4 - Managing the Exchange Organization Topology

Abstract

This chapter deals with the management of Exchange organization topology. An Exchange organization is a networked collection of servers, services, and objects layered on top of the Windows server environment, which is also a networked collection of components. The organization of both the Windows server and Exchange components is defined in the active directory. The active directory includes properties for every domain, every server, every user, every networked printer, and every file share in the organization. The active directory provides management flexibility to configure the administrative responsibilities to match the company's organizational structure. Active directory management tools help to manage users and systems throughout the network regardless of their location. A directory structure that allows the distribution of administrative responsibility to regional or departmental information technology (IT) groups using the standard Windows server management tools can also be designed. The chapter describes the basic active directory terms and concepts, and the way Exchange relies on the active directory and is integrated with it.