Mastering Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1

As new and better functions and APIs have been introduced, naturally some functions are no longer emphasized or no longer supported. There has been a lot of confusion surrounding what will continue to be supported in Exchange 2007 and what will no longer work. The phrase "no longer supported" itself tends to also generate a lot of confusion because a function may actually continue to work because it has not truly been removed. These functions and APIs fall in to two unique categories: functions that have been deemphasized and functions that are no longer available.

Deemphasized Functions

When Microsoft says that in Exchange 2007 certain functions or APIs are no longer emphasized, this means that it will not continue to enhance these features. They will continue to be supported, and if there are bugs with these features, the bugs will be fixed. However, if something is being deemphasized, then the writing is on the wall; you should consider replacing your use of this technology with something else.

The following is a list of some of the APIs and functions that are being deemphasized:

• Public folders are still supported in Exchange 2007, but their use is being deemphasized as newer collaborative technologies have been introduced, such as SharePoint and other portal technologies.

• Collaborative Data Objects technologies such as CDOSYS, CDO 1.2.1, and CDOExM are being deemphasized. Applications using these APIs will continue to work but they should be rewritten using the Transport Agents API or Exchange Web Services API.

• Functions provided by Exchange WebDAV extensions are now provided by the Web Services API.

• The Exchange Object Linking and Embedding Database (ExOLEDB) API functionality is now provided via the Web Services API.

Features No Longer Included

Some features and APIs have been completely removed from the Exchange 2007 product. If you require any of these features or APIs, you will need to keep an Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003 server in operation:

• Exchange 5.5 interoperability is no longer available. You cannot install an Exchange 2007 server until your Exchange organization is in native Exchange 2000/2003 mode.

• Mail recipient management using the Active Directory Users and Computers console extensions no longer works. All recipient management must be performed through the Exchange Management Console. There are a few exceptions, of course, but using the Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell is preferred. This will also keep you from accidentally doing something that is not supported.

• Administrative groups are no longer available. All permissions delegation is handled either on a server-by-server basis or at the organization level.

• Outlook Mobile Access, the lightweight browser-based access for WAP-based mobile phones, is not available. Nor are Exchange ActiveSync Always Up-to-Date notifications.

• Non-MAPI public folder hierarchies are no longer available.

• Public folder access via NNTP, IMAP4, and Outlook Web Access is no longer available.

• Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) features have been cut from Exchange 2007 completely.

• The Exchange Management Console cannot be used to perform management of public folder properties. This must continue to be performed through the Exchange 2000/2003 Exchange System Manager console. Public folder management using the Exchange Management Console should be included in Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1.

• Routing groups and routing group connectors are no longer required. In a native Exchange 2007 organization, the message routing topology is determined using the Active Directory sites in which the Exchange servers are located. Message delivery between Exchange 2007 servers in different Active Directory sites is handled automatically.

• Mailbox databases no longer have a streaming database file (STM file). All mail, regardless of its original source, is stored in the EDB database file.

• The Recipient Update Service functionality has been replaced. E-mail proxy addresses and address list membership is set on a mail recipient object at the time of creation. These can be updated from the Exchange Management Shell.

• X.400 connectors are no longer available.

• ExMerge can no longer be run from the Exchange 2007 server console; it can continue to be run against Exchange 2007 mailboxes, but it must be run from a computer with Outlook installed.

• On two-node clusters, active-active clustering cannot be configured. Exchange 2007 requires active-passive clustering on two-node clusters.

• Transport event sinks no longer work. You must keep Exchange 2000/2003 Server for software that uses this functionality or update the code to use transport agents.

• Functionality for applications built from Workflow Designer and CDO for Workflow is not available. Applications built using these APIs should be replaced with applications built using Windows Workflow Services (WWS).

• Collaborative Data Objects for Exchange Management (CDOExM) is not available. Applications or scripts using CDOExM should be rewritten to use the new Exchange management APIs or Exchange Management Shell cmdlets.

• The Exchange Queue Viewer API has been cut from Exchange 2007. Applications that use this API should be rewritten using the new Exchange management APIs.

• Exchange Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) classes have been discontinued. Applications that use Exchange WMI should be rewritten using the Exchange management APIs.

• The Exchange Event Service is no longer available. Applications should be rewritten to use the Web Services API instead.

• The Exchange Installable File System (ExIFS) is no longer available; this was commonly also referred to as the M: drive in Exchange 2000. This functionality can be duplicated writing applications using the Web Services API.

• POP3 and IMAP4 configuration is now performed through Exchange Management Shell tasks rather than the graphical user interface.

• The Exchange 2000/2003 Recipient Update Service (RUS) is no longer required to stamp mail-enabled objects with e-mail address and address list information. This information is now associated with mail-enabled objects when the object is created.

• X.400 connectivity is no longer included with Exchange 2007; this functionality is available from a third party.