EMS - Email Management Services Exchange 2007 Reference Architecture

Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 is the latest release of the most commonly used corporate messaging platform. Exchange 2007 offers a new architectural model and major new functionality that will require many organizations to re-architect their entire Exchange environment. By the end of 2008, 50% of organizations that use Exchange are expected to move to Exchange 2007. For most organizations, taking full advantage of Exchange 2007's new features will require a substantial investment.

Exchange 2007's transition to 64-bit support often requires the replacement of existing servers with new 64-bit hardware, and new versions of the Windows operating system and third-party software. In addition, the new server roles, Active Directory® site-based routing infrastructure, and high availability (HA) options present opportunities for improved security and performance that will require corresponding changes to Exchange server deployments. While these changes are ultimately designed to increase email reliability, they can be expensive to implement. Understanding the strengths and limitations of Exchange 2007's new offerings is the key to designing an Exchange 2007 architecture that meets the total messaging goals for your organization economically and efficiently.

This white paper has the following objectives:

• To describe major issues that affect the design and implementation of HA configurations for Exchange, outline significant enhancements in Exchange 2007's HA features, and discuss how well the new features address the identified issues.
• To discuss other areas of functionality where many companies may consider augmenting Exchange 2007's built-in capabilities with third-party offerings in order to fully address a wider range of HA design issues and to completly meet
  their organization's messaging and email needs.

This paper concludes with a description of MessageOne's Email Management System (EMS™) services, including EMS's unique hybrid architecture which compliments Exchange 2007. EMS combines the integration and customization of in-house software with maintenance-free, always-available access, and storage of on-demand services without the costs, maintenance efforts and uncertainty associated with traditional, locally deployed solutions.