Exchange and Outlook UPDATE, Outlook Edition—brought to you by Exchange & Outlook Administrator, the print newsletter with practical advice, how-to articles, tips, and techniques to help you do your job today.
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LINK UNIX & LINUX USERS TO MS EXCHANGE 2000
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Exchange & Outlook Administrator Web Site
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(Below COMMENTARY)
SPONSOR: LINK UNIX & LINUX USERS TO MS EXCHANGE 2000
Get rid of secondary PCs and parallel mail systems. Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange lets Linux and Solaris 8 users collaborate with Windows-based colleagues and manage email, personal calendars, groups schedules, corporate address books, and tasks lists. Enable group scheduling. Streamline messaging support. Find out how you can quickly and cost-effectively integrate your growing numbers of Linux and UNIX users into your existing Exchange 2000 infrastructure. Get your Free Ximian Connector Evaluator's Guide today.
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July 12, 2002—In this issue:
1. COMMENTARY
- Exploring Exchange 2000's ExIFS
2. NEW AND VIEWS
- Submit Top Product Ideas
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Win a Free Digital Video Recorder from SONICblue!
- Get Kudos & a Free Trip to SQL Server Magazine LIVE! in Orlando!
4. HOT RELEASE (ADVERTISEMENT)
- ZeroIMPACT Exchange 2000 Migration Aelita EMW!
5. RESOURCES
- Exchange HOW TO: Remove the IFS Mapping for Drive M in Exchange 2000 Server
- Featured Thread: In/Out Tracker Add-In
6. NEW AND IMPROVED
- Improve Your Help Desk Support
7. CONTACT US
- See this section for a list of ways to contact us.
1. COMMENTARY
(contributed by Jerry Cochran, News Editor, [email protected])
I'm often asked about Exchange 2000 Server's little-known Exchange Installable File System (ExIFS) component. Just what is this little piece of Exchange 2000, what does it do, and what does it mean to you as an Exchange administrator?
ExIFS's inclusion in Exchange 2000 is largely the "fault" of Internet clients—clients that access Exchange through POP3, IMAP4, SMTP, or Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). Regardless of the type of client, Exchange Server 5.5 converts Information Store (IS) content to Exchange's native format (i.e., rich text, or Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format—TNEF). This resource-intensive conversion process is called IMAIL. Exchange 5.5 then stores all message content (i.e., body and attachments) in the database (i.e., the property store, or .edb file).
In Exchange 2000, Microsoft decided to rearchitect the way Exchange handles message content from Internet clients. Exchange 2000 writes Internet clients' content directly to the streaming store (the .stm file that Microsoft added to the database in Exchange 2000). Microsoft could have had the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) manage the streaming store file. However, this approach would have required quite a bit of server overhead and would have been architecturally difficult. Instead, Microsoft chose to implement an Installable File System (IFS) for Exchange 2000—ExIFS—to manage access to the streaming store file. When ESE needs to access the streaming store content, it does so through ExIFS. Likewise, Microsoft IIS (which hosts Internet protocols for Exchange 2000) directly interacts with ExIFS to write native Internet content to the Exchange Store. Thus, ExIFS handles all Internet content in the Exchange 2000 Store.
For ExIFS to keep up with the demands that the ESE and IIS place on it, it must be very efficient and high performing. Therefore, Microsoft implemented ExIFS as a kernel-mode device driver. The ExIFS driver (exifs.sys) loads as part of the kernel code and, as a result, is fast and efficient (although kernel-mode drivers are potentially dangerous if poorly written). IIS pumps data from its hosted Internet protocols through TCP/IP sockets to the Windows File System Cache, then into the streaming store file. ExIFS manages this data path as ExIFS operates in kernel mode with TCP/IP and the Windows Cache Manager. ExIFS also can communicate with ESE (in the STORE process) through a clever mechanism called a user-mode reflector, which lets store.exe (running in user mode) pass information to the ExIFS driver (running in kernel mode). This mechanism lets ESE and ExIFS coordinate and manage data and access to the streaming store file. Although ESE doesn't directly control the streaming store file, it can include it as an integral part of the Exchange Store—with the help of ExIFS.
