Trying to build a messaging system without any clients is like trying to hold an Olympics without any fans—it might be the best in history, but there would be nobody there to see it. The client application for any messaging system is where the
rubber hits the road. The degree of user acceptance is fully dependent on the functionality and ease-of-use of the client interface. If the client application works well, helps in getting the job done, assists in sharing information, and enables users to
enhance current business processes, it will be an integral part of a value-added messaging system.
The challenge of any e-mail client is to overcome information overload. As you depend more heavily on any messaging system, the volume and complexity of information increases dramatically. Presenting, managing, and manipulating this information flow is
the job of the client interface. The client application should also be able to manage this information in a common format across various platforms. Users are not interested in learning different interfaces for each platform they need to use, and the IS
professionals would not be pleased about supporting dissimilar clients.
Exchange client is electronic mail with integrated Groupware packaged in a single application. It provides a common area to collect, manage, and manipulate electronic messages from various dissimilar systems. It will handle the dirty work of delivering
mail to and from various service providers, and provide a consistent interface from the Macintosh to the NT platform. End-users can focus on using the messaging and Groupware functions without any worry about how the information is moved throughout the
system.
This chapter takes a thorough look at the Exchange client application, Universal Inbox, and Schedule Plus client, providing suggestions for client deployment and troubleshooting. The entire installation process will be explained from beginning to end
with suggestions for making the process go smooth. It will also cover tips and techniques for deploying many clients. Because many of you live and work as I do, roving the countryside attending to business and only going by the office once a month, this
chapter discusses the specifics of setting up remote users.
The term Universal Inbox can be found throughout much of Microsoft’s marketing literature, but what does it mean? The term "universal" is defined in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary as "Applicable to everyone or to all
cases." Many computer dictionaries define an Inbox as "A container in which new incoming mail, documents, or information is deposited." If you put these two definitions together, you would get a definition of the Universal Inbox as "A
container applicable to be used by everyone for all kinds of new incoming mail, documents, and information." This may be a very broad definition, but it does correctly explain the Exchange client’s ability to accept messaging information from
various services and deposit it into a single container.
The Universal Inbox is just another container within the folder hierarchy in the Exchange client. It is the central repository for all incoming messages, and can exist in any of the various message stores such as a server-based store or a personal
store. The location of the Inbox used for message delivery is set by accessing the Delivery Properties page from the Options menu selection available in the Tools pull-down menu in the client. From this page, you set which message store to deliver new
messages to, and the selection of a store will automatically create the Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, and Deleted Items folders. See Figure 23.1 for an example of the Delivery Properties page. From this page, you also set the transport service priority for
processing addresses for message delivery.
FIGURE 23.1. Options Delivery Properties page.
The ability to provide a Universal Inbox for messages is possible because of the various MAPI service providers available for the Exchange client. The MAPI support for the Exchange client includes simple MAPI, CMC, OLE, and extended MAPI, which enables
another vendor’s application or service to use different interfaces to the Exchange client. These MAPI messaging service providers are responsible for moving messages, providing address books and storing messages. The three MAPI messaging service
providers are defined as the following:
These messaging services all share a common user interface, the Exchange client. Multiple services of the same type can be installed within the Exchange client, as well as many of different types. For example, you might have a service provider for
Exchange Server, a personal message store, CompuServe, and Internet POP3 all installed, and addresses from each of those services would be available. MAPI is able to utilize each of the service providers for message transport and address list access.
An example of a message store is the personal folders service. This service acts as a repository for user mail, and can be used for message delivery to contain the Universal Inbox. The personal folder service will prompt you to specify a filename for
storing messages in, and the type of encryption to use for the file. Many of you who support MS-Mail 3.x clients today are used to a single file for storing all messages, but Exchange personal stores (*.PST) do not suffer from the compression and
corruption problems that were seen in MMF files in MS-Mail.
The personal address list service is an example of an address book provider, and is used to store addresses created by the user for any transport service. This service creates a file with the extension of ADB, and I encourage you to use the user’s
long name if using Windows 95 or NT. Fortunately, this address book does not capture reply-to recipients like the one included in MS-Mail, so you may add recipients to your personal address book by right-clicking on their names in the message. The personal
address list should be the last address list searched for to resolve names, specified in the Addressing tab in the Options menu. This will ensure that if users have changed their addresses in the global address list, you will not attempt to mail to their
old addresses from your personal list. Consistent updating of a personal address list can reduce problems that arise when another user’s e-mail address changes.
Different service providers are installed in the Exchange client from the Services Properties page, available from the Control Panel or the Tools, Services option from the client. The default services included with the Exchange 4.0 client are Exchange
Server, Microsoft Mail, Personal Folders, and Personal Address Book. Windows 95 clients may also have the Microsoft Fax and MSN services available since they shipped with the operating system. You can add additional services by using the Have Disk option
from the Add new service dialog box. See Figure 23.2 for the Services Properties page in the Exchange client.
FIGURE 23.2. Services Properties page for Configuring Service Providers.
Because service providers are MAPI-based, many third-party vendors have created services to link to their products. A good example of a cross platform provider for exchange is the Lotus Notes 4.0 mail service that enables Exchange to send and receive
mail from the Notes 4.0 client. Service providers are also available for CompuServe, Internet POP3 Mail, CC-Mail, and many others, with new service providers showing up frequently. Many of these providers will only provide the transport and addressing
services, because they do not have MAPI interfaces to their own message stores.
It may be very confusing for your users to figure out which Universal Inbox their mail is being delivered to if they have multiple service providers installed. Inboxes can exist in personal folders, server based stores, and any service that provides the message storage function. For this reason you should rename the Inbox to something like "Inbox for User Name" where user name is the user’s name. This will make it clear which Inbox mail will be delivered to, but still give the users the functionality to switch delivery to another message store of their liking.
