Exam Reviews
Extreme Exchange
Exchange 2000 Server is the first “killer app” for Windows 2000 and Active Directory. Be sure to have an in-depth knowledge of all the migration tools (and Exchange 5.5) before tackling this exam.
Exchange 2000 is the first “killer app” for Windows 2000
and Active Directory. In fact, Exchange 2000 won’t install
without AD on a domain controller. As more Exchange-based
organizations migrate from Windows NT to Win2K and AD,
a migration from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2000 makes sense.
Exchange
2000 Admin 70-224 |
Reviewer’s Rating:
“This exam is hard! Be sure you practice
with and have an in-depth knowledge
of the migration tools before you take
this test.”
Title:
Installing, Configuring, and Administering
Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server
Current Status:
In beta November and December 2000.
Exam goes live Feb. 9, 2001.
Who Should Take
It? Counts as MCSE elective.
What Classes
Prepare You? 1569: Updating Administration
and Support Skills from Exchange Server
5.x to Exchange 2000
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Exchange 2000 Server is very different from Exchange
5.5 Server, and passing this new exam requires in-depth
knowledge of both products. The test uses the familiar
multiple-choice question format that Microsoft has used
for years. The beta I took had none of the new testing
innovation questions, such as “build tree and reorder.”
It’ll be interesting to see what Microsoft decides to
do with the live version of the test.
If you’ve taken any of the pre-adaptive exams, you’ll
most likely remember the scenario questions. In those
questions, you were presented with a situation (consisting
of a required component and one or more optional components)
and an applied solution. You then had to decide which
problems, if any, were solved. While this type of question
doesn’t appear on the exam, a similar variety does, in
which you face a problem with some desired outcomes. You’re
presented with a potential solution and must decide which
outcomes it addresses. Each solution is listed as a multiple-choice
answer with between four and seven options.
Installation and Upgrade
Although Exchange 2000 shares somewhat of a common look
with Exchange 5.5, the two messaging programs are different.
This is evident the first time you install Exchange 2000,
which relies heavily on AD. In fact, in developing AD,
Microsoft brought in the group that developed the Exchange
5.5 Directory. During the installation process, you’ll
be asked if it’s OK for the installer to extend AD.
Tip: Be sure you know how
to perform an Exchange 2000 installation, including its
various services.
This modifies AD to handle the new Exchange 2000 objects
and features. While Exchange 2000 server needn’t be a
domain controller, it does need access to a Win2K domain
controller.
Microsoft is well aware that a majority of organizations
will migrate from existing Exchange 5.5 implementations
to Exchange 2000. Herein lies a problem. The earlier software
maintains a directory of objects separate from — but connected
to — NT. Exchange 2000 doesn’t. It uses AD to store its
objects.
For this reason, Microsoft released the Active Directory
Connector (ADC), which replicates information between
Exchange 5.5 and AD. This allows both versions of Exchange
to co-exist and communicate.
Tip: Be sure you know how
to install ADC. Work with it and make it break, if possible,
then try to fix it.
Exchange 2000 supports several different clients for
accessing its messaging and public folder information.
These include Microsoft Outlook 2000, Outlook Web Access,
POP3 clients, IMAP4 clients, and IRC clients.
Tip: Know how each client
connects to Exchange 2000, including protocols, and what
types of information can be transferred between them.
Exchange 2000 installations will fail at times. Luckily,
you can use the "/disasterrecovery" setup switch to re-install
Exchange. This switch assumes the AD information is intact.
Two other switches you should try out: /forestprep, which
prepares the AD forest for Exchange 2000, and /domainprep,
which prepares each domain for Exchange 2000.
Configuration Details
A strength of Exchange 2000 is its ability to maintain
multiple mailboxes (formerly known as private) and public
stores, as well as separate storage groups. Different
mailbox stores allow you to specify different properties,
such as mailbox storage or transfer limits.
Similarly, creating multiple storage groups allows you
to recover individual databases during a failure, thereby
shortening the time required before some users’ mailboxes
are available.
Tip: Be sure you know how
to use the Exchange 2000 System Manager to create multiple
mailbox and private stores and multiple storage groups;
know the steps involved in taking them on- and offline.
Microsoft recommends you store log files and the databases
on separate physical hard disks for fault tolerance, preferably
on different RAID 5 arrays. Remember that Exchange 2000
is transactional in nature much like Exchange 5.5. All
changes are written to the transaction logs before being
committed to the database. Circular logging should be
turned off for fault tolerance; otherwise, log files may
be overwritten as they’re used up.
