SUMMARY
This article contains information about the new features and
the new functionalities that are included in Exchange Server 2003, and it lists
the requirements and the dependencies for each of these features. Exchange
Server 2003 runs on either Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or on Microsoft
Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later. Exchange Server 2003 is
optimized to run on Windows Server 2003; several new features in Exchange
Server 2003 require Windows Server 2003.
back to the topExchange Server 2003 Standard Edition and Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Exchange Server 2003 is available in the following editions:
- Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
- Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Note You cannot perform an in-place upgrade to Exchange Server 2003
Standard Edition from Exchange 2000 Enterprise Edition.
To view a
comparison of the features that are included in Exchange Server 2003 Standard
Edition and Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, visit the following
Microsoft Web site:
To view a comparison of the features of Exchange Server 2003, of
Exchange 2000 Server, and of Exchange Server 5.5, visit the following Microsoft
Web site:
back to the topUpgrade and Installation: Exchange Server 2003 Requirements
You can run Exchange Server 2003 on the following operating
systems:
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 3 (SP3) and
later
If your environment contains Windows 2000 domain controllers
and global catalog servers, the domain controllers and the global catalog
servers that Exchange Server 2003 uses must be running either Windows 2000 SP3
or Windows Server 2003.
Note the following installation and upgrade
considerations:
- Although Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 2
(SP2) or later is supported in an environment with Windows Server 2003 domain
controllers and global catalog servers, Exchange Server 2003 is the first
version of Exchange that is supported on computers that are running Windows
Server 2003. Exchange 2000 is not supported on Windows Server 2003. In a
situation where you run Exchange 2000 on a Windows 2000-based computer and you
want to upgrade the operating system to Windows Server 2003, you must first
upgrade Exchange 2000 to Exchange Server 2003. You can then upgrade Windows
2000 to Windows Server 2003.
- You must upgrade Active Directory Connectors (ADCs) to the
version of ADC that is included in Exchange Server 2003 before you can install
the first Exchange Server 2003 server in your organization. The installation of
the first Exchange Server 2003 ADC increments all connection agreement version
numbers that are hosted on the server.
- For front-end and back-end servers in the same
administrative group, you must upgrade the front-end servers to Exchange Server
2003 before you upgrade the back-end server to Exchange Server 2003 (or install
Exchange Server 2003 on the back-end server).
- Exchange Server 2003 can coexist with Exchange 2000.
Exchange Server 2003 can also coexist with Exchange Server 5.5 when you are
running in Exchange mixed mode. You can perform an in-place upgrade from
Exchange 2000 to Exchange Server 2003; however, an in-place upgrade from
Exchange 5.5 to Exchange Server 2003 is not supported.
For more information about Exchange Server compatibility with
Windows Server operating systems, see the "Microsoft Exchange Server
Compatibility with Microsoft Windows Server Operating Systems" white paper. To
view this white paper, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
For more information about the operating
system and Microsoft Active Directory directory service requirements for
Exchange Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
822179
Overview of operating system and Active Directory requirements for Exchange Server 2003
For more information about system requirements for
Exchange Server 2003, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
back to the
topBenefits of Running Exchange Server 2003 on Windows Server 2003
Exchange Server 2003 runs on the following Windows Server 2003
operating systems:
- Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
- Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
- Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition
The following list contains information about the benefits of
running Exchange Server 2003 on Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition and
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition:
Exchange Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
The benefits of running Exchange Server 2003 on Windows Server
2003 Standard Edition are listed as follows:
- Memory tuning
- /3GB switch
- /Userva switch
- Processor support
- Support for four-way Pentium 4 (P4) Xeon
(hyperthreaded) processors
- Features support
- Database backup by the Volume Shadow Copy
service
- Support for compression in Microsoft Outlook Web Access
(OWA)
- Remote procedure call (RPC) over HTTP support in
Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
- IPSec support between front-end server and back-end
clusters running Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
- Support for Microsoft Internet Information Services
(IIS) in dedicated mode.
back to the
topExchange Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
The benefits of running Exchange Server 2003 on Windows Server
2003 Enterprise Edition include the benefits listed earlier for Windows Server
Standard Edition in addition to the following benefits:
- Processor support
- Support for eight-way Pentium III (PIII) Xeon
Processors
- Support for eight-way P4 Xeon MP (hyperthreaded)
processors
- Clustering
- Support for two-node, four-node, or eight-node
clustering
- Mount point support
To view a comparison of features when you run Exchange Server
2003 on Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server, visit the following
Microsoft Web site:
back to the
topList of Features
The following section contains information about new features of
Exchange Server 2003 and describes the requirements or dependences for each of
the features. It also contains information about some features in Exchange 2000
that are not available in Exchange Server 2003.