This section takes you through the various controls, interfaces, and functions of the Exchange client. Although you may already be familiar with the client interface, you might learn something new this time through. To help us with our tour, Bud Johnson
has agreed to let us watch him as he becomes familiar with his new e-mail client. He will first configure the defaults of the client to his liking, and then familiarize himself with sending, receiving, managing, and replying to messages.
Bud is now finished with his new employee orientation and sits down at his desk to begin his first day of work. He begins by logging on to the network, which runs his system login script for NT. The IS staff has set up a process in the login script that
determines whether users have their Exchange clients set up by looking for the profile file, and will run the NEWPROF.EXE program to generate Bud a new profile. You will learn about this process in a later section entitled Tools and Utilities, so
don’t worry about it here. Bud then clicks on the Inbox icon on his Windows 95 desktop to open his Exchange Inbox for the first time.
Because this is the first time Bud has used Exchange, and he is our fictional "ideal" end-user, he decides to open the Microsoft Exchange help topics from the Help pull-down menu before proceeding to dive into the program itself. This has a
getting-started section that Bud goes through to familiarize himself with Exchange. He will use the online context-sensitive help throughout his tour for information on performing specific functions. The IS staff has also given Bud a cheatsheet that
provides company-specific information about how to operate e-mail’s most basic functions.
Bud decides to first configure the various options for the client to customize specific features to the way he likes to do e-mail. From his cheatsheet, he is instructed to open the Tools menu and select Options to bring up a Properties notebook. This
displays the General Properties page as seen in Figure 23.3. He decides to have the client play a sound and change the pointer to alert him to new mail messages. He also wants to be warned before permanently deleting items, and does not want his
wastebasket to be emptied every time he exits. He is not using multiple profiles, but if he gets a laptop, he will probably use this feature to enable him to connect to the office and his Internet service provider to retrieve mail from each service
separately. The rest of the defaults are acceptable concerning tooltips and word selection, because they enable him to better use his mouse.
FIGURE 23.3. General Properties page for Exchange client options.
Bud now clicks on the Read tab to display the Read Properties page as seen in Figure 23.4. Because he normally starts from the top of his received messages, he selects the option to "Open the item below it" to control the behavior when he
deletes or moves a mail message. He then checks the three selections for replying or forwarding a message, and clicks the font button to select the font used for the original message body. He then changes his mind, and un-checks the selection for closing
the original item when replying or forwarding so that he can keep the original message open to decide what to do with that message.
FIGURE 23.4. Read Properties page.
Moving on to the Send Properties page seen in Figure 23.5, Bud checks the box to make the default to request a receipt when a message has been read. Because this is the default send property, he decides that he can change the sensitivity and importance
level on a per-message basis. He also leaves the selection checked for saving sent items in the send mail folder for message history purposes. He should know that this default will increase the amount of space his mailbox takes up on the server. He will
receive a warning when he is getting close to the storage limit set by IS as explained in Chapter 22, "Administering Exchange Server and Mail," concerning storage limits of information stores.
FIGURE 23.5. Send Properties page.
The Colors Properties page defaults are acceptable to Bud, and he decides not to change them at this time. (Bud is not a typical user, because most of the users I have worked with will spend a large amount of time on this page customizing the colors to
personalize how they view their e-mail.) The best use for color selections is to change the unread and group label colors, because these are the most noticeable for the user. Changing the readbar or readbar text can create some very interesting results on
the "From" line of an open message, but the defaults are much more pleasing to the eye.
Bud now selects the Spelling tab to display the properties options for spell-checking from within the client as seen in Figure 23.6. He does want his messages to be spell-checked before he sends them, and would like Exchange to make suggestions from the
spell-checker dictionary. This keeps Bud from looking bad when he sends that critical e-mail to his boss about his "Goals and plands for teh ew year." He also does not want to take the extra time to spell-check the original contents of a message
replied to, so he makes the appropriate selection on this page.
FIGURE 23.6. Spelling Properties page.
Bud does not know what he needs to configure in the Services Properties page, but he knows from his cheatsheet that it is used for setting various service provider-specific options. If he had his new laptop, he would probably change the properties for
Exchange Server service to support remote functionality, as well as create a set of personal folders to store and archive mail. He decides to reconfigure his Personal Address Book to show last names first, as seen in Figure 23.7. This area will be covered
in more detail later in this chapter.
FIGURE 23.7. Services Properties page with Personal Address Book properties open.
Bud clicks on the Delivery tab to see the properties page for the delivery options (refer to Figure 23.1). From here, he could select an alternate store to deliver mail and create the Universal Inbox, but accepts the default server-based store because
it is currently his only option. The default for how recipient addresses are processed is acceptable, and he would only change it when he added another service provider in the future. If he had additional service providers, such as Internet mail or FAX, he
would prioritize the transports for the ones he would use the most for outbound mail.
Clicking on the Addressing tab gives Bud the options for processing and storing addresses as seen in Figure 23.8. Because he will mostly communicate with users internal to the company, he leaves the default for the first address list seen to the global.
He also accepts to store personal addresses in his personal address book, but could select another if an additional address service provider was installed. To correspond with the selection for the first address book to show, he selects that the global list
will be used before his personal list for checking user names. If he were operating in the field or only sending to a few specific users, he might make his selections favor his personal address lists on this properties page.
FIGURE 23.8. Addressing Properties page.
Bud will be out of the office for the next couple of weeks attending meetings at the company’s headquarters, so he needs to allow his administrative assistant to send mail on his behalf while he is out. He clicks the Add button from the Exchange
Server Service Properties page to select his assistant for the Send on Behalf permission, as seen in Figure 23.9. The default temporary storage space for forms is acceptable, and he could use the Manage Forms button to add or remove forms from his local
machine. The password button could be used to change his Windows NT password, but he will wait until it expires to change it.
FIGURE 23.9. Exchange Server Properties page.
