Imex Technical Services Ltd & Imex Data Communications Ltd
sales@imextechnical.co.uk - Tel: 01666 827600
 
HP Preferred Partner 2008



 


  
Microsoft® Exchange Server

Exchange Server, the Microsoft messaging and collaboration server, is software that runs on servers that enables you to send and receive electronic mail and other forms of interactive communication through computer networks. Designed to interoperate with a software client application such as Microsoft Outlook, Exchange Server also interoperates with Outlook Express and other e-mail client applications.

E-mail messages are sent and received through what is commonly referred to as a client device such as a personal computer, workstation, or a mobile device including mobile phones or Pocket PCs. The client typically connects to a network of centralized computer systems comprised of servers or mainframe computers where the e-mail mailboxes are stored. The centralized e-mail servers connect to the Internet and private networks where e-mail messages are sent to and received from other e-mail users.

Client access functionality. Exchange Server offers you integrated collaborative messaging features such as scheduling, contact, and task management capabilities. Exchange Server 2003 runs on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating systems. Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 runs on Windows-based computers and communicates with the server running Exchange Server through the MAPI protocol that includes powerful messaging and rich collaboration capabilities. Exchange Server also accommodates other client access through its support for Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) and Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4) protocols as well as support for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). Microsoft Outlook Web Access, a service in Exchange Server, accommodates what are known as thin clients (Web browser–based access clients).

Mobile access functionality. Exchange Server 2003 supports mobile devices such as Pocket PC and Smartphones and enables you to synchronize your Inbox, Calendar, and Contacts and Tasks lists so you can remotely check your appointments and other important information. Mobile device browsers are also supported through Exchange Outlook Mobile Access, which enables HTML, compressed HTML (CHTML), and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser–based devices to access Exchange Server. The diagram illustrates the types of clients that Exchange Server supports:

Secure E-Mail Access to Employees Outside the Corporate Network

ISA Server 2006 provides a unique level of protection for Outlook Web Access Web sites. With the easy-to-use interface of ISA Server 2006, organizations can quickly set up Web publishing rules that enforce secure forms-based authentication. ISA Server 2006 also helps stop attacks against e-mail servers, both through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) decryption (SSL bridging), which enables SSL traffic to be statefully inspected for malicious code, and through stateful HTTP filtering, which provides deep inspection of HTTP application content.

In addition, ISA Server can authenticate users. Authentication prevents anonymous connections from reaching your mail server. Preventing anonymous connections prevents anonymous user logon attempts, which represent a key attack vector aimed at internal mail servers.

ISA Server leverages the existing multifactor authentication currently used in organizations and provides secure authentication and authorization, whether the remote mail scenarios use Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS), RSA SecurID, or Windows-based authentication methods. This enables ISA Server to prevent dangerous anonymous requests from reaching Exchange Server. Forms-based authentication provides further protection by performing attachment blocking and session time-out. Attachment blocking prevents users from accessing attachments using Outlook Web Access. Session time-out prevents user e-mail sessions from being left open indefinitely for others to use.

Figure 1 illustrates how ISA Server helps secure e-mail access for employees outside the corporate network.
© 2006, Imex Technical Services Ltd. All Rights Reserved.