Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 5.5 Integration Frequently Asked Questions

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Updated: September 1, 2002

The following are some commonly asked questions about a variety of Exchange 2000 Server issues. You'll find answers to questions on the following topics:

  • General Information

  • Storage

  • Backup and Restore

  • Instant Messaging

  • Conferencing Service

On This Page

General Information

General Information

What is Exchange Installable File System (IFS), and what does it do?

Exchange IFS allows direct access to Exchange 2000 Information Store data at the file system level. This is accomplished by exposing a file system drive letter that represents the Information Store. Exchange IFS provides Microsoft Win32® API support for the Exchange 2000 Information Store. Clients such as Microsoft Windows® Explorer, Command Prompt, and Microsoft Office applications, will be able to treat an Exchange 2000 Information Store as a file system and use Win32 API calls to store, retrieve, and find documents.

What is the difference between a primary and a non-primary connection agreement?

A primary connection agreement replicates existing directory objects. It also creates and replicates new directory objects in the destination directory. A non-primary connection agreement only replicates information in pre-existing objects.

A connection agreement type has two check boxes, which are selected by default even if a connection agreement already exists. These are "This is a primary connection agreement for the connected Exchange organization" and "This is a primary connection agreement for the connected Windows Domain."

If you are using more than one connection agreement to replicate Microsoft Windows® 2000 user accounts for a single Exchange organization, there should be only one primary connection agreement. Using multiple primary connection agreements to replicate the same Exchange Server 5.5 organization will result in the creation of duplicate objects.

What is the name-matching rule and how do I set it?

You can customize directory object-matching rules on the From Exchange tab and the From Windows tab. The name-matching rule should be set to its default setting. You should change this only when the Microsoft Active Directory™ and the Exchange Server 5.5 directory have several common objects, for example, when inter-forest replication is in place. Matching rules should be changed so that object attributes in each of the directories have different values (for example, an SMTP address or a SID).

Note: Attributes you select affect all connection agreements. If you clear the attributes for Exchange Server 5.5, you clear the same attributes for Windows 2000.

What is the function of the Site Replication Service?

The Site Replication Service (SRS) was designed to provide directory interoperability between Exchange Server 5.5 and Exchange 2000 Server. SRS is built and runs on an Exchange 2000 server, and is essentially a modified Exchange Server 5.5 directory. SRS uses LDAP to communicate to both the Active Directory and the Exchange Server 5.5 directory. To Exchange 5.5 servers, the SRS looks like another Exchange 5.5 server behaving like a configuration/recipients replication partner.

What prerequisites must I fulfill before installing Exchange 2000?

You must fulfill the following prerequisites before installing Exchange 2000:

  • Your log-in account must have permissions to modify the Configuration container of the root domain.

  • Your log-in account must be a member of the following groups: Enterprise Admins, Domain Admins, and Schema Admins.

  • SMTP and NNTP must be installed.

  • Windows 2000 Server must be installed on the target server.

  • Target server must belong to a Windows 2000 domain.

  • The \EXCHSRVR\MDBDATA directory must be empty.

Storage

What are Storage Groups, and what is the relationship between Storage Groups and multiple databases? A Storage Group is a virtual container for multiple databases (information stores). The recommendation for database capacity planning on non-clustered Exchange 2000 Servers is a maximum of four storage groups that contain a maximum of five databases for each storage group. This results in a maximum of 20 databases for each Exchange 2000 server. This limit is enforced inside the Exchange System Manger snap-in, so administrators cannot create more storage groups than the system enables.

See XADM: Maximum Number of Storage Groups in Exchange 2000 for Database Capacity Planning 251123 for details.

Backup and Restore

Does Exchange 2000 support Single-Mailbox Restore?

Exchange 2000 does not support Single-Mailbox Restore with tools and products from Microsoft. You can find several third-party backup programs that support Single-Mailbox Restore, but the Ntbackup.exe tool cannot perform this function. Exchange 2000 does provide Mailbox Retention, which enables you to retain a deleted mailbox for a specified period of time before "permanently" deleting it.

Instant Messaging

What is Instant Messaging?

Instant Messaging is a new and fundamentally different medium of communication. This technology gives Exchange 2000 users the ability to communicate with other Instant Messaging users in an immediate and interactive environment while conveying "presence" and "status" information.

What hardware and software must I have before installing Exchange 2000 with the Instant Messaging component?