Bud then clicks on the Security tab, which displays a properties page that has most of the selections grayed out, as seen in Figure 23.10. Bud makes a mental note to send a message to the e-mail administrator to set him up for advanced security. This
page enables him to configure secure encryption and digital signatures for all outgoing messages, as well as set up and manage advanced security and the private password used for this feature. He decides that he will specify security options for each
outgoing message, and only needs to get the administrator to create his unique key from the Key Server add-on service.
FIGURE 23.10. Security Properties page.
Bud is now finished customizing his options for the client for the standard properties pages. He now wants to customize the way he views his e-mail from within the client. From the View pull-down menu, he finds selections for Personal Views. These are
the default views included with the client, but he wants an easy way to compare sent and received times for incoming mail from vendors for time-sensitive material. Routinely, vendors report delays in transfer of mail over the Internet, so Bud wants to be
able to easily compare the time the vendors sent the mail, and when the Exchange Server received it.
Bud clicks on the View pull-down menu and then selects the Define Views option, which brings up the Define Views dialog box. He clicks on the New button to define a new view. This brings up the New View Properties page seen in Figure 23.11. He clicks
the Columns button and selects the Sent, Received, From, Importance, and Subject columns. Then he clicks the Sort button to select the column to sort by the sent time and decides that he does not need to group the messages in the view. He finishes the
definition by typing in a name such as "Compare Sent and Received Times" for the view and clicks on OK. Now this view is available for his Inbox from the Personal Views selection, and can be used to view information in any of the folders. Folders
will remember which view was last assigned to them, and child folders will not inherit the view of parent folders.
FIGURE 23.11. New View definition dialog box.
Bud decides that just putting in a new view is not enough, he needs to be able to separate mail from vendors due to the volume of mail he expects to receive from inside the company. He reads on his cheatsheet about the procedures for setting up a
private folder with Inbox Assistant rules, and decides that this will get the job done. The cheatsheet reminds him that he must create the folder on his server-based mailbox for the Inbox Assistant to work while he is off-line, and must use properties that
Exchange Server can enumerate when he is not connected.
Bud first needs to create a new folder beneath his server-based message store. This is done by selecting the New Folder option from the File pull-down menu, then entering a name for the folder such as Vendor Mail. Then he opens the properties for the
newly created folder and defines the views he needs, just as he did for the Inbox. At this time, he does not need any electronic forms, so he is finished setting up the folder. He could have created a local folder for this purpose, but then incoming mail
could not be moved to those folders since they are not available when the user is not connected. If he used local personal folders on his hard drive, the Inbox Assistant would only move mail there when that message store was available.
He now needs to set up an Inbox Assistant rule to move incoming mail to the folder just created. This is done by selecting the Inbox Assistant option from the Tools pull-down menu, which brings up the dialog box in Figure 23.12. This configuration
screen enables Bud to view, add, edit, remove, and disable the various rules active on his mailbox. He now clicks the Add Rule button to view the configuration screen in Figure 23.13.
FIGURE 23.12. Rule configuration page for conditions and actions.
FIGURE 23.13. Options available when viewing a message.
Bud sets the condition for this new rule to select any messages that have senders from the server-based distribution list named "Finance Vendors." He had one of the Exchange administrators create this distribution list, and make him the owner
so that he could maintain the members. Next, he selects the checkbox to move the messages and then selects the folder created in the previous step. This rule will fire for any incoming mail that is sent from vendors in the distribution list and will move
the message to the folder named "Vendor Mail."
If Bud had selected a public folder to move the messages to in the previous example, the rule would create a deferred action message (DAM) that would only be processes when Bud is logged on. This is because the rule engine is not able to logon as the user, and can only process the move message action if it is in the user’s server message store. This deferred action may be acceptable for simple filing, but is not good for critical events. For any critical notification events that need to go to public folders, make the action foreword the message to the intended public folder. This will require you to add the folder to your personal address book, since by default for public folders is to be hidden from the global address book.
Now that Bud has his mail client customized and Inbox Assistants set up to parse incoming mail, he decides to read and send some mail. From the main client window, he can click on his Inbox and view the messages by any of the custom views. The normal
view is the best for viewing incoming mail, because it is sorted by date and has many pertinent fields displayed. When viewing a message, the toolbar has icons to Print, Move, Delete, Reply to, and Forward the message, with navigational buttons to move to
the previous and next messages. See Figure 23.13 for the options available when viewing a message.
Bud can compose a new message by either selecting the New Message option from the compose pull-down menu, or by clicking on the icon from the toolbar. This will bring up the New Message window, which displays the most common fields within a message. Bud
would like to send a message to a co-worker and a blind carbon copy to his boss, but the field is not available. He only needs to select the Bcc Box option from the View pull-down menu. He also makes the selection to display the toolbar from the View
pull-down menu, and chooses not to display the From box because he will not be sending mail on behalf of anybody else. See Figure 23.14 for an example of the New Message composition window.
FIGURE 23.14. New Message window.
Bud has finished reading and sending all the messages for today and needs to get ready to catch a two-o'clock plane flight for a two-day trip to headquarters. Because he will be out of the office, he decides to set up an Out of Office Assistant to reply
to any messages sent to him. He selects the Out of Office Assistant option from the Tools pull-down menu and sees the configuration window shown in Figure 23.15. He types in text for his auto reply, and then sets up a rule to foreword all important mail to
his alphanumeric pager through a third-party paging connector, as well as copy his administrator on important messages. After shutting down and logging off, he races to catch his plane.
FIGURE 23.15. Out of Office Assistant configuration page.
The Exchange client is designed to manage messages, and the Schedule Plus client is designed to manage schedules, contacts and projects. Meetings and appointments are a way of business, and managing them is one of the biggest challenges that face users.
Not only is managing your schedule a task, but trying to coordinate the schedules of others can be a nightmare. The pace of business does not allow the time needed for phone tag, so group coordination and project tracking software is needed.
