Understanding Win2K groups
If you're in charge of designing or upgrading your messaging environment, you've probably skimmed through countless articles and books about Active Directory (AD) to learn how it will ultimately affect your Exchange 2000 Server design. You've probably also read about the latest trends and ideas about how to design your AD domain, site, and infrastructure topology with performance and security in mind. ("Related Reading," page 11, provides resources for background information.) Armed with this knowledge, you should be able to tackle the most challenging deployments and migrations with ease. Migrating your distribution lists (DLs) from Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange 2000 is no exception—if you know what to watch out for. Let's look at groups in Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000, then examine how DLs fit in the new AD group structure.
Exchange 5.5 DLs
In Exchange 5.5, a DL is a group of users in the Exchange directory. Most people use DLs to send email to many people at once. When you send a message to a DL, the Message Transfer Agent (MTA) on the originating server (or an expansion server, if specified) enumerates the recipients, and Exchange 5.5 delivers the message to the appropriate mailboxes. If necessary, the MTA fans out the DL to make sure that multiple copies of the same message aren't sent over the same connections. Exchange 5.5 stores DLs in the directory and replicates them throughout the organization. . . .
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