Hardware:

  • Pentium 166 or higher recommended

  • 2 gigabytes (GB) of NTFS available hard drive space

  • 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 or higher recommended)

  • Microsoft Mouse or other compatible pointing device

  • Super VGA monitor recommended

  • CD-ROM (8x or higher)

Software:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Member Server (Member of a Windows 2000 domain)

  • Microsoft Internet Information Services 5.0

  • Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)

  • Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

  • Dynamic Domain Name Service available within the domain (Member server must be registered)

A user account designated to be the "Exchange Service Account" should be created in the domain prior to installing Exchange 2000 Server along with any relevant components.

In addition, the installation of the Instant Messaging component requires that Messaging and Collaboration component also be installed within the Windows 2000 site. If this requirement is not met, you will be prompted to install this Exchange 2000 component before moving forward.

What if I cannot install the Instant Messaging Component?

There may be two possible reasons why installation of the Instant Messaging component may fail:

  • When installing Instant Messaging on the "host" machine, installation requires that you possess Domain Administrator rights. These rights give you abilities such as modifying the Active Directory or creating and modifying registry entries.

  • An additional reason why you may not be able install the Instant Messaging component might entail the absence of Messaging and Collaboration within the Windows 2000 site.

Why am I unable to "enable" Windows 2000 users for Instant Messaging?

The following conditions may contribute to problems when "enabling" Windows 2000 users:

  • Instant Messaging has not been installed.

  • An Instant Messaging "Home" server has not been created and/or configured.

  • The target user does not have a valid SMTP address.

  • The user may already be Instant Messaging "enabled."

  • A DNS SRV record exists but the corresponding Instant Messaging virtual server does not.

My Instant Messaging Clients are unable to logon successfully. What's wrong?

When Instant Messaging clients fail to log on to their respective "home" server there are several error codes that may be logged within the IIS logging directory:

  • Error 404 (Not Found)

    • Instant Messaging logon address does not match the IM virtual server's host header

    • The user is not Instant Messaging "enabled"

    • The user exists in a different domain name space

    • The user doesn't have an existing Windows 2000 user account

  • Error 400 (Bad Request)

    • Instant Messaging virtual server is not created

    • The W3svc service is not started

    • Network interference is present

  • Error 401 (Not Authorized)

    • The domain or user policy is not set to use Digest Authentication

    • The user's password is incorrect and/or the user must reset password after applying Digest Authentication policy to domain or user

    • The password or alias is incorrect

  • Error 501 (Not Implemented)

    • The Instant Messaging virtual server is stopped

What added functionality am I getting with Instant Messaging "Busy" Client Status?

After a client sets their status to "busy" and then receives an IM message, minimized messages will no longer blink on the system tray.

Conferencing Service

What is the Exchange 2000 Conferencing Service?

The Exchange Conferencing Service provides Exchange users with the ability to schedule and participate in real-time data and audio/video conferences using Microsoft NetMeeting®.

What requirements are needed to join a videoconference?

Videoconferencing requires Windows 2000. Earlier versions of Windows do not work correctly.

What should I do if video is not displayed within the conference Web page?

Follow these steps to make your video display properly.

  1. Right-click My Computer and click Properties.

  2. Click the Device Manager tab.

  3. Select the USB controller object from the list displayed, and then click Remove.

  4. Close the Properties dialog box.

  5. Physically remove the video camera from the computer.

  6. Restart the computer.

  7. During the boot process start the BIOS configuration routine.

  8. Verify that USB support is enabled.

  9. Exit the BIOS configuration program and start Windows 2000.

  10. Once you have logged on, physically insert the camera into the USB port located in the back of the computer.

    At this time, Windows 2000 should automatically recognize the video camera and install all relevant software drivers. You should now be able to join an online videoconference and have video capabilities.

When joining a videoconference, the video display window is opened but the video stream data is missing. What should I do?

If NetMeeting is currently running and communicating with a user using video and that user "joins" a videoconference, the video portion of the session will not be displayed until the user closes NetMeeting and rejoins the conference. At such time the video will be displayed properly.

When joining a conference, Internet Explorer becomes unresponsive. How can I fix this?

Sometimes an unresponsive NetMeeting program can cause Internet Explorer to become unresponsive too, when you attempt to join a conference. By using the Windows Task Manager to end the Conf.exe task, users should be able to join the conference.

What is the maximum number of active speakers I can have in a conference?

Due to TAPI design, a maximum of five participants may speak within a conference.