The Schedule Plus client is an Exchange MAPI-based application that utilizes the power of the Exchange Server platform to share information about a user’s time and tasks. Simple in presentation, the design is built to manage a user’s schedule
and provide a link to the free and busy times of others. The user interface of the Schedule Plus application is designed around a paper planner look, and it is based on earlier versions of the product. See Figure 23.16 for the highlights of the Schedule
Plus client interface.
FIGURE 23.16. Schedule+ client interface highlights.
The Schedule Plus client uses tabs to navigate between the different client functions. The tab gallery enables the user to customize the tabs that are seen in the main interface window. Selecting any of the tabs will display that information in the main
window. The default tabs are for daily, weekly, and monthly calendars, the planner, the To Do list, and contacts. The tabs display information for six different Schedule Plus components:
The client can operate in one of two modes, standalone or group-enabled. In the standalone mode, the client can be used to schedule and manage time for a single user, as well as use the contact and planning management functions. When the client first
starts up, it is in standalone mode and will prompt users as to whether they want to use an existing file or create a new one. They can use existing Schedule Plus files from earlier versions, but they will need to create a new file if they want to import
data from another application.
In the group-enabled mode, the user is also prompted to create a new or use an existing file, but the application has determined that a MAPI-based messaging system is available. One of three MAPI messaging systems are needed for this mode: a workgroup
post office, an MS-Mail or MAPI 1.0 post office, or a Microsoft Exchange Server. In the group-enabled mode, users can invite attendees to appointments, view others' schedules with appropriate permissions, work with custom electronic forms, and send
messages. Because the client primarily works from the local file and synchronizes with the server, it is easy on your network bandwidth and works well in remote mode.
To properly support many user’s schedules in a large organization, the Schedule Plus Free/Busy public folder must be replicated. All the user's free and busy time is stored within the user's information store and a hidden public folder that is
created on the first server within a site. The free/busy folder can be accessed by other sites only if RPC connectivity is available; otherwise, the folder must be replicated. The Schedule Plus connector can exchange free/busy times with earlier Schedule
Plus 1.0 distribution programs by a distribution list set up by administrators. This connector is explained further in Chapter 24, "Interfacing with Other Mail Systems."
Users can also access another user's Schedule Plus information directly if that other user has given them the appropriate permissions. This can be done by opening another’s address book from the file menu or by right-clicking in the planner. This
differs from free/busy times in that one user is accessing another user's data directly, and in much more detail.
The Exchange Schedule Plus client is sensitive to scheduling across time zones. In the Time Zone Properties page under Tools/Options, you can set a secondary time zone. This enables the user to select the "Second Time Zone" option when scheduling an appointment or viewing scheduled data. Any appointment or invitation that crosses a time zone boundary will be automatically converted into the appropriate time for the destination zone. This feature is dependent on the operating system’s time zone information to be setup correctly, and in the Windows 3.1 platform the Exchange client includes an interface to setup the time zone.
The configuration parameters for the Schedule Plus client are found beneath the property pages from the Tools, Options menu selection. These pages include properties for General, Default, Display, Time Zone, and Synchronize options. The General page has
options to customize the calendar, archive data periodically, enable a resource account, configure reminders or alarms, and configure meeting request behavior. The Default page contains properties for setting the default values for such things as
reminders, priorities, and phone numbers. The Display page affects the fonts and colors for the user interface and controls what items are shown. The Time Zone page enables the user to set the primary and secondary time zones for appointment time
management. The Synchronize page controls when to synchronize and whether the application should work primarily from the local file.
Getting your Exchange Server installed and configured is not as time-consuming as the task of deploying the client application to the user desktops. Installing new software on any user’s machine can stir up all kinds of problems that are waiting to
be brought to light. The setup process for the client software does perform many checks on the system to make sure it is ready for installation, but normal system maintenance is necessary before any software install. Because the Exchange client install
process uses the Microsoft ACME setup process, the setup screens are similar for each of the platforms. Before deciding to install the client on a workstation, please refer to the requirements listed in Chapter 21, "Installing
Exchange Server and Mail."
Before you perform any install of new software, thoroughly test the machine. This includes running the chkdsk or scandisk programs, defragging the hard drive, deleting temporary files, and tuning the network resources. A little time on the front end of
an install can prevent downtime during a deployment that can be caused by general corruption or system problems. Just as your car needs its oil changed and tires rotated, workstations need preventative maintenance performed on a routine basis.
You should also understand the impact this new application will have on the user’s workstations. For instance, the Windows 3.x platform has never been known for its capability of multitasking more than a few applications. Do not expect
Windows 3.x to allow your users to have the Exchange client, a word processor, terminal emulation, screen saver, spreadsheet application, and a client-server application all running at once. It just exceeds the capacity of the Windows 3.x operating
system. Windows NT, Windows 95, and the Macintosh client are much better for multitasking multiple applications, so you may need to put together a plan to upgrade the operating systems on the desktops before deploying the Exchange client.
Another misconception concerning applications is that you can save space and resources by installing a network shared version. Exchange client does support both local and shared network options for the installation, but consider putting the client
locally on every desktop. A shared network installation will only eat up your networking resources and prove to be a headache for the administrators in the long run. Maintenance upgrades and service packs can be handled by mailing the users the update
program in a scripted format so that each users can do the upgrades themselves, thus reducing your support costs. Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) is also a good solution for automated deployment of the Exchange client to user’s workstations.
Consider these options in your implementation plan.
As with every installation of a new application, you should perform a few dozen installs yourself to get familiar with the process. This section will take you through the install process from beginning to end, and suggest various tips along the way. If
you are preparing to deploy many clients, skip to the next two sections before reading this section. They will familiarize you with the tools and concepts that should be considered before rolling out many desktops. This section assumes that you are
installing a version for the Windows family of operating systems; the MS-DOS and Macintosh setups are not covered.
