Microsoft Exchange Server is a popular mail server and address listing server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively under Windows Server operating systems. It is used in almost all the Microsoft businesses and organizations. This server contains both the mailboxes as well as the email features like, contacts, calendars, tasks, email etc.
Exchange Server is one of the most widely used and popular MS software.
One of its great qualities is that it provides a high availability, reliability, performance, and security in an all-in-one solution. This server is provided as a web service which can be accessed from any internet-connected computer. The most important advantage with Microsoft Exchange Server is that it provides a cloud computing concept, where the applications and data are stored in a separate location on the internet and are accessed by users through the internet.
This is a hosted service provided to you by Microsoft for creating and managing an environment with e-mail, contacts, calendars, task lists, and attachments. With the help of this server you can develop, maintain, and upgrade your Microsoft Office applications. You can have access to all Microsoft Share Point services such as e-mail, web mail, calendaring, shared folders etc. Another important feature provided with this server is that it supports Microsoft Outlook as well as Outlook Express. Outlook Express is the customized-mail client used by large organizations while Share Point is a collaboration tool developed for business houses.
Microsoft Exchange Server offers two options – Microsoft Integrated Exchange Server (MIGE) and Microsoft Cloud Network-based Identity and Access Management (CBN) based on the Microsoft SQL Server database availability. With the help of these two databases, you can create, modify, and view your data and items in the database. There are various other features also available with Microsoft Exchange Server. These include the following:
Microsoft Exchange Server service pack also known as the CCPS or consolidated plan for groups of users. This service pack is offered free by Microsoft and makes group messaging easy and comfortable. Microsoft Exchange Server can be installed as a stand-alone server or as a part of an integrated system like the Microsoft Exchange Server for Business. Microsoft Exchange Server service pack helps you to store, retain, and automatically forward mails from your email clients and services.
Microsoft Exchange Server running on Windows Server 2008 is now upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2 which has new features. One such great new feature is overload detection. Overload detection monitors the number of email clients trying to connect to the Exchange server at the same time. It then decides whether to load balance the requests or close the connection immediately. Overflow loads are not a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server; in fact these can be used as an advantage because they make the exchange server much faster and efficient.
Another great enhancement added in the Microsoft Exchange Server for Business is Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft outlook allows a web browser to access the email client and display all the mail items regardless of whether they are opened or not. To use this function, you need to install the Microsoft Outlook Express software on the Exchange server and the email client. When this is done the outlook browser will open directly in the Outlook web browser and display all the mail items.
- Microsoft Exchange Server for business is becoming the choice for companies who are running on-premises systems.
- The on-premises version of this software is expensive and needs to be implemented before it can be used by the company.
- Using the Microsoft Exchange Server as a hosted service, the organization can cut costs and avoid investing in an on-premises version of this software.