses the MNS quorum with file share witness instead of the
traditional voter node.
This feature lets you use a file share that is external to the cluster as an additional vote to determine
the status of the cluster in a two-node MNS quorum cluster deployment.
The file share witness uses a file share on a computer outside the cluster to act as a witness to the
activities of the two nodes that are the cluster. The witness is used by the two nodes to track which
node is in control of the cluster. The note board is only required when the two nodes cannot
communicate with each other
SCC is a clustered solution that uses a single copy of a storage group on storage that is shared
between the nodes in the cluster. SCC is very similar to clustering in previous versions of Exchange
Server, with some significant changes and improvements
15. Explain the high availability options for client Access Server Role?
You can use Network Load Balancing or a third-party hardware-based network load-balancing device
for Client Access server high availability. For more information about Network Load Balancing
16. Explain the high availability options for Hub Transport Server Role?
You can deploy multiple Hub Transport servers for internal transport high availability. Resiliency has
been designed into the Hub Transport, as well as the Mail Submission Service on Mailbox servers, for
deployment of multiple Hub Transport servers. In Exchange 2007 SP1, you can also use NLB for the
client connectors on Hub Transport servers.
17. Explain the high availability options for Edge Transport Server Role?
You can deploy multiple Edge Transport servers and use multiple DNS Mail Exchanger (MX) records to
load balance activity across those servers
18. Explain the high availability options for Unified Messaging Server Role?
Unified Messaging deployments can be made more resilient by deploying multiple Unified Messaging
servers where two or more are in a single dial plan. The VoIP gateways supported by Unified
Messaging can be configured to route calls to Unified Messaging servers in a round-robin fashion. In
addition these gateways can retrieve the list of servers for a dial plan from DNS. In either case, the
VOIP gateways will present a call to a Unified Messaging server and if the call is not accepted, the call
will be presented to another server, providing redundancy at the time the call is established.
SCR allows an Exchange Admin to replicate a copy of Storage Group to a number of remote servers.
Microsoft recommends a max of 4 target machines.
An SCR Source can be an LCR, CCR, SCC, or Stand alone mailbox server but requires only 1 Database
per Storage Group which is already a requirement for LCR and CCR.
The target can be on the same subnet or in a remote datacenter unlike CCR which currently requires
both nodes be on the same subnet
2. There is a hard coded 50 log lag between the Source and Target
– by default there is a 24 hour replay time which is configurable.
4. The target server must have Exchange mailbox role installed, if this is a cluster it will be install as a
passive node.
LCR does not have any special storage requirements. Any type of storage that is supported by
Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 can be used with LCR, including direct attached
storage, serially attached SCSI, and Internet SCSI (iSCSI)
Software Requirements
Windows 2003 Active Directory forest with at least one domain controller raised to windows
2003 forest functional level
Two windows 2003 server R2 Enterprise Edition or windows server 2003 sp1 standard or
enterprise edition
One windows file share witness, which is recommended to be an exchange 2007 Hub transport
Server in the existing Exchange organization; note the CCR-based cluster don’t use a shared
quorum as traditional clusters do
A cluster Service account in the Active directory forest
Hardware requirements
Two NIC installed in each node, one for the public and one for the private cluster network
Extra sets of disks or a DAS, SAN or Serial SCSI solution to hold the database and
transactional log files
Other Requirements
Windows 2003 Active Directory forest with at least one domain controller raised to windows 2003
forest functional level
Two windows 2003 server R2 Enterprise Edition or windows server 2003 sp1 standard or enterprise
edition
At least one existing HT server, which is recommended to be an exchange 2007 Hub transport Server
in the existing Exchange organization
Two machine with two NICS to create a Public and private network
SCR supports multiple replication targets per storage group. LCR and CCR support only one replication
target per storage group (the passive copy).
SCR includes a built-in delay for replay activity, and it enables an administrator to specify an
additional delay. This is useful in a variety of scenarios. For example, in the event of logical corruption
of an active database, the built-in and additional administrator-configured delay could be used to
prevent logical corruption of an SCR target database. LCR and CCR have no such delays.
SCR is completely managed using the Exchange Management Shell. The Exchange Management
Console can be used to manage many aspects of LCR and CCR, but it cannot be used to enable or
manage any aspects of SCR
You cannot back up an SCR target copy. LCR and CCR support backups from both the active and
passive copy. SCR supports backups of the SCR source only
Replaylagtime – Time that the Microsoft Exchange Replication Service should wait before replaying
logs. Default is 24 hours and max time is 7 days.
TruncationLagTime – Amount of time Microsoft Exchange Replication Service waits before truncating
log files that have been copied to the target
Seeding is the process whereby a database is added to a storage group copy, this can be a blank
database or a copy of the database the storage group uses as the production database. When you
enable the LCR on a storage group using the EMC, seeding normally takes place automatically.