The client applications are located on a separate CD-ROM included in your Exchange Server package. You should run the setup program located in the specific language directory, such as ENG for English, to create the installation share on the server and
move the client software to that share. The share that is created is named Exchange and has subdirectories for each client platform, such as win16, win95, and winnt\i386 winnt\alpha and winnt\MIPS. Each directory contains the ACME setup program, the setup
script, and the CAB files containing the files for installation. You may also opt to install the client from the CD-ROM, but the server-based share is the best method because it gives better speed and customization.
Once you have the installation share created, go to the user’s workstation and attach to the Exchange share, or the appropriate NetWare volume. Begin the setup program, SETUP.EXE, from the appropriate directory for the installed operating system.
There should be no other applications running during the install process because they may hold open critical files, and the system may need to be rebooted after the install. You may want to reboot before the install if any MAPI applications are currently
running, or if you suspect that some DLLs may be open that need to be replaced by the install process.
The first dialog box you will see will prompt you for the user and organization names. It will attempt to fill in this information from the local configuration data, such as the WIN.INI file or the registry. You may want to enter the user’s
Exchange alias for the name field since it will be very useful later when the profile is generated. Click on OK and then confirm your entry with another click on OK. The system will now begin to search for installed applications and running applications
before proceeding. You might receive an informational message if applications are running that might conflict with the install, so just close them and click on OK to proceed.
If the installation detects an existing version of the Exchange client, it will give you only the options for adding/removing, reinstalling, or removing all the Exchange components from the previous install, as seen in Figure 23.17. If you have an
existing version installed, I recommend that you use the Reinstall feature, because it will enable you to verify that the proper components are installed. If you are upgrading from the Windows 95 "Lite" version of the Exchange client that shipped
with Windows 95, the installation process advises you that it has found that version and will replace all related files .
FIGURE 22.17. Options page displayed if a previous version exists.
Next, you will be prompted for the location to install the client software. The default on the Windows 95 version is "\Program Files\Microsoft Exchange"; the Windows NT and Windows 3.x versions default to "\Exchange". I
suggest that you accept the default location unless you have a company standard that specifies that applications are installed in a specific directory. Click on OK to accept the directory location, and the install will proceed to the installation type
screen.
The installation type screen has options for typical, custom, and laptop, as seen in Figure 22.18. You may also have a selection for workstation if you are running from a shared network setup. The typical selection will install the options for a typical
user, such as the Exchange client, Schedule Plus, Exchange Server service, and a few of the optional components. The Custom install type enables you or the user to select which components will be installed, and I recommend that you use this one for the
first few installs. The Laptop selection will install the minimum files necessary to run the Exchange client, and does not select any of the optional components. The directory where the application will be installed is also listed at the bottom of this
screen and can be changed by clicking on the Change Folder button.
FIGURE 22.18. Installation types.
If you select either the typical or laptop installation types, the setup process will proceed to the next step. Let's assume that you selected the custom install type, as you should; you will see the screen shown in Figure 22.19. You can select the
Change Option button while highlighting a component to make selections for the components that make up that selection. The Exchange client has additional options for information services, and, by default, the Microsoft Mail service will not be selected
unless you modified the setup script. Make your selections and click on the continue button to proceed.
FIGURE 22.19. Custom Installation Options list.
If you are running the Windows 3.x or Windows NT version of the setup, you will be prompted for a program group in which to place the icons for the installed applications; accept the default and continue. For Windows 95 the icons for the Inbox
and Schedule Plus are placed on the Programs selection from the Start button. The setup process will then check for the necessary disk space for the options selected, and copy the files to your local hard drive based upon those selections. If you have any
applications open that the setup process was not able to detect, you may receive an error message that setup cannot write to a file because it is open. Close all open applications and click on the retry button to proceed.
The end of the installation process will be different for each operating system platform, and it may differ based upon previous installations. For the Windows 16-bit client, you will see the Time Zone setup screen, because this platform does not
natively support time zones which the Exchange client requires. The windows NT version will complete with only an informational message that setup is complete with an OK button. The Windows 95 version will either end at the same informational screen if you
already have a default profile, or prompt you for configuration parameters for the Exchange Server service provider for a default profile if one does not exist. You should either configure the properties now or click on Cancel to set them up later.
Depending on which system files were replaced, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
Now that the Exchange and Schedule Plus applications are installed, all that remains is to configure the default user profile. To begin this process, click on the Inbox icon, which is located on the desktop for Windows 95 and in an Exchange program
group for Win 3.x and Windows NT. This will bring up the Inbox Setup Wizard, which will have different service providers listed depending on the platform on which the client is running. See Figure 23.20 for the services Setup Wizard dialog box. You
can also select to manually configure the services, although this method is recommended for advanced users.
FIGURE 23.20. Inbox Setup Wizard services dialog box.
Click on the Next button and you will see the Exchange Server Service properties window. Enter the server name of any Exchange Server within the site, and enter either the display name or alias for the user in the mailbox field. An example of this setup
screen can be seen in Figure 20.21 with information for Bud Johnson. It is imperative that you type the name for the mailbox field with the correct spelling and case, because it will be matched up to an entry in the directory on the specified Exchange
Server. You can enter the name of any server that has replicated information about the user, because it will be matched to the user’s home server by the directory service running on that server.
FIGURE 23.21. Information services configuration for Inbox Setup Wizard.
Next, you are prompted to specify whether the user will travel with this computer. If you select the NO option, an off-line message store will not be created and the user must connect to Exchange Server to process messages. The YES option will create a
default off-line store named mailbox.ost in the directory that Windows was installed in for synchronization and temporary storage purposes. Make the appropriate selection and click on the Next button to continue.
If you do not want the off-line store to be created in the directory windows was installed in select the NO option. Once you have completed the setup of the default profile, you can open the Exchange Server service properties and click on the "Off-line Folder File Settings" button from the Advanced Properties page, which will prompt you for the location of the off-line store file. You should also name the file specific to the user’s name in case other users may use this workstation.
