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Exchange & Outlook UPDATE, Exchange Edition, December 6, 2002

Exchange and Outlook UPDATE, Outlook 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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December 6, 2002 — In this issue:

1. COMMENTARY

  • Things to Be Thankful For

2. ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

3. RESOURCES

  • XADM: Exchange and Antivirus Software
  • Featured Thread: Forwarding Email to a Gateway

4. HOT RELEASES (ADVERTISEMENTS)

  • Free DL Management Tool & Directory Report Writer
  • New Release! PROMODAG Reports 5.2 for MS Exchange
  • MailAnalyzer from eIQnetworks

5. NEW AND IMPROVED

  • Receive POP3 Messages on Your Exchange Server
  • Submit Top Product Ideas

6. CONTACT US
See this section for a list of ways to contact us.


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

  • THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR

  • In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day each year on the fourth Thursday of November. This holiday is supposed to commemorate the Pilgrims' gratitude to God for bringing them safely to such a bounteous land, but the original meaning of Thanksgiving has largely been subsumed by the consumption of turkey and the sad fact that, more often than not, the Detroit Lions lose their Thanksgiving Day game each year. In the spirit of this wonderful holiday (and before memories of the holiday turkey have completely faded), I thought I'd list some things that we as Exchange administrators have to be thankful for.

    1. We have transaction logs. The idea behind transaction logs is simple: Whenever something in the database changes, Exchange writes a record of the change to the log file so that you can recreate the change if you need to. Given a correct set of log files, you can resurrect a damaged database by playing the transactions back. Compared with the way most UNIX mail servers work, transaction logging gives Exchange great recoverability.

    2. We get to use Outlook. Before readers fill my mailbox with angry missives, let me say that I know a lot of people dislike Outlook for various reasons (some legitimate, many not). To those folks, I say, "Have you used the Novell GroupWise or Lotus Notes clients lately?" Despite its faults, Outlook is the most flexible and powerful email client around, and Outlook 11 promises to simultaneously improve the interface and back-end communications with Exchange.

    3. We don't HAVE to use Outlook. If you don't like Outlook, fine: don't use it. Because Exchange supports IMAP, POP, and Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA), we're not stuck with just one client. The freedom to mix and match clients makes my work much easier: I can get my email on my Windows desktop or laptop using Outlook, on the Mac OS X system in the kitchen using OWA, and on my Smartphone through IMAP.

    4. We can script. We can use tried-and-true VBScript or, with a little care, workhorse languages such as Perl and Python. Throw some Windows Script Host (WSH), Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI), and the Collaboration Data Objects for Exchange Management (CDOEXM) library into the mix, and we can write a script for practically anything. Want to create a new storage group? Create users en masse? Move mailboxes? No problem. Automating repetitive tasks is why computers were developed in the first place, and we needn't hesitate to direct that power toward administrative tasks.

    5. The Microsoft Secure Windows Initiative (SWI). Few people outside Redmond have heard of this effort, which is too bad. The SWI team has been leading the internal charge to make Microsoft's products more secure, and the team's efforts are paying off with increased stability and security in each successive Windows and Exchange service pack.

    6. SMTP. Do you miss the Exchange Server 5.5 Message Transfer Agent (MTA)? I sure don't. If you're still dealing with the Gateway Address Routing Table (GWART) and all those .log files in your MTADATA directory, when you upgrade to Exchange 2000 Server you'll be pleasantly surprised at how hassle-free the Exchange 2000 transport core is.

    7. The burgeoning Exchange 2000 third-party market. At MEC this year, I was delighted to see that so many vendors I'd never heard of were selling new products for Exchange. That situation signals a vibrant marketplace and more incentive for administrators to deploy Exchange as part of their messaging infrastructure.

    As if these things weren't enough, we have one more thing to be thankful for. The NFL playoffs will start soon, and we won't be seeing the Lions again until next summer.


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    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

  • XADM: EXCHANGE AND ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

  • Each week, Microsoft posts several Exchange Server how-to articles to its Knowledge Base. This week, learn about the different types of virus-scanning software used with Exchange 2000 Server, including the advantages, disadvantages, and troubleshooting considerations of each type.
    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;328841

  • FEATURED THREAD: FORWARDING EMAIL TO A GATEWAY

  • Forum member xch-jack wants to configure Exchange server A to send all incoming SMTP email directed to \[address\]@mycompany.com to gateway B, which will scan the email for spam and viruses before sending it on to Exchange server C. Exchange servers A and C are on the same site and network, and because they can talk to each other directly, Exchange server A sends the email to Exchange server C. If you can help xch-jack forward email through his gateway or suggest a better solution, go to the following URL:
    http://www.winnetmag.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=50535

    4. HOT RELEASES (ADVERTISEMENTS)

  • FREE DL MANAGEMENT TOOL & DIRECTORY REPORT WRITER

  • Imanami SmartDL: Dynamic Group Management Tool for Exchange 5.5 and AD. Automatically create/maintain groups based on directory attributes or external lists. Free mode includes Directory Report Writer. Run reports on DL's, users, owners or last modified. Download Now!

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  • NEW RELEASE! PROMODAG REPORTS 5.2 FOR MS EXCHANGE

  • Analyze, Report, Strategize and Optimize your messaging system with V5.2 of the #1 reporting tool.

    New reports on mailbox content: unread messages; size; attachments by type; number of elements of more than n days and unused mailboxes.

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  • MAILANALYZER FROM EIQNETWORKS

  • Mailanalyzer can LOWER YOUR Exchange TCO, improve Utilization & Performance. Get a handle on utilization, mail box growth, PF and DL activity, mail abusers, attachment types, and recover un-used resources. Price supports Unlimited mail boxes. FREE TRIAL!
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    5. NEW AND IMPROVED
    (contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])

  • RECEIVE POP3 MESSAGES ON YOUR EXCHANGE SERVER

  • ppedv released popConnect 5.0, software that lets you receive POP3 and IMAP4 email messages on your Exchange server. The software connects to external email accounts, requests messages, and transfers the messages to your Exchange mailbox. popConnect lets you set up unlimited email addresses for each Exchange account. For Exchange servers that don't have a permanent Internet connection, you can set up the software to collect email messages periodically. popConnect 5.0 runs on Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows Me, and Windows 9x systems and costs $199 for a single-user license. Contact ppedv at [email protected]. http://www.ppedv.de/us

  • 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].

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

    This email newsletter is brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine, the leading publication for Windows professionals who want to learn more and perform better. Subscribe today.
    http://www.winnetmag.com/sub.cfm?code=wswi201x1z

    Receive the latest information about the Windows and .NET topics of your choice. Subscribe to our other FREE email newsletters.
    http://www.winnetmag.net/email

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