Understanding the Exchange Server 2003 Store

 

These topics provide an overview of the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 store components, the logical structure of the store, and the underlying file structure. The contents of these topics provide background information for the rest of this guide.

The Exchange store is a storage platform that provides a single repository for managing multiple types of unstructured information in one infrastructure. In many ways, the Exchange store that Exchange Server 2003 uses is the same as the Information Store that Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 uses. However, you have a greater range of configuration options with the Exchange store than with the Exchange Server 5.5 Information Store. Additionally, the Exchange store uses the Active Directory directory service to store user account information and configuration information. The Exchange Server 5.5 Information Store uses the Exchange Directory, a specialized service, to store such data.

These topics review how the store is organized, including both the logical structure you will typically interact with and the underlying data files. They review the permissions issues you need to know about when working with the store. This guide builds on the basic information presented in the Exchange Server 2003 Administration Guide.