You will now see the default filename and location of the user’s personal address book, c:\Exchange\mailbox.pab. I suggest that you override the filename and make it specific to the user. In the Windows 3.x client, the filename is limited by
the 8.3 naming limitation, but for Windows 95 Macintosh and Windows NT platforms use the user’s full name. This helps keep the personal address book specific to the user, and if other users decide to use the machine, they will not default to the
address book of the local user. Click on the Next button and you will see a selection to add the Inbox to the startup group, so make a selection based on company standards or the user’s preferences. Click on the Next button, then on the Finish button
to complete the process.
The Exchange client should start up and may default to a view that does not include the folders window. Just select the Folders option from the View menu to turn on the folders window. If you did not receive any error messages, you are finished with the
installation and configuration of the user’s Exchange client. If you received any setup or error messages, proceed to the troubleshooting section later in this chapter.
The installation process outlined previously has many options and configuration parameters that would drive up installation and support costs for a large installation of clients. Microsoft has included a number of tools to assist in standardizing and
scripting the installation and configuration processes to keep those costs down. The client setup editor is used to change the default installation options, and it will prove to be a very valuable tool for support professionals. The NEWPROF.EXE utility can
generate default user profiles based on a default preferences file (default.prf) that the administrators configured with the client setup editor. These utilities are critical to large deployments of Exchange clients, because they reduce the time it takes
to get them installed and enable the users to correctly set up the application for their use.
The client setup editor is an application that is installed and run from any Exchange Server, and it will modify the default profile and set up script information for the Windows-based clients. Start the application from the program group on Exchange
Server; you will see the screen shown in Figure 23.22. You should first select the client installation point from the File pull-down menu by specifying where the client application source files are for a platform. For example, select the win16 directory on
the Exchange share to edit the options for the Windows 3.x 16-bit client.
FIGURE 23.22. Dial-Up Networking Properties page.
When you select to modify the setup program options from the File menu, a new exchng.stf file is created, and the original is backed up in a directory named BAK. This option enables you to control the following default setup options:
The User Options selection from the File pull-down menu is used to set the default user options stored in the file DEFAULT.PRF. This file is used by the Exchange Inbox Wizard to set the various properties for the configuration pages available under the
Tools, Options selection. It sets information for the General, Read, Send, Spelling and Home Server Properties pages. It can also be used by the NEWPROF.EXE tool to generate a default profile for the user’s settings of the Exchange client. The file
DEFAULT.PRF is a simple text file and can be edited manually instead of using the setup editor.
The utility NEWPROF.EXE is the automatic profile generator, and can be very helpful if you are responsible for setting up default profiles for many users. Administrators customize the file DEFAULT.PRF via the setup editor, or by hand, and place the file
in the server-based install directory used to install the clients. After the client installation, users can run the profile generator from the command line to auto-create their default profiles. A better solution is to set up the user’s login script
to test for the existence of a default profile, and if one is not found, it can launch the NEWPROF.EXE utility to create one. You can also use SMS to launch this process just after the client is installed, and with a little work can send status MIF files
back to SMS to report success or failure.
Where does the utility NEWPROF.EXE get the user’s name from to setup the default profile? There is a line in the default.prf file for "MailboxName =", but this would require a customized version of the file for every user. Remember that I suggested that you type in the user’s name in the name and organization dialog box just as it appears in the directory. This is because the newprof utility will try to use the ACME setup information from the registry or WIN.INI file to retrieve the user’s name. You can change the default mailbox name to something like "Lastname, Firstname REPLACEME" so users will not become confused if they cannot connect to their server.
If you are getting ready to deploy an exchange messaging system in your organization, you should consider the time necessary to configure and install the client. A typical installation process is about 30 minutes, with possible additional time necessary
for problem management. There are utilities and applications that can assist with deploying the client applications in different levels of automation. These include, but are not limited to, Systems Management Server (SMS) and WINInstall.
SMS is a Microsoft systems management solution that is very strong at managing and tracking software deployment. The Exchange client CD includes package definition files (PDF) that can be imported directly into SMS and used to script the installation of
the client software. A better solution is to use a product such as WINInstall to perform the scripting of the installation, and use SMS to deliver it to the user desktops. The WINInstall product has pre- and post-installation options that enable you to
automatically run scandisk processes before the installation, and it can also run the NEWPROF.EXE profile generator after the installation to setup the default profile. The combination of these two products will help your Exchange client deployment go much
smoother.
I cannot stress enough the importance of making sure your users receive training on the product before you install it on their desktop. E-mail is not like a word processor or spreadsheet application; users depend heavily on messaging and Groupware to
get their jobs done. If I had to pick between a thousand users who could not print and a thousand users who could not get into their e-mail, I would always pick the printing situation. If you deploy a new messaging system without properly training the user
community, you are asking to drive your support costs higher than by providing simple training. It is also much easier to install and configure Exchange client on a user’s desktop while the user is attending a two-hour training class, which should pay
for itself after only a few installs.
In any large deployment, you should expect new problems to show up because if it is built by man, it is broke by man. It is nearly impossible to foresee every problem, especially in the larger and more diverse companies. Have a SWAT team on hand to
handle the major disturbances, and in their spare time they can work on smaller issues or develop new solutions. Use some of the features within exchange, such as the help desk application and an anonymous suggestion folder to get feedback from the users.
Remember, they are a very important part of making the deployment process successful.
Mobile users are an interesting bunch, roving from place to place, always in search of a reliable phone line. Their needs are much different from a LAN-connected user, because they only make periodic connections, and need to have the ability to do their
work off-line. They must make slow-link connections by modem to the Exchange Server, and may still require access to LAN resources other than e-mail. The Exchange Server solution has many features designed to specifically support these types of users, such
as synchronization, off-line message stores, remote access software, connection scheduling, and selective message retrieval. This section will outline the features and support options for these road warriors.
