Motorola’s Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync Implementation

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Motorola’s Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync Implementation
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bet | 3/3 | Sana | 03.10.2020 | Hajmi | 0,61 Mb. | | #11958 |
Motorola’s Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync Implementation
To properly validate the Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync architecture, a test configuration is needed. Motorola’s relatively complex lab configuration represents the variations in the production environment in enough detail to allow for testing of all of the functionality intended for production deployment. All changes, new features, and implementation methods are rigorously tested and certified before implementing them in production.
One of the most important benefits of a successful pilot is that it proves the environment. This allows the project team to demonstrate the production feasibility of Exchange Server 2003 and ActiveSync. As a result, the issues encountered during the pilot are likely to have already been addressed or determined to have a minor impact on a wider deployment.
Exchange
Motorola’s Exchange Server configuration is shown in the table below.
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Exchange configuration
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Test
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Production
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Exchange 5.5 sites or Exchange 2000 or 2003 administration groups
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8
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93
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Mailbox servers running Exchange 5.5 SP4 on Windows NT 4.0 SP6A
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9
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177
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Mailbox servers running Exchange 2000 SP4 on Windows 2000 SP3
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7
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9
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Mailbox servers running Exchange Server 2003 on Windows Server 2003 SP0
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2
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2
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Dedicated hub or bridgehead servers running Exchange 5.5 SP4 on Windows NT 4.0 SP6A
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2
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22
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Dedicated conferencing and Instant Messaging servers running Exchange 2000 SP3 on Windows 2000 SP3
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2
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8
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Active Directory
Motorola’s Active Directory configuration is shown in the table below.
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Active Directory configuration
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Test
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Production
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Native mode root domain controllers running Windows 2000 SP3
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1
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5
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Child domains
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2
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9
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Domain controllers running Windows Server 2003 SP0
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1
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17
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Domain controllers running Windows 2000 Server SP3
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4
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139
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Domain controllers that are global catalog servers
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4
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113
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Domain controllers running the Active Directory Connector
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2
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15
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Active Directory Connector connection agreements
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36
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502
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Trusting Windows NT 4.0 resource domains
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1
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8
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Domain controllers running Windows NT 4.0 SP6A
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2
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63
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Total objects
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40,000+
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480,000+
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Users and mailboxes
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14,000+
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280,000+
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Computers
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70+
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45,000+
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Groups and distribution lists
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900+
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43,000+
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Public folders
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2,000+
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33,000+
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Organizational units
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100+
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13,000+
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Subnets
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20+
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7,000+
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Active Directory sites
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9
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187
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Wireless Mobile devices
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Motorola used new prototype and production Motorola MPx200 phones running Smartphone 2002 as devices in the test and production environments.
Motorola also used a Pocket PC Phone edition device running Smartphone 2002 as a reference device with a commercial history of about a year.
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Internet connectivity and security
Motorola used separate external DNS names for wireless mail connectivity in the test and production environments to allow independent testing without affecting production users.
Motorola opened port 443 to the IP addresses corresponding to these names.
Motorola has a proprietary cache system for Internet–facing Web servers, which includes SSL termination and acceleration.
Motorola initially installed a free-of-charge test certificate from Thawte on the lab system for SSL termination. The corresponding test root certificate was installed on the wireless devices. Following a successful test, a production Thawte certificate was installed for SSL termination. This matches one of the preinstalled certificates on the Smartphone 2002 operating system.
Motorola used ISA Server 2000 SP1 running on Windows 2000 Server SP3 as a proxy to direct incoming Web requests to Exchange. Motorola installed the ISA feature pack, which includes URLScan 2.5.
Infrastructure Changes to Support Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync
Current Exchange Server version
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Recommendation
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Exchange 2003
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No additional change is necessary. ActiveSync is enabled by default on each Exchange 2003 mailbox.
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Exchange 2000
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You can introduce an Exchange Server 2003 server into your existing environment without difficulties. Your existing hardware should be able to run Exchange Server 2003.
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Exchange 5.5
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You may need to review your existing hardware, especially if you plan to run Exchange Server 2003 on Windows Server 2003. You need to work carefully with your Active Directory team to plan your Exchange Server 2003 deployment.
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Current Windows domain implementation
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Recommendation
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Active Directory using Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server
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Implement the following preparation steps:
Be sure that any domain controllers running Windows 2000 have at least SP3 installed.
Run Exchange Server 2003 ForestPrep to install the required schema and configuration context changes in Active Directory. Windows 2000 based global catalog servers will undergo a global catalog rebuild.
Run Exchange Server 2003 DomainPrep on each domain that will contain Exchange Server 2003 instances or users and mailboxes on an Exchange Server 2003 mailbox server.
Upgrade all Active Directory Connector instances to Exchange Server 2003.
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All Windows NT 4.0 domains
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Introduce Active Directory into your environment. Active Directory requires very careful planning:
A single Exchange Server organization means a single Active Directory forest.
Plan the domain structure, including possible use of an empty root domain. Decide whether you will migrate into new domains or upgrade existing domains.