Active Directory
Exchange Server 2003 runs in the following Active Directory
environments:
- Windows 2000 mixed-mode domains
- Windows 2000 native mode domains
- Mixed Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003
domains
- Windows Server 2003 domains
- Windows Server 2003 native-mode forest
Use of Active Directory in Windows Server 2003 includes the
following benefits for Exchange Server 2003:
- Linked-value replication
- Enhanced management tools
- InetOrgPerson-enabled mailboxes
- RPC over HTTP support for Outlook 2003
back to the topRPC Over HTTP Support in Outlook 2003
Exchange Server 2003 on Windows Server 2003 enables Outlook 2003
users to use RPC over HTTP. Outlook 2003 clients can connect over the Internet
to the corporate messaging system. The requirements for RPC over HTTP include
the following:
- Client
- The client must be running Outlook 2003 on a Microsoft
Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP) or later-based computer.
- The update that is documented in the following
Microsoft Knowledge Base article must be installed on the client
computer:
331320 Outlook 2003 performs slowly or stops responding when connected to Exchange Server 2003 through HTTP
- Server
The following Exchange Server 2003 components must run
on a Windows Server 2003-based computer:
- Front-end server (if you use a front-end server and
back-end server configuration)
- Back-end server
- System and public folder store
- Global catalog server
back to the
topFeatures That Require Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
The following features require Internet Explorer 6.0 (or later):
- OWA with Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension
(S/MIME) support
- OWA compression
You must also install the update
(or later) that is documented in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base
article:328970 MS02-066: November 2002 cumulative patch for Internet Explorer
- OWA Clear Credentials on logoff
back to the
topOutlook Web Access (OWA)
The requirements for OWA features in Exchange Server 2003 include
the following:
- For the user to use the version of OWA that is included
with Exchange Server 2003, you must install Exchange Server 2003 on both
front-end and back-end servers (in a front-end and back-end server
configuration). The following table contains information about the version of
OWA that results in certain Exchange front-end and back-end configurations:
| Front-End Server | Back-End Server | Version of OWA |
| Exchange 2000 | Exchange 2000 | Exchange
2000 |
| Exchange Server 2003 | Exchange
2000 | Exchange 2000 |
| Exchange 2000 | Exchange Server 2003 | Not
supported |
| Exchange Server 2003 | Exchange Server
2003 | Exchange Server 2003 |
- Messages and Posts in Public Folders
To reply to and to forward messages and posts in public
folders, the client must be using a front-end server. - Forms-Based Authentication You can configure forms-based authentication in deployments where
the front-end server is running Exchange Server 2003 and the back-end server is
running Exchange 2000. However, session timeouts are handled better when the
back-end server is running Exchange Server 2003.
- OWA Compression The requirements for the compression of static or dynamic content
in OWA include the following:
- Client
- The client must be running Windows 2000 or
later.
- Internet Explorer 6.0, with the update (or later)
that is documented in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base,
must be installed on the computer:
328970 MS02-066: November 2002 cumulative patch for Internet Explorer
- Server The server requirements include the following:
- Forms-based authentication must be enabled.
- If you use front-end and back-end server
configuration, you must install Exchange Server 2003 on a front-end server
running Windows Server 2003, and you must install Exchange Server 2003 on a
back-end server that is running either Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000
Server Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later.
- If you use a back-end only configuration, Exchange
Server 2003 must be installed on a computer that is running Windows Server
2003.
Note If you use an Exchange Server 2003 front-end server to access an
Exchange 2000 back-end server, disable OWA compression support on the front-end
server.
back to the
topOWA with S/MIME Support
The requirements for using OWA with S/MIME support include the
following:
- Server The server must be running Exchange Server 2003.
- Client
- The client must be running Windows 2000 or later and
Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later.
