SUBJECT LINE: Exchange & Outlook UPDATE, Exchange Edition, March 14, 2003
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Exchange and Outlook UPDATE, Exchange Edition--brought to you by Exchange & Outlook Administrator, a print newsletter from Windows & .NET Magazine that contains practical advice, how-to articles, tips, and techniques to help you do your job today. http://www.exchangeadmin.com
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March 14, 2003 -- In this issue:
1. COMMENTARY - NAS and Exchange: Be Careful What You Ask For
2. ANNOUNCEMENTS - Windows & .NET Magazine Connections: Win a Florida Vacation - Get a Sample Issue of Exchange & Outlook Administrator
3. RESOURCES - XADM: How to Filter Junk Mail in Exchange 2000 - Featured Thread: Irregular Performance in Outlook 2000
4. HOT RELEASE (ADVERTISEMENT) - eSafe Proactive Content Security
5. NEW AND IMPROVED - Create Searchable Email Archives - Submit Top Product Ideas
6. CONTACT US See this section for a list of ways to contact us.
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1.
COMMENTARY
(contributed by Paul Robichaux, News Editor, [email protected])* NAS AND EXCHANGE: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR
Storage management is simultaneously maddening, rewarding, and baffling. The past few years in particular have brought a wealth of disk and storage technologies, including faster disk drives, Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks (SANs), and Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices that make adding storage to a network as simple as plugging in a box. And over the past 20 years, the cost of raw storage (i.e., bits on a disk) has dropped from $1000 per megabyte to less than $1 per gigabyte--that's roughly a millionfold improvement!
In the file and print service world, inexpensive NAS devices have become increasingly popular. These devices typically combine low acquisition cost (compared to servers, anyway) with easy expansion and minimal maintenance--two characteristics that Exchange Server administrators are always hunting for.
There's a fly in the ointment, though: Microsoft doesn't support most NAS devices for use with Exchange. The network latency that the devices inevitably introduce can cause problems, especially when you keep transaction logs and databases on separate volumes. In addition, some NAS vendors introduce their own redirectors (or other components) between the file I/O APIs that Exchange uses and the Windows I/O Manager in the kernel. Although this kind of driver stacking is useful in many circumstances, it adds supportability complications (not to mention that an unstable driver can cause a lot of other problems). The Microsoft article "XADM: Issues That Might Occur If You Place Exchange Data Files on Network Shares," http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314916 , explains the potential risks in greater detail.
NAS devices generally operate in one of two modes. A block-mode device appears as a big disk drive, much like a SAN would. The fact that a network--instead of a SCSI, IDE, or Fibre Channel interface--carries individual blocks of data to the NAS device is supposed to be invisible to applications. A file-mode device, which most people identify as a "filer," looks like a big file share to the network and to users.
How can you tell whether Exchange will support a particular device? The only authoritative way is to check the Windows Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) at http://www.microsoft.com/hwdq/hcl/search.asp . The HCL lists devices in their supported configurations. Why the emphasis on configurations? Because some vendors sell devices that can operate in multiple modes. Microsoft supports some block-mode devices for use with Exchange but doesn't support any file-mode devices, no matter what various vendors might claim. (In fact, Exchange includes checks that prevent you from moving databases onto a mapped network drive or a UNC path.)
If you're interested in using a certain device, read the HCL to see whether Microsoft supports that device for use with Exchange. You can ask NAS vendors for information too, but to avoid expensive mistakes, be sure to cross-check a vendor's story against the HCL. The Microsoft article "XADM: Exchange 2000 Server and Network-Attached Storage," http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=317173 , describes Microsoft's support policy for NAS devices; be sure to read this policy before you make a purchasing decision.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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RESOURCES
* XADM: HOW TO FILTER JUNK MAIL IN EXCHANGE 2000 Each week, Microsoft posts several Exchange Server how-to articles to its Knowledge Base. This week, learn how to use Exchange 2000 Server to filter out messages sent by a particular user, domain, or junk email script. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=276321
* FEATURED THREAD: IRREGULAR PERFORMANCE IN OUTLOOK 2000 Forum reader SRF's Outlook clients are experiencing strange performance problems: Outlook seems to stop working until clients begin actively using it, then many email messages arrive at once. To offer your advice or join the discussion, go to the following URL: http://www.winnetmag.com/forums/rd.cfm?cid=40&tid=55555
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HOT RELEASE (ADVERTISEMENT)
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NEW AND IMPROVED
(contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])* CREATE SEARCHABLE EMAIL ARCHIVES askSam Systems released askSam 5.1, database software that lets you create searchable archives of various information types, including email messages. The product imports email from Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape, PocoMail, and IMAP email clients. You can also search the text of email attachments. Pricing is $149.95 for askSam Standard 5.1 and $395.00 for askSam Professional 5.1. (The product is free to owners of askSam 5.0 who want to upgrade.) Contact askSam Systems at 850-584-6590 or 800-800-1997. http://www.asksam.com
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CONTACT US
Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions:* ABOUT THE COMMENTARY -- [email protected]
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