Overview of Mobility Features in Exchange Server

Microsoft made many changes to Exchange Server to vastly improve mobility features over earlier versions of Microsoft Exchange. Features that were included in a separate product, Mobile Information Server, in Exchange 2000 Server are now included in Exchange Server 2003. A number of new features have been added to Exchange Server 2003, and features existing in earlier versions have been improved.

Mobility features introduced in Exchange 2003 fit into four main categories:

  • Cached Exchange Mode. Enables users to cache their mailboxes to their local computers, making it possible to work offline. Changes are synchronized with the computer running Exchange Server the next time Outlook 2007 connects to the server.

  • RPC over HTTP. A method of providing access to a computer running Exchange Server to remote clients without requiring any kind of VPN connection. RPC over HTTP allows clients to connect using Outlook 2007 directly over the Internet using a publicly accessible port.

  • Outlook Web Access (OWA). Microsoft has provided OWA with several versions of Microsoft Exchange, but the main complaints have traditionally been that the OWA interface does not match that of Microsoft Outlook and that a number of Microsoft Outlook features do not exist in OWA. The version of OWA included in Exchange Server 2003 addressed both of those concerns by more closely resembling the Outlook 2003 interface and including a number of important Outlook 2003 features.

  • Mobile device support. Mobile devices such as PDAs with wireless network access and mobile phones with PDA-type interfaces have become ubiquitous in many organizations, especially among mobile staff. These devices provide portability because they are much smaller than laptop computers, and they provide much of the functionality of larger systems. Exchange Server 2003 provides a number of tools to integrate with Pocket PC and smartphone devices. Traditionally, hand-held devices have had the capacity to synchronize only with an existing application, such as synchronizing mail from Microsoft Outlook on a laptop or desktop with a PDA. Exchange Server 2003 has the capability to work with hand-held devices in real time rather than relying on synchronization, using these features:

    • Exchange ActiveSync. Enabled by default, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync® is used to synchronize data from an Exchange Server mailbox to a hand-held Pocket PC or smartphone device running Microsoft Pocket Outlook.

    • Outlook Mobile Access. Outlook Mobile Access, not enabled by default, is used to provide Exchange Server mailbox access to devices that are Internet capable but are not Pocket PC or smartphone devices with Microsoft Pocket Outlook. Although a separate product from OWA, Outlook Mobile Access is similar to OWA in that it provides browser-based access to an Exchange Server mailbox. Whereas OWA runs on Web browsers on full-size computers, Outlook Mobile Access runs on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browsers on mobile devices.

Microsoft has also improved and added to these features in Exchange Server 2007. These improvements include:

  • Search improvements. ActiveSync enables users to query both the local device store and the entire Exchange Server mailbox when searching from a mobile device in an over-the-air search. This capability enables users to retrieve data from the server quickly and efficiently when needed.

  • Direct push. Mobile devices that support ActiveSync receive updates from the server as soon as the items (such as new e-mail messages) arrive at the server. This capability keeps users’ mobile data up to date in an efficient way.

  • Consistent user experience for a variety of devices. The Exchange Server 2007 ActiveSync protocol is licensed for use by Microsoft Windows Mobile®, Nokia, Symbian, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Palm, and DataViz, providing a broad range of mobile device options for organizations.

  • Mobile device security and management. Administrators can enforce mobile device policies, such as strong personal identification numbers (PINs), and can force a data and application wipe of the mobile device over the air in the event the device is lost or stolen. Exchange Server 2007 supports per-user policies for these operations.

  • Remote access to data hosted by Microsoft Windows SharePoint® Services sites and file server resources through LinkAccess. LinkAccess enables administrators to make SharePoint content and documents from file servers available to mobile device users without requiring a VPN connection to these resources.

  • Calendar and Out Of Office improvements. Exchange Server 2007 adds new features that improve a user’s capability to access the calendar from a mobile device, manage meeting requests, and send Out Of Office replies from the device.

  • OWA improvementsAs discussed in Chapter 44, OWA is enhanced in Exchange Server 2007 to give you access to the new Out Of Office features, self-service features, and more. See Chapter 44 for details.

  • Unified messaging. Exchange Server 2007 implements several voice-mail capabilities, enabling users to retrieve voice messages and faxes through Outlook 2007, OWA, and their mobile devices. Users can request a reset of their voice-mail PIN and set other voice-mail options from OWA, access their mailboxes by phone, and redirect voice messages to a cell phone or desk phone.

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