- The client must have a smart card or a local
certificate.
back to the
topOutlook Mobile Access and Exchange ActiveSync
In a mixed Exchange environment, you must use Exchange Server 2003
for both the front-end and the back-end servers to gain access to mailboxes by
using Outlook Mobile Access and Exchange ActiveSync. For mailboxes that are
stored on a server that is running Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000, deploy
Microsoft Mobile Information Server.
back to the topNative Mode
Note the following considerations about native mode:
- You can only create query-based distribution groups in a
native-mode Exchange organization.
- If routing bridgehead pairs are upgraded to Exchange Server
2003 in a native-mode organization, they use 8BITMIME data transfers instead of
converting to 7-bit.
- In native mode, the Exchange store automatically ignores
and removes zombie access control entry (ACE) items, if an Exchange 5.5 Server
computer previously existed in the organization.
back to the
topInstant Messaging
Exchange Instant Messaging works only on Exchange 2000-based
servers. You cannot perform an in-place upgrade of Exchange 2000 to Exchange
Server 2003 if the Exchange Instant Messaging component is installed on the
server. Do one of the following, as appropriate to your situation:
- Remove the Exchange Instant Messaging component from the
server if you want to perform an in-place upgrade from Exchange 2000 to
Exchange Server 2003.
- Leave the Exchange 2000 server that runs the Exchange
Instant Messaging component in the organization.
back to the
topExchange Conferencing Server
Exchange Conferencing Server Service Pack 3 (SP3) is not
supported on Windows Server 2003. Note the following:
- You cannot run Exchange Conferencing Server SP3 and
Exchange Server 2003 on the same server.
- You cannot perform an in-place upgrade of a server that is
running Exchange 2000 and Exchange Conferencing Server SP3 to Exchange Server
2003.
- You cannot use Exchange Conferencing Server resource
mailboxes on a server running Exchange Server 2003. However, users whose
mailboxes are stored on a server running Exchange Server 2003 servers can use
Exchange Conferencing Server features.
back to the
topExchange System Manager
You can use the version of Exchange System Manager that is
included in Exchange Server 2003 to manage all servers in the organization.
However, if you want to manage an Exchange 2000 organization with Exchange
Server 2003 Exchange System Manager, you must first execute Exchange Server
2003
forestprep.
- The improved view for queues appears when you manage
Exchange 2000 servers, and if you run the forestprep command for Exchange Server 2003, the Move Mailboxes tool is
available.
- You cannot configure new Exchange Server 2003 features on
an Exchange 2000 server. The option for that feature in Exchange System Manager
is unavailable (appears dimmed) for the Exchange 2000 server.
- You cannot use Exchange System Manager in Exchange Server
2003 to configure Exchange 2000 components that are not available of Exchange
Server 2003. For example, you cannot configure the following Exchange 2000
components:
- Key Management Server
- Exchange Instant Messaging
- Chat
- Microsoft Exchange Connection (MS Mail), Microsoft
Schedule+, and Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail
- Directory synchronization
Do not use the version of Exchange System Manager that is
included in Exchange 2000 to manage servers running Exchange Server 2003. When
you try to do so, the options on the tabs of Exchange System Manager appear as
read-only.
back to the
topRequirements to Run Exchange System Manager
To run Exchange System Manager in Windows, the following
components must be installed (as appropriate to the operating system):
- Windows Server 2003
- Internet Information Services Manager
- Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1)
- The computer must be a member of the domain or
forest.
- The Internet Information Services snap-in
- The Simple Mail Transfer (SMTP) Service
Note After you install the SMTP Service, disable it. You only require
the snap-in component of the SMTP Service. - The World Wide Web Service
Note After you install the World Wide Web Service, disable it.
- The Windows 2000 Server Administration Tools
Pack
- Windows 2000 Server SP3
- The Internet Information Services snap-in
- The SMTP Service
Note After you install the SMTP Service, disable it. You only require
the snap-in component of the SMTP Service. - The Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)
Note After you install the NNTP Service, disable it. You only require
the snap-in component of the NNTP Service.
- Windows 2000 Professional SP3
- The Internet Information Services snap-in
- The Windows 2000 Server Administration Tools
Pack
back to the
top