26. Will seeding happens automatically? Then why should we care about it?
Seeding normally takes place automatically, in some situations manual seeding is required.
After you have performed an offline defragmentation of the production database belonging to
the storage group for which you have enabled LCR
When exchange detects corrupted log, which the Microsoft Exchange Replication Service
cannot replay into the database copy
After a page scrubbing of a database on the active node in a CCR setup occurs, and you want
to propagate these seeding
The database type Exchange uses is Extensible Storage Engine (ESE). ESE employs transactional log
files, which means that every time a modification is made, a transactional log file is generated
(instead of the change being committed directly to database). This process is to make exchange
always able to recover the lost data, which is in memory by using log files.
Each log file that is generated because of a modification in the database belonging to the active copy
of the Storage is replicated from the source log folder to the target log folder associated with the
passive copy of the storage group. This is not the entire truth, because each log file is first copied to
an inspector log folder located beneath the target folder, where it is inspected to make sure it is
correct. If it is not correct it will be re copied. Finally the file is copied to the target log folder and from
there replayed into the database belonging to the passive copy of the Storage Group
A new Exchange Server 2007 service called the Microsoft Exchange Replication Service will be installed
on any Exchange Server 2007 servers with the mailbox server role installed. These are responsible for
replicating the log files to the target log folder
Suspending LCR means that all log file shipping as well as log file replaying is halted.
Suspending LCR is a straight forward process, it is done by selected the respective Storage group in
the EMC, and then clicking the Suspend Local Continuous replication in the Action pane.
Log shipping allows you to automatically send transaction log backups from a primary database on a
primary server instance to one or more secondary databases on separate secondary server instances.
The transaction log backups are applied to each of the secondary databases individually. An optional
third server instance, known as the monitor server, records the history and status of backup and
restores operations and, optionally, raises alerts if these operations fail to occur as scheduled.
The transactional logs are generated on the active node are replicated to the information store on the
passive node using log file shipping. These replicated log files are then posted into the databases on
the passive node using the log file replay technology, this means that should the active node or a
database on this node fails or for some other reason go offline, an automatic failover to the passive
node will occur. Hence the passive node becomes the active node, the replication of log file will
happen from the new active node to passive node.
With CCR, the transactional logs are generated on the active node are replicated to the information
store on the passive node using log file shipping. These replicated log files are then posted into the
databases on the passive node using the log file replay technology, this means that should the active
node or a database on this node fails or for some other reason go offline, an automatic failover to the
passive node will occur. Hence the passive node becomes the active node, the replication of log file
will happen from the new active node to passive node.
SCC is more or less identical to the traditional active/passive clusters we know from the previous
version of Exchange. This means that a SCC-based cluster only provides service failover and still has a
single point of failure when it comes to databases, unless a shared storage solution that provides
redundancy in other means is used in the environment. An SCC cluster using fault tolerant SAN is
much more expensive than a CCR solution
An SCC is basically a clustered mailbox server that consists of two or more servers that share the
same storage for database and log files. The shared storage subsystem is basically a SAN
33. How many databases can I have in each storage group when I’m using either LCR or
CCR?
You can only have one database in each storage group when using either LCR or CCR. In addition, you
cannot have more than one Public Folder database in the organization if you want to replicate a public
folder database using CCR technology
LCR requires that database replicas are stored locally; CCR lets you store database replicas on a
different server that must exist in the same subnet as the primary database server. With this, you can
have only one replica.
SCR allows your primary mailbox server (source) to replicate its database to multiple standby servers
(targets). These target servers can exist on your LAN, but that isn’t necessary. The subnet limitation
doesn’t apply to SCR.
35. What is a Standby Cluster?
A standby cluster is a Windows cluster that matches a production Exchange cluster in terms of
hardware and software configuration, including Windows and Exchange versions and any updates or
hot fixes that have been applied. In addition, a standby cluster has the Exchange program files
installed but has not yet been configured with any Exchange Virtual Servers (EVS). Lastly, a standby
cluster can only be used when all Exchange Virtual Servers on the production cluster are offline.
36. Will the standby cluster works with Exchange Server 2007?
The answer is no, but then it’s really not that useful anymore, since Exchange 2007 gives us the
ability to recover an Exchange 2007 cluster using the new Exsetup/RecoverCMS switch (which is
similar to the /DisasterRecovery switch we know from previous versions of Exchange).