The most important prerequisite for supporting remote users is the method used to provide remote access. This can range from the RAS included with Windows NT server to a third-party solution such as Shiva or comparable remote LAN node (RLN) solution.
This discussion focuses on the RAS server solution built into the NT server, and the client remote access software included in the operating system or the Exchange client. If you are already using a third-party solution for RLN support today, you should be
able to capitalize on that investment. Many of the remote access vendors have worked out the details of enabling Microsoft’s clients to dial in and connect to their solutions. You should consult with your remote access vendor to work out the specifics
to enable your Exchange clients to make reliable connections to their products.
The mailboxes that are created for remote users are identical to those of LAN-connected users. The synchronization and off-line access features are built into the client and only require RPC connectivity to Exchange Server to work correctly. You need to
set up the off-line address book on Exchange Server so that it is rebuilt on a regular basis. This is done from the Exchange administration program from the Site Directory Configuration object. You set which recipient container, such as the global address
list, will be used for the off-line address book, and the times that it is rebuilt. This step is critical to providing reliable address information for the remote users when they are working in off-line mode.
The RAS server need not be installed on the same computer that Exchange Server is running on, although you will get slightly better performance and reliability if they are on the same server. Make sure to allocate an adequate number of modems to support
the number of remote users, including those that will not be using the Exchange client. A very rough ratio is to have one modem for every 25 remote users, but this will depend on the frequency and connect times of your particular user community. A typical
client makes a connection to upload and download a batch of messages, then reconnects to transfer the responses to those messages fairly quickly. You can use the performance monitor utility included with NT server to monitor how busy your RAS modems are
and make adjustments as necessary. Large organizations need many RAS servers located throughout the corporate WAN, because the RAS server supports up to 256 modems and you probably do not want to pay a large phone bill each month.
Each platform that the Exchange client runs on needs remote access client software to be able to connect to the dial-in server. Table 23.1 lists the dial-up networking solutions to support remote Exchange clients.
| Client Platform | Remote Access Solution |
| Windows NT client | Microsoft remote access service included in the OS |
| Windows 95 client | Microsoft Dial-up Networking included in the OS |
| Windows 3.x client | Shiva Remote software included with Exchange client |
| MS-DOS client | Shiva Remote software included with Exchange client |
| Macintosh | AppleTalk Remote Access (ARA) included with the OS |
The Exchange client is integrated with the dial-up networking software to allow scheduled and user-initiated connections. There are two properties pages available in the Windows versions of the Exchange client that enable configuration of remote
message transfer. The Dial-up networking page, seen in Figure 23.22, enables the creation and selection of a dial-up connection, with fields for the username, password, and NT domain for uninterrupted background connections. The Remote Mail Properties
page, seen in Figure 23.23, enables the user to configure the remote mail filters and message retrieval, and schedule periodic connections with or without filters.
FIGURE 23.23. Remote Mail Properties page.
The Exchange client has two basic modes of operation: batch mode connections and a continuous connection. Users operating in batch mode have a local message store or Inbox, a copy of the off-line global address book, and any synchronized folders. Catch
connections can be scheduled and/or user-initiated to initiate two-way mail transfer. The user can initiate remote mail transfer by one of three ways:
Only the remote mail option enables the user to look over the message headers before selecting messages to download. This screen will also enable the user to request a copy of the message or delete the message from the server. Information about the
messages, such as estimated message retrieval time, importance, attachments, and message size, enable the user to make quick decisions on which messages to retrieve in this session. See Figure 23.24 for an example of the remote mail window.
FIGURE 23.24. Remote Mail window.
In a continuous connection, users will still have local message stores and a off-line address book, but will establish a connection to the remote network through the dial-in software to operate as if they were LAN-attached. This method enables user
access to public folders and the capability of workgroup scheduling, but is the least reliable and efficient. The batch mode of operation is optimized to address the issues associated with slow-links, such as error recovery and bypassing large messages.
Because mobile users will eventually come into the office and connect to the LAN directly, they will then be able to access public folders, electronic forms, and Groupware applications.
The Exchange client software is modular in design, so logic tells us that it should be easier to take apart to troubleshoot problems. You could remove and reconfigure a service provider or change the binding order of the network protocols to track down
the source of slow access. Elimination of the client components that are working correctly will help narrow your search for the root cause of a problem. Many client-related problems can be broken down into one or more of these areas:
The connection between the Exchange client and Exchange Server must support synchronous RPC connectivity for messages to flow correctly. Many times, this connectivity will suffer from limitations of the protocols used or physical network outages.
Because RPCs are protocol-independent, they can be carried on protocols such as TCP/IP, SPX, Banyan Vines TCP, or NetBEUI and interfaces such as NetBIOS, Named Pipes, and local RPC. The client will search these protocol and interface bindings until it can
make a connection with Exchange Server.
The RPC binding order can be established in the client setup editor before you install the clients or modified later in the client’s configuration files. For Windows 95 and NT, this value is stored in the registry hive
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Exchange Provider\Rpc_Binding_order, and on Windows 16-bit clients, it is in the INI file named Exchange.ini. If you are troubleshooting slow startup problems with a client, remove all unnecessary protocols from this list,
making sure to put the actual protocol used to connect to the server at the front of the list.
Each of the Network protocols for RPC connectivity requires that specific features or options be enabled. Use the RPC Ping utility shipped with Exchange Server to test connectivity between the clients and the server. The following are the basic
requirements for each protocol for connectivity to the server:
Physical network issues can also create problems for the client’s connection to the server. Ethernet collision storms or Token Ring purges can disconnect the virtual circuit connection between client and server. Normal levels of physical network
problems will not hurt the client’s connection, but excessive numbers may delay message transfers. Use a network-based sniffer to track down these types of problems. Normally, if you are having physical problems. the Exchange client will be the last
application to show problems, because it is designed to operate over relatively slow-links.
