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Exchange & Outlook UPDATE, Exchange Edition, January 3, 2003

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.
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January 3, 2003—In this issue:

1. COMMENTARY

  • Some New Year's Resolutions

2. ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Happy 10th Anniversary SQL Server!
  • Sample Our Security Administrator Newsletter!

3. RESOURCES

  • HOW TO: Configure Exchange 2000 Behind an ISA Server Computer
  • Featured Thread: Exchange 5.5 Internet Mail Service Status After Exchange 2000 Upgrade

4. NEW AND IMPROVED

  • Back Up and Synchronize Your Email
  • Submit Top Product Ideas

5. CONTACT US

  • See this section for a list of ways to contact us.

1. COMMENTARY
(contributed by Paul Robichaux, News Editor, [email protected])

  • SOME NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

  • Like many people, I'm in the habit of making resolutions at the start of each new year. I'm also like most other people in that many of my past resolutions have fallen by the wayside. This year, I thought I'd suggest some resolutions for Exchange administrators, Microsoft, and everyone else instead of making my own, because giving unwanted advice is usually more fun than receiving it. I've mixed in a few fearless predictions, too, so you can write to me this time next year and tell me that I'm an idiot or a genius, depending on how I score.

    For Exchange Administrators

    1. Start boning up on Microsoft SQL Server. It has no relevance to Exchange 2000 Server or Titanium, but we all know that the future holds much tighter integration between Exchange and the SQL Server storage engine. My fearless prediction is that Microsoft developers will deliver a release of Exchange that you'll be able to administer without becoming a DBA, but that knowing how SQL Server's guts work will help you when you're deciding how to deploy that new version of Exchange.
    2. LOSE WEIGHT NOW and MAKE MONEY FAST. Well, OK, not really—but do resolve to evaluate and deploy an antispam solution if you haven't already done so. The easiest and cheapest step is to teach your users not to use those appealing unsubscribe instructions in spam messages—those instructions are bogus and just ensure that spam keeps rolling in. Other, more advanced solutions include filtering services, such as MessageLabs' SkyScan; security appliances, such as CipherTrust's IronMail; and server-based products, such as Nemx Software's Power Tools for Exchange and GFI's MailEssentials.
    3. Eat your vegetables. While you're at it, stop smoking, get plenty of exercise, wear your seatbelt, look both ways when you cross the street, keep your servers up-to-date on security patches, and tell your family you love them.

    For Microsoft

    1. Don't forget your old friends. Sure, Exchange Server 5.5 is getting a bit long in the tooth, but a lot of sites still use it. In your eagerness to encourage people to migrate to Titanium, make sure you load up TechNet, the Knowledge Base, and the Exchange home page with plenty of migration guidance for Exchange 5.5 sites seeking to make the leap to Titanium.
    2. Look over your shoulder. Who hates Microsoft more than anyone? Is it a) Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy, b) Linux vendors, or c) Oracle CEO Larry Ellison? The answer is "it doesn't matter"—each of them has a messaging product and would love to see his product overtake Exchange. After spending a few weeks with Oracle's huge, clunky, difficult-to-administer "collaboration suite" and various Linux-based systems, I can fearlessly predict that none of these systems will replace Exchange everywhere. But in some markets (particularly sites that are running something other than Exchange 2000—including sites running Exchange 5.5), the temptation to leave Exchange will be stoked by these vendors' seductive promises of better total cost of ownership (TCO), easier management, and stronger security. Make sure you get the word about Exchange's strengths out to the right audience.
    3. Keep the faith. I was really disappointed when you axed the local Information Store (IS) from the Microsoft Office XP beta, but I understand why you did it: Shipping a solid product on time sometimes means cutting out desirable features. For Titanium and Office 11, giving us the good stuff on schedule (whatever that schedule actually is) might mean dropping things that aren't stable enough to ship. So be it. Better to have something solid soon than something "perfect" later.

    For Everyone Else

    1. Storage vendors: Make sure your storage solutions work properly with the Virtual Disk Service (VDS) and the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) in Windows .NET Server (Win.NET Server) 2003. Why? Because Titanium can use VSS to create point-in-time snapshots of Exchange databases—something that Exchange administrators have been clamoring for for years. Fearless prediction: Vendors that don't embrace VSS and VDS posthaste will see their Windows sales slump, and quickly.
    2. Spammers: Go away! This might be the year that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), or (gasp) the US Congress does something to limit the flow of spam. No such measures will prevent offshore spammers from plying their wares, but evolving technical solutions should at least help keep the arms race between the forces of good and evil on relatively even footing.

    This list wouldn't be complete without throwing in one of my own resolutions: This year, I'm finally going to stop procrastinating. In fact, I'm going to send this column in for editing ... just as soon as I watch the second half of the Cotton Bowl. Drop me a line and let me know what you've resolved to do differently in 2003.

    2. ANNOUNCEMENTS
    (brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

  • HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY SQL SERVER!

  • Microsoft and SQL Server Magazine appreciate your support of Microsoft SQL Server on the Windows platform! We're running a 20-week quiz contest that will test your SQL Server knowledge, with biweekly drawings for cool prizes. The grand prize: a Microsoft Xbox video-game console! For details and to enter, go to
    http://www.sqlmag.com/quiz

  • SAMPLE OUR SECURITY ADMINISTRATOR NEWSLETTER!

  • Security breaches and viruses can happen to your enterprise. But there are steps you can take to prevent disaster, like subscribing to Security Administrator, the print newsletter from the experts at Windows & .NET Magazine. Every issue shows you how to protect your systems with informative, in-depth articles, timely tips, and practical advice. Don't just take our word for it—get a sample issue today!
    http://www.secadministrator.com/sub.cfm?code=ufei252kup

    3. RESOURCES

  • HOW TO: CONFIGURE EXCHANGE 2000 BEHIND AN ISA SERVER COMPUTER

  • Each week, Microsoft posts several Exchange Server how-to articles to its Knowledge Base. This week, learn how to configure Exchange 2000 Server with Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000.
    http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=287646

  • FEATURED THREAD: EXCHANGE 5.5 INTERNET MAIL SERVICE STATUS AFTER EXCHANGE 2000 UPGRADE

  • Manta wants to know whether he'll lose his Exchange Server 5.5 Internet Mail Service (IMS) when he does an in-place upgrade to Exchange 2000 Server or whether the upgrade process will automatically configure the IMS. If you can help, go to the following URL:
    http://www.winnetmag.com/forums/rd.cfm?cid=40&tid=52059

    4. NEW AND IMPROVED
    (contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])

  • BACK UP AND SYNCHRONIZE YOUR EMAIL

  • ABF Software released ABF Outlook Express Backup 1.4, backup and synchronization software that lets you restore email messages, folders, address book, settings, mail and news accounts, message rules, blocked senders lists, and signatures. The program also lets you move mail folders between two or more computers and synchronize Outlook Express data on multiple computers. ABF Outlook Express Backup 1.4 runs on Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows Me, and Windows 9x systems and supports Outlook Express 5.0 or later. Pricing is $29.95 for one user. Volume discounts apply. Contact ABF Software at [email protected].
    http://www.abfsoftware.com

  • SUBMIT TOP PRODUCT IDEAS

  • 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].

    5. CONTACT US
    Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions:

    (please mention the newsletter name in the subject line)

    This email newsletter is brought to you by Exchange & Outlook Administrator, the print newsletter with practical advice, tips, and techniques covering migration, backup and restoration, security, and much more. Subscribe today!
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