CCR is one of the high availability feature introduced in Exchange Server 2007 to provide availability
service at the server level and database level. If we look at LCR, we can achieve high availability at
the database level only, if the server goes down the data won’t be accessible until the server is built
again. Most the exchange server administrator will prefer to go for CCR because of the following
features
Here in this post, basic information on the cluster continuous replication is discussed and the following
topics…
By default, a hidden shared folder on the storage group where the active database copy will be
created, where in, the passive node find the shared folder and using SMB the changes in the log file
will be copied to the passive node and replayed to the passive database using the replication service.
Once the log file got committed in the active database, then the log file will be shipped to passive
node. Monitoring the committed logs on the active database will be monitored by inspector
component.
The sever level failover and the database level high availability is achieved using windows cluster
service and the log file shipping and replaying process are controlled by MS Exchange Replication
service.
To view the storage group copy status use the below shell command
If you run the Get-StorageGroupCopyStatus it will provide the details of storage group health status
and the copy queue length and replay queue length status.
Copy Queue Length: It’s the log file count, where the transactional logs that are in the queue to be
transferred from active node to passive node
Replay Queue Length: These are the log file that are transferred from active server to passive server
and are waiting to be replayed into the passive database.
Seeding:
When passive node is added to the cluster, the current database will be copied as a passive copy in
the passive node; this process of duplicating the active database to passive server is seeding. We can
perform seeding using
Reseeding:
If active database got corrupted and its inaccessible to users, we can bring the active copy to live from
the passive copy, the process of duplicating the active database copy same like passive database copy
is reseeding, we can perform reseeding using
Also, we can use the below commands to suspend and resume the log file replication process.
In CCR, if any problem with a store or server, the failover will occur automatically. If we deeply look
into when this automatic failover occur from passive to active node, following are the ways…
Lets us look into the resources in the CCR; we can have once instance of storage group, information
store service and system attendant will be functioning for the entire CCR. Even though who have two
servers in CCR functioning as a active node and passive node, the mailbox database in the active node
will active and the system attendant and the information store service on the active node will be
functioning only in active node. If failover occur, the information store service and the system
attendant service in the passive node will continue to function.
Failover: failover is the process of changing the passive node to active node because of some problem
in the active node. In CCR failover is automatic
Switch over: Switch over is the same process of making the active node to passive node but the
failover is manual.
If any more information is need in CCR please inform us, we will post you with full detail.
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February 4, 2011
Local Continuous Replication
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 10:03 am
Here in this post, I’m explaining the concept of Local Continuous Replication in detail. LCR is a new
high availability option that is specifically introduced for Small Business Organization to achieve High
Availability on the Exchange Mailboxes using a single Exchange server by maintaining a set of storage
groups on a second set of hard disks, where the Active copy of the database will be replicated to the
passive copy using Log Shipping and Log replying process.
Microsoft placed a good diagram in TechNet article to represent the LCR concept
We are going to look at the below topics related to Local Continuous Replication in Exchange server
2007
In Exchange 2007, LCR uses a concept called Asynchronous Log file shipping and replaying technology
to move the logs from Active copy of the mailbox database to Passive copy of the mailbox database.
This process will be taken care by MS Exchange Replication Services, where in it will monitoring the
committed logs on the active copy of the mailbox database and the same will be moved to the passive
copy using log file shipping process and that moved log will be replayed into the passive copy of the
mailbox database using replaying technology.
Since the LCR is a disk level high Availability option, it’s better to choose a good hard disk. Local
continuous replication can be enabled at the storage group level.
Seeding It is the process of creating a duplicate copy of the existing mailbox database while
enabling the LCR operation, once we are enabling the LCR, the exact copy of the active database will
be copied to the passive database and after that the log file shipping and replaying process will
happen.
In some scenario, you may need to perform seeding from the active copy to make the passive copy
healthy as like Active mailbox database copy, to perform seeding we have to follow these 3 steps
Resume will perform the log file shipping and replay the logs to the passive copy
Reseeding
Reseeding is the reverse process of seeding, in which for some reason the active mailbox database got
corrupted and we can perform a reseed to bring the active database to the exact copy of the Passive
copy.
To monitor the health of LCR function, we can check the below things
If any problem occurred to the active copy of the mailbox database then no need to worry, since we
have the passive copy, which is same like active one. To restore the passive copy to function as
active, we have to perform the following steps.
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February 1, 2011
Exchange Management Shell commands for daily health check on Exchange Server 2007
Filed under: Exchange Server 2010 — exchange2k10 @ 4:14 pm
Every Exchange Server Administrator used to have some set of tasks or pre checks that are to be
checked on the exchange server on daily basis like, checking the Database Status, Mail flow, Event
Viewer log, backup and Disk Space etc, here in the post I’m explain the Exchange Management Shell
commands which will be useful to administer Exchange Server 2007.
If you are in need of specify command to check the exchange server 2007 status, please leave your
comments here..