Exchange Server 2007 is an integrated part of the Innovative Communications
Alliance products.
At Exchange 2007 release, the server roles
will be:
- Mailbox (MB): The Mailbox server role is responsible for hosting
mailbox and public folder data. This role also provides MAPI access for Outlook
clients. Note that there is also a variation of this role called Clustered
Mailbox role, for use with high-availability MSCS clustering of mailbox data.
When Clustered Mailbox role is selected, other server roles cannot be combined on
the same physical server.
- Client Access (CA): The Client Access server role provides the other
mailbox server protocol access apart from MAPI. Similar to Exchange 2003
FrontEnd server, it enables user to use an Internet browser (OWA), 3rd
party mail client (POP3/IMAP4) and mobile device (ActiveSync) to access their
mailbox.
- Unified Message (UM): This role enables end users to access their mailbox,
address book, and calendar using telephone and voice. IP-PBX or VoIP gateway
needs to be installed and configured to facilitate much of the functionality of
this server role.
- Hub Transport (HT): The Hub Transport role handles mails by routing them
to next hop: another Hub Transport server, Edge server or mailbox server.
Unlike Exchange 2003 Bridgehead that needs Exchange admin defined routing
groups, Exchange 2007 Hub Transport role uses AD site info to determine the
mail flow.
- Edge Transport (ET): The last hop of outgoing mail and first hop of
incoming mail, acting as a "smart host" and usually deployed
in a perimeter network, Edge Transport provides mail quarantine and SMTP
service to enhance security. One advantage of this role is that is does not
require Active Directory access, so it can function with limited access to the
corporate network for increased security.
Server Role Tasks and UI
Server configuration for both Cmdlet and GUI
is organized around the server role concept. To check what roles are installed
on the server, you can use task: Get-ExchangeServer and check
properties: IsMailboxServer, IsClientAccessServer, IsHubTransportServer
and IsUnifiedMessagingServer. For each role, Exchange 2007 provides
dedicate tasks to manage properties specific to each server role:
- Get/Set-MailboxServer
- Get/Set-ClientAccessServer
- Get/Set-TransportServer
- Get/Set-UmServer
Note that Get/Set-TransportServer is used by
both Transport server roles (Hub Transport and Edge Transport). Please refer to
help for more detailed info regarding these tasks.
In Exchange 2007 management console under
Server Configuration, each server role has a dedicated node with the role name.
Servers with the selected role installed will be listed in the results pane for
each server role node. A single server will appear in multiple results panes if
multiple server roles are installed on that server. This design gives user a
clear view on what servers are available for each specific server role.
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