A new feature in Exchange, known as Administrative Groups,
allows the person managing the enterprise network to configure
different site administrators by setting up rights to
servers and server components. To accomplish this in Exchange
5.5, you needed different service accounts
Tip: Be sure you know how
to create Administrative Groups and assign users to them.
Exchange 2000 has the ability to create front- and back-end
servers. The front-end servers are those that users access
via the Internet, usually placed in front of the firewall
or in the trusted or DMZ area of the firewall. The firewall
is then made aware of the ports that are to be passed
through to the back-end servers. The ports used depend
on the protocols required.
Tip: Remember which ports
each supported protocol uses. Don’t forget that the port
numbers differ for the protocol and the protocol under
SSL.
Tip: Know how each client
connects to Exchange 2000, including protocols, and what
types of information can be transferred between them.
The back-end servers are the actual Exchange servers.
They’re placed in the internal network, behind the firewall,
and contain the actual Exchange databases and stores.
Managing Recipient Objects
You “Exchange-enable” objects in AD that need to participate
in the Exchange infrastructure by right-clicking on the
object and choosing Exchange Tasks from the drop-down
menu and following the wizard.
There are three types of objects supported by Exchange
2000: a mail-enabled user, a mail-enabled contact, and
a mail-enabled group. A mail-enabled user is simply a
user object that has been given a mailbox on the system.
A mail-enabled contact is an object that doesn’t have
a mailbox on the system and can’t be used to log onto
the system. It simply has an email address associated
with it.
A mail-enabled group is similar to the Exchange 5.5 distribution
list, which is simply a group containing one or more mail-enabled
users and contacts.
You use the Exchange Tasks Wizard to enable a user’s
account for Instant Messaging or Chat or to remove any
of the Exchange components. The user object doesn’t change,
only some of its properties.
Tip: Be sure you know how to create each type of Exchange
object in AD using the Users and Groups administrative
tool.
Monitoring and Managing Messaging
Connectivity
As with its predecessor, Exchange 2000 has the ability
to monitor messages between Exchange 2000 servers and
non-Exchange systems. Configure two or more Exchange 2000
servers and monitor the link between them. Exchange 2000
uses routing groups to decide how to route messages and
public folders.
These routing groups can be assigned costs, which control
the route a message takes when multiple routes exist.
Tip: Understand how to configure
link status and message tracking.
Managing Exchange 2000 Server Growth
A nice feature of Exchange 2000 is its multiple queue
capabilities. If the server communicates with two different
domains, say, company1.com and company2.com, it’ll create
two different queues for the domains. As an administrator,
you have the ability to freeze one queue, while letting
the other run.
Win2K includes an indexing server for speeding up searches
for information on the system. Exchange 2000 leverages
that for its stores. Each store can have a single full-text
index, which lets you search for items in the Exchange
stores.
Tip: Practice creating,
deleting, modifying, and controlling the full-text index
for the stores.
Restoring System Functionality
and User Data
Herein lies a large portion of the exam. It’s important
for you to understand the concepts behind backing up and
restoring an Exchange 2000 server. Each storage group
on the server can be backed up and restored individually.
However, multiple stores (mailbox or public) within a
storage group must be restored as a whole. Therefore,
if you need to be able to bring different mailbox stores
online individually, then you should use multiple storage
groups. You also need to understand the different backup
methods: normal (or full), incremental, and differential.
A normal backup backs up the entire system. With larger
installations, running a normal backup every night becomes
time restrictive. For this reason, you’d typically perform
a combination of normal and incremental (or differential)
backups.
An incremental backup records all the changes since the
last backup and the transaction logs, then deletes the
transaction logs. A differential backup records all the
changes since the last full backup and the transaction
logs, but doesn’t delete the transaction logs.
Tip: Be sure you know how
to use the different backup methods to back up and restore
Exchange. Use the Windows 2000 backup utility and learn
what the Exchange 2000 system and files look like after
full, incremental and differential backups.
Making it to the Top
Pass this exam, and you’ll demonstrate that you have what
it takes to perform any and all administration tasks on
Exchange 2000. You’ll have shown that you understand the
migration process from Exchange 5.5 to 2000, the multiple
store concepts, and how to recover from a failed system.
Don’t take this exam lightly—it’s far from easy. Instead,
install Exchange 2000 on several systems and work with
them until you understand how Exchange operates. Good
luck!