Nowadays, many companies use advanced technologies and techniques to expand their business. From taking order requests to packing and delivery, a company has many important aspects for everyday functionality. One of the most important aspects of a successful company is communication. For smooth communication, companies often use mediums like emails and phone calls. Communication helps in scheduling tasks and keeping up with the day-to-day actions. One of the best software that can be used to communicate and schedule is the Microsoft Exchange server.
In this article, we will look at what is Microsoft exchange server is and some of its uses.
What is Microsoft Exchange Server?
Microsoft Exchange Server is Microsoft's calendaring, scheduling, email, contact, and collaboration platform. It is available on the Windows server operating system for business use. It was created to provide users access to messaging platforms from desktop devices, mobiles, and web-based systems. The Microsoft Exchange Server supports voice messages through Telephony capabilities.
Exchange users communicate through document and calendar sharing. Security and storage features enable users to perform searches, execute compliance tasks, and archive content. Exchange server has evolved throughout the years, and it is now a foundational component of Office 365 as a software as a service (SaaS).
How Does Exchange Server Work?
Exchange Server is an enterprise-class collaboration product that mainly focuses on receiving, sending, and storing email messages. It also provides many other collaboration features like calendaring and tight integration with other Microsoft Office applications and managing messaging traffic. The exchange server is well known for its high availability (HA) features. It includes design paths that can ensure service during data center outages or single-server failures. This ensures that there is no barrier in service in different outage scenarios.
Exchange Server 2019 Features
Some of the features of exchange server 2019 are as follows-
- Improved performance with the latest storage hardware, including larger disks and solid-state drives (SSDs).
- Enables installations on Windows Server Core
- Provides support for up to 256 GB of memory and 48 CPU cores
- Employs dynamic memory cache allocation to optimize memory usage for active databases
- Prevents attendees from forwarding meeting invitations
- Enables email addresses that contain non-English characters to be delivered and routed natively.
- Provides end-users with additional Out Office options
- Enables administrators to assign delegate permissions
- Permits the Exchange Management Shell and Exchange admin center (EAC) to be blocked natively
Exchange Server 2019 Requirements
The requirements for exchange server 2019 are as follows-
- Exchange 2019 can be installed in Active Directory (AD) forests with existing Exchange 2016 and/or 2013 servers. Any earlier version of the Exchange should not be installed in the same forest.
- The AD forest functional level must be Windows Server 2012 R2 or higher.
- Random-access memory (RAM) between 128 and 256 gigabytes (GB) is required server hosting Exchange 2019
- The server hosting Exchange 2019 must use a 64-bit processor.
- New Technology File System (NTFS) is required on all disk partitions containing the Exchange binaries, transport database, diagnostic logs, and system partition. Resilient File System (ReFS) may be used on partitions containing transaction logs and mailbox databases.
- All domain controllers (DCS) in the AD forest must be running Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Datacenter, or Windows Server 2019 Standard or Datacenter, or Windows Server 2016 Standard or Datacenter.
Microsoft Exchange on-premises vs. Microsoft Exchange Online
The most common choice for businesses looking for a messaging platform will be between Exchange on-premises and Exchange Online.
Microsoft Exchange on-premises
It usually means keeping a server required to exchange within the company and can be utilized by purchasing a client access license. Users will need sufficient hardware with installed Exchange.
Advantages-
- Administrators can control upgrade schedule and feature availability
- One-time licensing fee
- No one outside the organization has access to data or server
Disadvantages-
- Hardware repairs are the administrator's responsibility
- Software and hardware costs must be depreciated
- Must be maintained locally, on-site
Microsoft Exchange Online
Exchange Online is provided with SaaS software by Microsoft. It is available as a part of Office 365 or as a stand-alone service. End-users connect to Exchange Online through Outlook on the web or the Outlook client. Administrators with Office 365 administrative permissions manage and configure the service. To reduce the administrative work involved with Exchange on-premises deployments, Microsoft offers Exchange as a hosted service.
Advantages:
- Monthly licensing expense
- 99.9% uptime service-level agreement (SLA)
- No need to maintain hardware or software
Disadvantages:
- Potential loss of control of your data
- Inflexible solution
- Potentially requires keeping related on-premises software up to date
- It can be more expensive
Exchange Online vs. Gmail
Exchange Online
Advantages:
- Hybrid integration with Exchange on-premises
- Integration with other Office 365 applications
Disadvantages:
- More expensive than Gmail
Gmail
Advantages:
- Less expensive than Exchange Online
Disadvantages:
- A less complete suite of software
- No hybrid options
- No AD integration
Exchange Server Pricing
The price of an exchange server varies widely based on which version is being purchased and how it is purchased. There are 3 types of online exchange plans-
Exchange Online plan 1
Price: ₹ 290 per month
- Each user can send messages up to 150 MB in size and gets 50 GB of mailbox storage.
- Other office applications and services are not included in this plan.
Exchange Online plan 2
Price: ₹575 per month
- Each user gets 100 GB of mailbox storage and up to 150 MB of messages in size.
- