Front-End and Back-End Server 

Details:Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft 
Exchange 2000 Server support using a server architecture 
that distributes server tasks among front-end and back-end 
servers. In this architecture, a front-end server accepts 
requests from clients and proxies them to the appropriate 
back-end server for processing. This guide discusses how 
Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange 2000 Server support the 
front-end and back-end server architecture. Also covered 
are several front-end and back-end scenarios and 
recommendations for configuration.

Distribution list in exchange 2003 is used to populate 
group of contacts to send a common Message. Also 
eliminates  the task of writing every individual name in 
reciepents box.

Distribution list can be of two types, it can be either 
Public or Private.

In exchange Server you can create one or more distribution lists. It is a kind of group of email ids, where you just have to select distribution list name in "TO" box, and all the members of that list will receive your message. You need not to remember and write individual user's mail id.

You can create Public or Private distribution list as per your requirement. You can also create multiple distribution lists, like list for Sales Dept. Purchase Dept. Account Dept, IT Dept. and so on.

Public folder is an exchange entity used by users in 
organization to share common information like 
contacts,calenders for appointments,Tasks...

Public is striclty prohibited to Outlook 2003, Outlook 
Anywhere,OWA.

Forest is the Collection of the Tree.Domain contains the 
Domain Countroller

Domain: Boundary of Administration
        Boundary of Authentication

Forest is nothing but list of trees and trees is nothing 
but list of domains. 

A domain is a set of network resources for a group of 
users. The user need only log in to the domain to gain 
access the resources. 

Cheers
Ramji

I dont know about up gradation from lower version to higher version, but i think this link may help you. 
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2007/migration-deployment/moving-mdaemon-exchange-server-2003-2007-part1.html

it contains many parts, carefully read it and try to follow

Site replication is nothing but AD replication between two
DCs which are located in two different AD sites.

Cost is one the parameter for deciding the path for site
replication. The path with lower cost will take the precedence.

• Management tool is Exchange Management console
• Compatible on 64 bit OS
• RE-written OWA with browsable GAL
• Restore database to any server
• Message routing based on AD Site
• Storage capacity in STD-5stores Each is 75GB + 
ENT-50stores unlimited database
• Unified messaging
• Transport rules
• No in place upgradation

Anti spam connection filtering.transport rules.

Exchange Server 2007 is much more advanced with lots of facilities which were laking in Earlier Versions. Click the below given link and read its full product information.

http://docs.docstoc.com/orig/652202/bd2e05e7-f0d7-4b73-a4a7-da43ed817a5b.pdf

Auto Discover feature inbuild in Exchange  2007 but its 
work only with office 2007

Version	Features
Standard Edition	
The Standard Edition has: 
•	Up to 5 storage groups 
•	Up to 5 databases 
•	16 TB per database 
The Standard Edition supports
Local Continuous Replication. 
Enterprise Edition	
The Enterprise Edition has: 
•	Up to 50 storage groups 
•	Up to 50 databases 
•	16 TB per database 
The Enterprise Edition supports:
•	Local Continuous Replication 
•	Single Copy Clusters 
•	Cluster Continuous Replication

A bridgehead server is a domain controller in each site, 
which is used as a contact point to receive and replicate 
data between sites. For intersite replication, KCC 
designates one of the domain controllers as a bridgehead 
server. In case the server is down, KCC designates another 
one from the domain controller. When a bridgehead server 
receives replication updates from another site, it 
replicates the data to the other domain controllers within 
its site.

Kindly reset the pswrd, it shoudl fix it....!

It may be certificate issue with your IE and Server.

Please check the SSL certificate of OWA and also check the password expire status...may be need to change the password

Implement SSO (Single sign on ) this should resolve the 
issue

please check whether DC are working fine or not.

In order to find the Deletion settings on your server begin 
by launching the Microsoft Exchange System Manager.  Drill 
down to the Mailbox Store, (not the server icon).  Right 
click, properties, now select the Limits tab.  Half way 
down are the: Deletion settings.  Keep deleted items for 
(days), is the next dialog box.  See bottom of the diagram 
opposite.

Each Mailbox store has its own retention settings.  Your 
main decision is, 'How many days should we hold deleted 
mail on the server?'  I would have thought that 7 days 
would be about right.  Any longer and the mail will consume 
significant disk space on the server.  Any shorter and the 
users will feel frustrated because they cannot recover mail 
that they deleted only a few days ago.

if they have Deleted the mail from mail box like MS outlook
or outlook express and exchange server however we can
recover the mail from mail box. I know next question you
will ask me how here we have mail server is there can  we
recover the deleted mail from mail box and administrator can
set the setting in mail server or else user can set.if the
user delete the mail from mail box like if shift+delete even
we can't get from mail server also. if they delete like just
delete can recover the mail from mail box also as well as
mail server also..

It depends, if user has normal use del button to delete the mail and period is in the retention period so they can easly retrive the deleted mails with Deleted Items.

Hi, 
Yes, you can recover deleted mails from exchange server. But for that you have check your Deletion settings from Exchange System Manager. First goto Administrative Groups->First Adm. Group->Servers->'your server name'->First Storage Group->Mailbox store...
Now Right click on it and go to Properties->Limits 'tab'-> Deletion Settings, and make sure that your deleted mails are not longer that the number of days specified there.

Now to recover your mails, If you are using Outlook go to Tools->Recover Deleted Items, and you will be prompted a dialog box, using this box you can retrieve your desired mails. 
If you are using Outlook Web Access, Go to Deleted Items, in the tool bar you will find a button Recover Deleted Items, very next to Empty Delete Items. Here also you will find a window, using it you can recover your mails.

Hope this information will help you.

A Raid 5 array will be suitable. Exchange installation 
files should be on a different partition, transaction log 
files and databases should also be on different partitions.

its depanded on your user coonection

For me this will be the ideal storage setup for exchange 
svr installation.

3 logical drives (6 hdisks)

2 hdisk = RAID 1 (mirror set) OS and exchange Apps
2 hdisk = RAID 1 (mirror set) Exchange Database
2 hdisk = RAID 1 (mirror set) Exchange Logs

Apps/ Database/ Logs "SHOULD" be in different Logical 
Drives not only by separating them in partition within the 
same logical drive..

As the name suggests, Exchange 2003, Enterprise Edition is a
more scalable version of Exchange. The table below lists the
major features of both Exchange editions in terms of storage
groups and databases: 

  	

                     Ex 2003, Std        Ex 2003, Ent 

No of storage groups       1                   4

No of db's in s.group      2                   5

Maximum database size(each)16 GB               8 TB

Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition

One storage group can be created on a server
2 Databases - One mailbox store database and one public 
folder store database that can be accessed by using MAPI 
and Outlook Web Access. However, you can create upto four 
more public folder store databases that are accessible only 
programmatically
Maximum 16-gigabyte (GB) database limit per database (75 GB 
with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2)
Exchange clustering is not supported
X.400 connector is not included


Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Four storage groups
Five databases per storage group
16 terabyte database limit, limited only by hardware
Exchange clustering is supported
X.400 connector is included

the main mistake is exchange std support 1 Storage Group while Enterprise support 5 Storage Groups
rest all the things are fine.

Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition is designed to meet 
the messaging and collaboration needs of small and medium 
corporations, and for specific messaging server roles or 
branch offices.
Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, designed for large 
enterprise corporations, enables you to create multiple 
storage groups and multiple databases. Exchange Server 2003 
Enterprise Edition provides a 16-terabyte message store 
that removes the constraints on the number of users and 
amount of data that a single server can manage.

But what IS the difference?



Let's take a look at the features in which both versions 
differ.

FEATURE 1: Storage Group Support
Standard Edition supports 1 storage group, and Enterprise 
Edition supports up to 4 storage groups.  Both Editions 
support the Recovery Storage Group!

FEATURE 2: Number of databases per storage group
Standard Edition supports only 1 mailbox store and 1 public 
folder store.  Enterprise Edition allows you to have 5 
databases per storage group, private or public.

FEATURE 3: Total Database Size
Now here it is absolutely vital that you realize that there 
is a huge change with SP2! 
Prior to Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 
(SP2), there was no method to configure database size 
limits for Exchange Server 2003. Exchange Server 2003 SP2 
introduces the following new features: 


For the Standard Edition, the default configured database 
size limit will now be 18 GB, a 2 GB addition to the 
previous limit, with a new maximum size of 75 GB
For the Enterprise Edition, there is no default configured 
database size limit, and no software set maximum size.


Both versions of Exchange Server 2003 with SP2 have the 
ability to configure a limit, a warning threshold, and a 
warning interval set through registry keys.


Size check done against the database now uses logical 
database size. Empty or white space in the database does 
not count against the configured database size limit; 
therefore, no offline defragmenting is required for 
recovery exceeding the configured or licensed database 
limits.


Limit checks, done at regular intervals, are now controlled 
by the store process instead of JET. The default time 
interval is 24 hours and this interval is configurable 
through the registry. When your database size reaches the 
limit, the store will be dismounted every time the size is 
checked.  So when you mount your store, the database will 
be accessible for users, but the store will dismount again 
within 24 hours, unless you decrease the size of the store. 
Don't forget: offline defrag doesn't solve the problem 
anymore, since Exchange considers the logical database size 
now!  Cleaning is the message now :-)

To make these changes, check out the following article from 
Microsoft: Database Size Limit Configuration and Management

FEATURE 4: Exchange Server clustering
Standard Edition does not support clustering, Enterprise 
Edition does.

FEATURE 5: X.400 Connector
The X.400 connector is NOT included in the Standard 
Edition, it is included with the Enterprise Edition

FEATURE 6: The Price
No comment.

That's it...in short...the difference between standard 
edition and enterprise edition, Exchange Server 2003 SP2.

Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition

Exchange 2003 Standard Edition is designed to meet the 
messaging and collaboration requirements of small and 
medium corporations and for specific messaging server roles 
or branch offices. 

•	One storage group can be created on a server 
•	One mailbox store database and one public folder 
store database that can be accessed by using MAPI and 
Outlook Web Access 
•	Up to four more public folder store databases that 
are accessible only programmatically 
•	Maximum 16-gigabyte (GB) database limit per 
database (75 GB with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service 
Pack 2) 
•	Exchange clustering is not supported 
•	X.400 connector is not included

 Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition

Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition is designed for large 
enterprise corporations. With Exchange 2003 Enterprise 
Edition, you can create multiple storage groups and 
multiple databases. Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition 
provides an unlimited message store that removes the 
constraints on how much data a single server can manage. 

•	Four storage groups 
•	Five databases per storage group 
•	16 terabyte database limit, limited only by 
hardware 
•	Exchange clustering is supported 
•	X.400 connector is included

Standard Edition
1.	One storage group 
2.	2 Databases max per Server 
3.	16 GB DB Size and 72 GB with SP2 
4.	x.400 connectors not included 

Enterprise Edition	
1.	Four Storage group 
2.	20 Databases 
3.	16 TB DB size limited by hardware 
4.	Clustering Supported 
5.	x.400 connectors included

1.normal
2.copy
3.incremental
4.differential

1.normal
2.copy
3.incremental
4.differential
5.daily

system state 
incremental
differential
mirror

Are you perhaps asking the depth of backup method pertaing 
to exchange recovery espcially EG:

Brick Level backup, allows to just restore 1 mail instead 
of a store, but most companies not utilising the feature 
due to it being a lenghty process and usually push backup 
into the next day

Exchange Backups that Microsoft Supports 
The following are the Microsoft® Exchange backups that 
Microsoft supports:

Online backups

Offline backups

Online Backups and Types of Online Backups
Online backups are backups done while Exchange services are 
running. None of the Exchange services have to be stopped 
for this backup to complete.

Online backup does not mean that you try to back up 
Exchange database files and Exchange folder structure while 
Exchange services are running. Online backup means backing 
up a separate Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Exchange 
Server object that is available in backup software. You can 
do an online backup using Backup if you install Exchange 
administrator or Exchange System Manager in Exchange 2000 
Server on a server that will do a backup. If you use third-
party backup software, you have to install the Exchange 
Agent or Exchange-aware backup software. Agents are popular 
because they extend the functionality of third-party backup 
software. You will be backing up Exchange Directory 
(Exchange Server version 5.5) or Microsoft Exchange 
Information Store service objects. You will not be able to 
select individual files to back up or select individual 
mailboxes that need to be backed up.

If you try to back up actual Exchange Server files and 
folders while services are running, backup will complete 
but with files that are skipped. Database files are skipped 
because the Exchange database engine has opened them, and 
only one program can have exclusive access to a single file 
on the disk. If disaster strikes and this is the only type 
of backup available, it is possible that Exchange 
information will not be recoverable.

When backing up Exchange Server databases, there are four 
backup types available:

Normal (or Full)   The normal backup process backs up the 
directory or Exchange store in its entirety, as well as the 
log files. To restore from a normal backup, only one normal 
backup is needed. A normal backup marks the objects it has 
backed up so that incremental and differential backups have 
context. This is accomplished by backing up the entire 
database and all the log files, and then purging the log 
files.

Copy   The copy backup is the same as a normal backup 
except no marking takes place to give incremental and 
differential context. This means that performing an 
incremental backup after a copy backup is equivalent to 
performing it before a copy backup. Use a copy backup to 
get a full backup of the directory or Exchange store 
without disturbing the state of ongoing incremental or 
differential backups.

