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Spring 2010 [Number 246]     Printable Version Printable version (1,055KB PDF)     Download Adobe Reader

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NIH Email System Upgraded to Exchange Server 2007

Most people using the NIH email service probably did not notice the migration that their mailboxes underwent during 2009. CIT successfully migrated 40,000 NIH mailboxes from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007.

NIH receives an enormous volume of email—more than 25 million inbound and 600,000 outbound messages every 24 hours. Keeping the NIH email system current is a vital part of ensuring that NIH staff is able to exchange data electronically as seamlessly and instantaneously as possible.

Exchange 2007

Exchange 2007 is a central email server that controls the flow and storage of email messages and also manages other cooperative tools, like calendars and public folders. It offers integration with a variety of email programs (or “clients”). While Microsoft’s preferred email client for Exchange 2007 is Outlook 2007, others, such as Thunderbird and Entourage (for Mac users), work just as well with the server. If you prefer a web-based Outlook client as an alternative to these desktop programs, there is the option to use Outlook Web Access (OWA) (https://mail.nih.gov) instead.

Benefits

For the change-averse user, the good news is that your everyday email experience will not differ noticeably from Exchange 2003, as the upgrade mainly affects how administrators and system owners interact with the service. However, there are some direct improvements for the broader user community too, such as:

    Improvements to Out-of-Office responses: The upgrade allows for Internal and External Out-of-Office messages with different content, and enables users to schedule the Start/Stop dates of sending Out-of-Office messages.

    A new Scheduling Assistant: The Scheduling Assistant automatically provides suggestions on meeting times based on attendee availability, and keeps attendees’ calendars up-to-date (no more “meeting request is out of date” messages).

    Addition of true Resource Mailboxes: Resource Mailboxes now include automation for booking meetings (using a conference room as a resource) and give users the ability to add custom tags to resources that are visible in the GAL (such as conference rooms that have PolyCom systems: that detail is shown under the “All Rooms” address list). Resource Mailboxes also no longer count against software licenses.

    Managed Folders: Users can now employ folder permissions to control intellectual property and conform to any potential regulatory compliance needs.

    Increased size for Outlook rules: Exchange 2007 increases to 64K by default (Exchange 2003 only allowed 32K).

    Client Configuration AutoDiscovery: Automatically performed under Outlook 2007.

    Advanced Mobile Messaging: The new Mobile Messaging offers users the option of using Windows Mobile and other ActiveSync-capable devices, and lets the customer manage (remotely wipe, for example) ActiveSync devices via OWA. This feature is in pilot status with NIH.

Note: Be aware that some of these improvements will not be realized until your email client is upgraded to Outlook 2007.

Benefits for OWA users

The upgrade to Exchange 2007 offers users a greatly improved Outlook Web Access (OWA) experience:

    A premium OWA client for Internet Explorer (IE) browsers, version 6 and above, that is very similar to the Outlook client

    An improved OWA “Light” client for non-IE browsers

    A full view of the GAL from OWA

    The premium client provides an extended view of GAL entries that includes availability, or “presence,” information

    Web-ready document viewing, which allows documents to be read via HTML when the host application is not installed locally on the computer or device

    Regional localization support within the OWA premium client—the default language can be set to one other than English

    The ability to open another customer/resources mailbox from within the OWA interface

    The ability to view message headers in OWA

Changes to the search function in Exchange 2007

One of the differences in the upgrade from Exchange 2003 to 2007 is a change to the search function within email folders. The Exchange Server 2007 search engine now offers several improvements that provide users with previously unavailable real-time search capabilities, particularly when using Outlook 2007 in cached mode.

However, if you frequently use Outlook Quick Search for partial-word (or partial-string) searches, be aware that in some cases the Exchange 2007 search function leaves out some possible results of a partial-word search that would have been returned using the Exchange 2003 search engine. To avoid this issue, you must use Advanced Search. For a step-by-step guide on how to get the best results for partial-word searches in Outlook, see the article in this issue, entitled “Search Options for Mailboxes on Exchange 2007 (for Outlook 2003/2007 and OWA).”

Questions?

If you have questions about the upgrade to Exchange 2007 and how it might affect your email services, please contact the NIH IT Service Desk online at http://itservicedesk.nih.gov or by phone at 301-496-4357 (6-HELP) (local), 866-319-4357 (toll free), or 301-496-8294 (TTY).

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