Collaboration and Groupware Software Solutions for Businesses in Silicon Valley and the entire Bay Area

Installation and Configuration of Exchange 2007

Installation of the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 can be a daunting task.  There are specific hardware requirements (Processor, Memory, Disk) and many software configuration options (Mailbox, Client Access, Hub Transport, Edge Transport).  Next, the server has to be configured with your company’s preferences (retention, archiving, and remote access policies, etc..)  Our engineers can provide you with a streamlined configuration that incorporates with your business policies while maintaining a secured and efficient Exchange mail server.

MS Exchange 2007 Advantages:

• Server roles:
  A new modular system that configures Exchange as one (or more) of five basic server roles. Choosing a role means enabling only those features necessary to that role, thereby decreasing the surface area for attacks through other features. MS Exchange 2003 Advantages
• WebReady Document Viewing:
  A new option in OWA allows Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF) to be accessed as e-mail attachments or through public folders to be displayed as HTML, even if Office isn’t installed on the client PC.
• Exchange Management Shell:
  The PowerShell scripting language, specifically optimized for Exchange, offers potent new tools for the day-to-day e-mail administrator.
• Exchange ActiveSync:
  Improved direct push e-mail ensures ActiveSync clients receive messages on server connect. Other mobile-friendly features include inline message fetch — the ability to download long attachments without reloading the entire message — and information rights management, which allows users with proper authority to view protected messages without being connected to a server
• Exchange Forefront and Exchange Hosted Services:
  Forefront is a rebranding of the Antigen anti-virus/anti-spam products acquired from Sybari, which together provide a quality local security gateway. The Exchange Hosted Services version, available by subscription, delivers additional security, archiving, and continuity.
• Outlook Web Access:
  The latest OWA client is a near-perfect clone of the Outlook 2003 desktop interface. Features and views are nearly the same, and performance is excellent. Incredibly, thin-client deployment becomes a real option.
• Outlook auto-discover:
  Exchange 2007 combined with Outlook 2007 means administrators will no longer need to walk to client desktops to configure Outlook access to a specific account location. Users simply enter their user names and passwords, and Outlook automatically finds local Exchange servers, locates the proper e-mail account, and sets up access.
• Smart scheduling:
  The addition of Scheduling Assistant and Calendar Attendant mean that Exchange tracks not only the schedules of all meeting invitees but also the availability of meeting rooms and can manage all of this on the server, so meetings can be fully scheduled without everyone’s Outlook client being connected.
• Improved search:
  A rewritten search algorithm noticeably boosts the speed at which Outlook can find specific messages in large message stores. Administrators can access the same fast indexing in multiple-mailbox searches.
• Bundled encryption:
  Exchange can now automatically encrypt all e-mail messages sent within the local organization. It also automatically supports TSL (Transcript Security Layer) encryption, including built-in certificates, as long as both hosts support TLS.

MS Exchange 2003 Advantages:

• Clustering:
  4 or 8 Node Active / Passive clustering is now a feasible option.
• Multiple storage groups:
  Divide and rule for better performance and faster restore. Put the Boss and senior staff in their own mail store.
• Multiple administrative Groups:
  useful for delegation.
• OWA (Outlook Web Access).
• OMA (Outlook Mobile Access)
• Front end / Back end Exchange servers, used in conjunction with firewalls to improve security.
• RPC over HTTP allows OWA clients to collect their email by only opening port 80
• Volume Shadow Copy.
• Query Based Distribution Groups:
  Let LDAP create distribution lists dynamically, based on users department or office.
• ExDeploy and ExMerge new wizards to help you migrate and configure.
• Better message queue management. (Also gives faster throughput)
• Outlook Cached Mode (Laptops).
• Junk email filtering.  (Not perfect, but a step in the right direction)
• Single mailbox restore.
• Better support for mobile users thanks to OWA and OMA.
• Enhanced junk mail filtering on both client and server (see more here).
• Greater server availability.
• Superior reliability, better manageability.
• Reduced number of servers, less fragmentation.
• Improved replication traffic, thanks to Windows Server 2003.