Incremental   An incremental backup backs up the subset of 
the component that has changed since the last normal or 
incremental backup. Then it marks these objects as backed 
up. To restore from incremental backups, each incremental 
backup since the last normal backup and the normal backup 
are needed. An incremental backup backs up only the log 
files, and then purges them.

Differential   A differential backup backs up changes in 
the directory or Exchange store that have occurred since 
the last normal backup. To restore from differential 
backups, one differential backup and one normal backup is 
required. A differential backup backs up only the log files 
but does not purge them.
Note:  
In few cases, performing a differential or incremental 
backup is disabled, for example, immediately after an 
offline defragmentation or while circular logging is 
enabled.  

To restore an online backup in Exchange 2000 Server, you 
need the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service 
running, and the stores that are being restored need to be 
dismounted. To restore an online backup in Exchange Server 
5.5, you need to have the Microsoft Exchange System 
Attendant service running.

Offline Backups
Offline backups are backups of Exchange files and folders 
when Exchange services are not running. If services are not 
running, backup software can have exclusive access to 
database files and can back them up. 

Planned offline backups will result in consistent database 
files. When Exchange services are being gracefully shut 
down, all transactions are being committed to the database. 
Resulting databases will be consistent, marked consistent 
or clean shutdown, depending on what version of Exchange 
you are running.

Unplanned offline backups are backups that are taken when 
the server fails. Database files are copied to some 
location because that is the only type of backup available. 
If Exchange Server fails before this backup, databases do 
not have to be consistent, so they might need repair after 
the restore procedure. Make sure to check if the backup was 
before or after the failure or Exchange Server problem.

 Exchange Backups that Microsoft Does Not Directly Support 
For backup methods that are not supported, there is no 
guarantee that the methods will work. You should contact 
your third-party backup software or hardware vendor in case 
of problems with backup. The backup vendor should be the 
primary source of support in the case that any of the 
following backups are used. Microsoft will work with any 
customer that has any backup type. However, if the backup 
was created by one of the following methods, the only help 
that Microsoft might be able to provide is disaster 
recovery, which might involve data loss.

Open File Agent Backups
There are third-party backup programs that use special ways 
to do a file-level backup of files that are already opened 
by some other application, such as Exchange Server. This 
might or might not work. In most cases, it will not work 
for Exchange. There is no guarantee that this type of 
backup will back up all mailbox and public folder data, and 
that you will be able to recover from disasters such as 
this. Open file agent backups, in most cases, back up 
inconsistent databases.

Mailbox (Brick) Level Backups
There are several third-party backup programs that can back 
up and restore individual mailboxes, rather than whole 
databases. Because those backup solutions do not follow 
Microsoft backup guidelines and technology, they are not 
directly supported.

There are known problems with some versions of mailbox-
level backup programs including loss of free/busy data and 
incomplete restores. Every effort is made to help, and to 
look at the errors and issues that you are having with this 
type of backup and restore, to determine if there are 
Exchange problems documented that could cause this error.

Snap or Snapshot and Hot Split Backups
This type backup provides benefits somewhat in between 
offline and open file agent backups. These backups are 
typically done on a hard disk instead of tape devices, 
which allows much faster transfer rates.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996125
(EXCHG.65).aspx

Normal (or Full)   The normal backup process backs up the 
directory or Exchange store in its entirety, as well as the 
log files. To restore from a normal backup, only one normal 
backup is needed. A normal backup marks the objects it has 
backed up so that incremental and differential backups have 
context. This is accomplished by backing up the entire 
database and all the log files, and then purging the log 
files.

Copy   The copy backup is the same as a normal backup 
except no marking takes place to give incremental and 
differential context. This means that performing an 
incremental backup after a copy backup is equivalent to 
performing it before a copy backup. Use a copy backup to 
get a full backup of the directory or Exchange store 
without disturbing the state of ongoing incremental or 
differential backups.

Incremental   An incremental backup backs up the subset of 
the component that has changed since the last normal or 
incremental backup. Then it marks these objects as backed 
up. To restore from incremental backups, each incremental 
backup since the last normal backup and the normal backup 
are needed. An incremental backup backs up only the log 
files, and then purges them.

Differential   A differential backup backs up changes in 
the directory or Exchange store that have occurred since 
the last normal backup. To restore from differential 
backups, one differential backup and one normal backup is 
required. A differential backup backs up only the log files 
but does not purge them.