Security- and permissions-related problems will be very easy to find, but it might be challenging to find the root cause. Commonly, users will use a co-worker's workstation to access their mailboxes. They will receive error messages that they do not
have access to their folders, but because there is no indication as to what user account it is logged on, they may call the help desk. If the workstation is not logged onto the network, the Exchange client will prompt the user for their account information
to authenticate to the NT domain.
Frequently, users will set up their workstations for autologon to a domain such as in WFW 3.1 or Windows 95. This may use an account that differs from the owner of a mailbox, and other users will not be able to access their mailboxes. Because they
perceive that they are logging onto the network with one account and password, but they are actually using another, it may be a challenge to determine that this is a security problem.
Permissions problems can also arise as users start to use public folders. When you create a public folder, it inherits the client access permissions from the parent folder, but subsequent changes to the parent folder will not change the permissions on
the subfolders. This may enable a user to access a folder that they should not be able to or keep them from getting to a public folder of which they seem to be the owner. Remember that permissions to public folders are not recursive, so any changes will
need to be done on each individual folder.
Exchange supports various message types, and it may be confusing when those address types are similar for installed service providers. For instance, if a user has two profiles defined, with one having access to an Internet POP3 mail server and the other
having access to an Exchange Server, this will load two address types for creating personal address list entries. If the user is connected to the POP3 server and created a new address of type Internet Mail Address, that address type will be unavailable
when using the profile that connects only to Exchange Server. If the user attempted to send mail to that personal address when using Exchange Server-only profile, the message will stay in the Outbox when other messages are sent correctly. The user can see
an Internet Mail address type available under Exchange Server profile, but this is mutually exclusive to the address created under the Internet Mail service provider.
Message transfer problems are usually caused by permissions or network transport problems, but they can be related to addressing problems. For instance, if you send a piece of Internet mail through the Exchange Server service provider and receive a
message back stating No transport provider available, you might be inclined to try to troubleshoot the client. If you trace the message through the system, you will find that it got to the MTA on the Exchange Server that rejected it. This error message
means that you forgot to create an address type of SMTP on the Site Addressing Properties page of the IMC, meaning that no transport is able to process that address type.
Troubleshooting system resource problems is a very delicate matter, because most users do not like to hear that their workstations are inadequate for running a particular program. Most symptoms of resource-related problems include excessive disk
thrashing, low memory messages, extraordinarily long program startup times, and user complaints of systems getting slower over time. At some point, that 486/25 with 4M of RAM and a 120M hard drive will just not be able to run the latest software such as
Exchange client.
System resource problems are not limited to just hardware, because software has a limited amount of resources for things such as the system and user memory stack space. This is best represented by a workstation running Windows 3.x with 16M of
memory reporting that the system is out of memory, even though two applications are running using only 4M of RAM. You can recover system resources by eliminating unnecessary fonts, simplifying your screen saver, turning off those cute sounds, eliminating
TSRs, and turning off any features that are not necessary to do business.
The Exchange client requires a good amount of memory to provide MAPI services to itself and other applications, and may require an increase to system memory. For those of you out there that just decided an Exchange deployment is not in your budget
because of the memory requirement, quit trying to find a memory scapegoat. It is widely accepted that 12–16M of RAM is the minimum standard for workstations to support today’s business applications. Go ahead and make the investment now to support
your business requirements in the future. I may seem harsh when presenting the argument for upgrading the workstation’s memory; however, I cannot tell you how many times a customer has spent $300–400 in service for me to troubleshoot a system,
just to have me come back and tell them to buy a couple hundred dollars of memory to fix the problem.
Having participated in many beta programs for Microsoft products, I can tell you I have seen my share of weird bugs. When looking into a client problem, do not rule out the possibility that you have found a new bug, or that the user is looking for a
feature that is not available. Use another workstation to reproduce the steps to create the problem, and if you can get more than three or four machines to exhibit the problem, you may have discovered a bug. Make sure to call Microsoft product support
services if you suspect a software bug, because you will not have to pay for the call if a new bug is documented.
There are many resources available to help you determine whether the problem you are having is a known bug or whether a feature is currently available in the Exchange client. I suggest that you use the Microsoft Technet technical CD-ROM or visit the
knowledge base on the Web site for your research. Finding information in the knowledge base on Exchange can be tricky due to the way the search engine finds and lists hits for your searches. For this reason, I suggest that you read Qnote article #140950
for assistance on using specific keywords to narrow your search. The online books included with Exchange Server can also be helpful for finding out whether a specific feature is available.
The most important part of a messaging system, from the user’s perspective, is the client application. It must enable them to traverse through mountains of messaging data and deliver reliable message handling with stellar performance. The Exchange
messaging clients, Universal Inbox and Schedule Plus, are designed to meet these needs. The Universal Inbox enables messages from a multiple of sources to be delivered to a single location, without the user needing to know just how they got there.
This chapter discussed the installation process for the Exchange client and utilities that can help to automate and distribute the client to the user’s workstations. The client setup editor and auto profile generator make it easier for
administrators to standardize and configure the various Exchange clients. Other systems management and installation applications can be used to deploy the Exchange client, such as SMS and WINInstall.
The Exchange client is designed to let users manage messaging information and collaborate on group projects through public folders and electronic forms. The group scheduling features of the Schedule Plus client enable many users to share information
about their meetings and appointments. The Exchange client solution has built-in features to support remote users, such as off-line folders and address books, integration with dial-up remote access client software, remote mail batching and filtering, and
selective download of messages by the user or an automated process.
The next chapter explores how the Exchange messaging system integrates with other mail systems. Migration and coexistence issues are discussed in detail, with explanations of the methods used for the most popular e-mail systems. Features of the various tools and system source extractors are explained, with examples of how to use them to migrate.