Determine the DNS strategy to support Active Directory, bearing in mind your current DNS architecture and products together with the technical requirements of Active Directory to support service (SRV) records (mandatory) and the dynamic DNS (highly desirable).
Plan your domain and forest operations master roles.
Estimate the size of your global catalog.
Plan your replication topology.
Plan your organization unit structure bearing in mind your likely use of delegated administration and Group Policy.
Plan your deployment of the Active Directory connector, which is required if you have Exchange 5.5 in your Exchange organization in addition to Exchange 2000 and/or Exchange Server 2003.
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Wireless Mobile Devices
The new Motorola MPx200 phone uses the Windows Mobile 2002 software for Smartphones and is fully Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync capable. You can use any device capable of running the Windows Mobile 2002 or 2003 software for Smartphones that has wireless connectivity. Or you can use any other phone that is Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync compatible. Devices are available in the Smartphone form factor, which primarily functions as a phone and has a standard phone style numeric keypad. Or you can use a PDA format device that has a stylus and on-screen keyboard. The devices must be capable of an Internet connection—for example through GPRS. You will need to activate this with your telephone service provider. You should be able to use your Exchange Server 2003 infrastructure to enable browse access to e-mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks from Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) enabled phones and mobile devices that support HTML and cHTML Browsers.
If a wireless mobile device is stolen, the thief has immediate access to the true owner’s e-mail because the Windows password is cached. So always implement a PIN on the phone or PDA.
Internet Connectivity and Security
You will need a new externally addressable DNS name, such as wireless-mail.myco.com.
You need to open port 443 SSL HTTPS in your firewall to the IP address corresponding to this name.
You will need a certificate for SSL termination. Although you can turn off SSL on a device running Smartphone 2003, avoid doing so. An SSL–encrypted connection is always preferable.
You may have rules regarding incoming connections from the Internet into your intranet. If you use a proxy server such as ISA Server 2000 with the feature pack installed, you can use the URLScan feature to check for valid commands and filter out buffer overflow attacks. You can also implement custom content inspection and filtering.
Additional Benefits of an Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync–Enabled Infrastructure
Your current infrastructure may require significant work to implement Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync; however, you will find numerous significant advantages for both users and administrators in deploying the required products.
Exchange Server 2003
User benefits:
Mail traffic compression (with Outlook 2003)
Access from Outlook 2003 to Exchange 2003 without a virtual private network (VPN)
Full featured Outlook Web Access with comparable features to Outlook 2003
Administrator benefits:
Recovery Storage Groups allow rapid restore of a subset of the Exchange Server 2003 database.
Many-to-one clustering (7 active, 1 passive).
Easier to move users between servers.
Control public folder search order.
Admin tools work with Exchange Server 2003, 2000, and 5.5.
Improved queue management.
Kerberos support.
More secure Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 (when Exchange Server 2003 is installed on Windows Server 2003).
Active Directory
User benefits:
Changed passwords are immediately globally accessible.
Administrator benefits:
Delegated administration allows administrators to manage a subset of users, groups, and computers.
Use Group Policy to allow settings made in one place to propagate to thousands of users or computers.
Overcome Windows NT 4.0 domain SAM size limitations, and support millions of users and computers in each domain.
Multimaster replication allows changes to be written to any domain controller (not just the primary domain controller (PDC)).
An opportunity to collapse legacy domains.
Supports secure dynamic DNS.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory compliant with version 3 enables many business applications.
Manage a set of domains as a single directory.
Motorola MPx200 Smartphone
Browse the Web and your Exchange 2003 e-mail, calendar, and contact information using Pocket Internet Explorer.
Wirelessly synchronize your Exchange 2003 e-mail, calendar, and contact information.
Listen to music and view video clips using Microsoft Windows Media® Player.
Expanded storage using Secure Digital (SD) card.
Internet connectivity
Allow mobile users to have full corporate e-mail access while on the move.
Conclusion
Motorola has leveraged Microsoft Windows Mobile software and has integrated the power of ActiveSync technology with its mobile phones, delivering the benefits of ActiveSync technology. The Motorola–Microsoft alliance provides mobile users full access to mail, calendar, and contacts, including offline availability.
References
Active Directory
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http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/directory/activedirectory/default.mspx
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Motorola’s Active Directory migration strategy
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“Motorola Reduces TCO and Improves Productivity with Domain Consolidation and Upgrade to Windows Server 2003”
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?CaseStudyID=13931
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Exchange Server 2003
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http://www.microsoft.com/exchange
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Exchange 2000 Server
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http://www.microsoft.com/exchange
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Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server
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http://www.microsoft.com/isaserver/
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Motorola MPx200
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http://commerce.motorola.com/consumer/QWhtml/mpx200.html
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Windows Mobile software for Smartphones
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http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/products/smartphone/default.mspx
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Windows 2000 Server
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http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/default.asp
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Windows Server 2003
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http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/default.mspx
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Microsoft consulting Services Page October 3, 2020
Exchange 2003 ActiveSync® architecture
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