ExIFS provides other benefits, but they tend to be double-edged swords of sorts. First, ExIFS exposes Exchange Store content to developers through common Win32 file system API calls. However, this feature also exposes the M drive as a file share on your Exchange 2000 server through the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. Such exposure can cause more harm than good. When Exchange 2000 debuted, many enterprising Exchange administrators thought they could simply back up the M drive for Exchange disaster-recovery purposes. This action isn't the intended purpose of the feature and isn't an effective method of backing up Exchange 2000. As a result of the confusion that exposing the M drive caused, Microsoft has chosen to disable this feature by default in the most recent Exchange 2000 builds. (For information about manually removing this mapping, see this week's featured Exchange HOW TO in the Resources section below.)
Second, because ExIFS is a kernel-mode component and is outside the context of the Store process, it doesn't employ the same memory-management techniques as ESE. Instead of using the extensive Store buffer cache that's part of the STORE process, ExIFS uses the traditional Windows File System cache, which Windows Cache Manager manages. As a result, I/O requests to the streaming store files have different characteristics than requests to the property store (.edb file) do. This difference can make storage-system design, capacity planning, and optimization a challenge when your Exchange 2000 server hosts both MAPI and Internet protocol clients. Also, because ExIFS uses the Windows File System cache, the greater demands on that facility can create problems if other applications running on your Exchange server make use of the same cache.
Overall, Exchange 2000's ExIFS provides huge benefits and solves a big problem relative to native Internet content storage. Despite this kernel-mode component's potential problems, the benefits outweigh the costs and risks. So there you have it—the next time your spouse or significant other asks you over dinner about the pros and cons of the mysterious ExIFS, you're armed and ready!
SPONSOR: EXCHANGE & OUTLOOK ADMINISTRATOR WEB SITE
Visit our Exchange & Outlook Administrator Web site for news, articles, discussion forums, FAQs, and technical solutions in one, easy-to-navigate Web site. While you're there, check out the popular article "Is Your Exchange Server Relay-Secure?"
http://www.exchangeadmin.com/
2. NEWS AND VIEWS
(contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])
Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Do you know of a terrific product that others should know about? Tell us! We want to write about the product in a future Windows & .NET Magazine What's Hot column. Send your product suggestions to [email protected].
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Visit the Connected Home Virtual Tour and check out our summer feature on networking your home. Sign up for prize drawings, too, and you might win a free digital video recorder from SONICblue. Take the tour today!
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Get the recognition you deserve for your cutting-edge SQL Server solution and take home the SQL Server Innovator's Cup. If you work with SQL Server and have created a technical solution to a problem or enhanced a program or system feature to improve performance or return on investment, you qualify to enter this awards program sponsored by Microsoft. Enter today at:
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4. HOT RELEASE (ADVERTISEMENT)
ZeroIMPACT Exchange 2000 Migration and Coexistence!
Aelita Exchange Migration Wizard lets you transition from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2000 in less time and without interrupting users' messaging and business operations. Register for a free testlab guide today!
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5. RESOURCES
Each week, Microsoft posts several Exchange Server how-to articles to its Knowledge Base. This week, learn how to remove the Exchange 2000 Exchange Installable File System (ExIFS) mapping from the M drive.
http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q305145
Luis is looking for a good source of Exchange Server add-ins. In particular, he's wondering if anyone knows of a product that performs inand out-of-office tracking functionality. To offer your advice or join the discussion, go to the following URL:
http://www.exchangeadmin.com/forums/thread.cfm?cfapp=72&thread_id=108947&mc=1
6. NEW AND IMPROVED
(contributed by Bob Kretschman, [email protected])
UniPress Software released version 5.5 of FootPrints for Exchange, Web-based Help-desk and customer-support software for Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 5.5 environments. The software dynamically links internal and external service and support operations to existing Exchangeand Active Directory (AD)-based corporate directories, letting organizations maintain one centralized directory or address book for all internal Help desk and external service operations. The product includes time-tracking, email management, and a knowledge base to capture and share information. Pricing starts at $995 per Help desk agent. For more information, contact UniPress at 732-287-2100 or [email protected].
http://www.unipress.com
7. CONTACT US
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