Last Update: 5/28/99

70-81 Exchange 5.5             

E-mail is one of the main things why we use the Internet and one of the main ways that business communicates with its employees and other companies. Although Exchange is primarily for e-mail, groupware through Schedule and Outlook, custom forms through Outlook and Visual Basic, as well as newsgroups through public folders can be managed through Exchange.

IMHO, Exchange is best when taken after some of the other Internet electives, such as TCP/IP, IIS 4.0, and Proxy Server 2.0, because on the exam, these items are covered. Not in great detail (that's what the separate exams are for) but having a background in those areas will make the discussion in Exchange so much easier.

 

If you've taken TCP/IP, then the topics about mail messages not reaching remote domains are easy. If you've taken IIS 4.0, then NNTP, MIME, and HTTP security with the anonymous account are not foreign to you. Plus it makes setting up Outlook Web Access easier :-) If you've taken Proxy Server 2.0, then when we're trying to get clients across the firewall, we can understand why the firewall is blocking their access. Don't forget Internet Explorer Administration - we touch a little in Exchange about SMTP, POP3, IMAP, and LDAP. All the Internet electives are related because all of the products are related. 

 

Set up IIS, Exchange, and Outlook then prepare to work. There is so much configuration involved that without the software, all the concepts and terms (tons of terms!) will bury you! This is really a "big picture" exam pulling in all of the Internet technologies.

 

One last thought . . . if you're planning to take Exchange as part of the MCSE+Internet, wait until the end for all the reasons described above. If you're in a hurry, then I wish you luck because it is the biggest elective in terms of material to digest ;-)

 

Major Topics:

• Integrating the various messaging systems with Exchange - X.400, SMTP, MS Mail, and cc:Mail
• Migrating users from the "foreign" (non-Exchange messaging) systems to Exchange
• Installing, upgrading, and configuring Exchange server
• Troubleshooting the server and clients - especially after you have migrated users
• Monitoring the server and improving performance
• Security - hiding recipients from the Global Address Book, hiding public folders, and preventing Internet users from accessing the Exchange server
• Allowing different protocols through the firewall
• Restricting IP addresses and the Internet anonymous account from the Exchange server
• Which protocols and connectors are used in a given LAN/WAN scenario and why they are used

 

Test Resources:

BrainDump Heaven

MCSE Cram Session - Everything you need to know

Microsoft Exchange Server Documentation - good for research

IIS 4.0 Resources - For more information

Internet Explorer Administration Kit - For more information

Proxy Server 2.0 Resources - For more information

Sybex Exchange Server 5.5 Study Guide - excellent book and questions

TCP/IP Resources - For more information

Transcender - excellent questions