Microsoft Sharepoint is a platform to provide document management and online collaboration capabilities through a standardized and familiar web interface.  It provides the software infrastructure for collaborative work based on the integration between web applications, database applications, web browsers, and client side software applications.  This can dramatically increase the efficiency of company processes while maintaining a centralized management system. 

Sharepoint comes in a few flavors: 

• Windows Sharepoint Services (Free)
• Office Sharepoint Server Standard and Enterprise (License req’d) 

The good news is Sharepoint Services is a viable solution for Small/Medium businesses, whereas Sharepoint Server provides the enhanced functionality and scalability of larger Enterprises.

Sharepoint Services features:

• Create calendars with recurring events and different calendar views all using a browser
• Post new pages via a Web interface, Email, MS Word
• Provide RSS Feeds for your content
• Create task lists on a familiar web interface
• Real-time presence
• Wikis can be used to create editable guides, etc..
• Blogs allows for a publishing oriented experience for a single user or a group of users
• Project Management is capable with task lists and views such as Gantt Chart
• Documents can be stored in a central repository with versioning
• Granular security options are available to control who can view, edit, delete content
• Have forums and discussions available using the same web interface

Sharepoint Server features:

• User profiles
• Portal sites
• Single Sign-On
• Enhanced search
• Excel Services
• Business Intelligence Dashboards
• Internet publishing and content management
• Web based Infopath Forms

A wiki is a web-based document repository and editor. This open-source piece of software allows users to effortlessly create and edit pages capable of being rendered by a web browser. With its specialized text syntax, a fully linked document library is available. Most importantly, the capability of instantaneously being able to edit and publish the wiki page encourages a collaborative document system. Having said this, a Wiki can be a great alternative for a document system. Almost always necessary in a business environment, encryption, authentication, and security levels are usually integrated.

Blogs can be thought of as a news paper article. It is written to be from the viewpoint of a single person. This lets the author freely express their opinions and thoughts. This intimate writing format enables less tech savvy users to communicate to their intended audience by concentrating on the literature and not the technology to display them. Organizations can develop stronger relationships and brand loyalty with its existing customers in a personalized manner. Often times, readers can post replies to the author's blogs for instant feedback.

Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) is a set of extensions added to HTTP protocol to support collaborative authoring on the web. Whereas HTTP was created as a "reading" protocol, WebDAV provides the "writing" capabilities. It is often used as a secure and effective document sharing system. Using additional open-source software built on this protocol, file versioning and archival is possible. Additionally, with the advent of feature rich open-source WebDAV clients, organizations can freely adopt this technology and seamlessly integrate it with their Operating System. Even Operating System software vendor, Microsoft, have endorsed this technology, which suggests it's here to stay for the future.

Background:

SAE Global is a confederation of technology solutions providers with facilities in North America and Asia. From its beginnings as Stanford Applied Engineering in 1964, SAE has matured over 37+ years into a consortium of corporations with collective annual revenues of $100 million and manufacturing capabilities supporting the electro-mechanical hardware sector and electronic manufacturing sectors.

IT Needs:

SAE Global wanted a collaborative environment that would support the sharing of Office documents and consolidate their email/spam services. They were currently paying for hosted services, but their growth demanded they provide the service internally. Since they have a lot of mobile users in different countries, they demanded services must be available from a web browser. Users must also be able to use the new system without a large learning curve.

How NetCal's Collaboration Solution can help:

NetCal implemented a Windows 2008 Server with Exchange 2007 services. We then configured a Sharepoint Server to integration seamlessly with the existing Microsoft platform. This setup allows emails, files, and even database items/lists to be utilized through very farmiliar interfaces (webpage, office applications). Accessibility of all these collaborative services are within reach using existing VPN connections and SSL connections. Desktops were upgraded to Office 2007 using Group Policies and Volume Licenses.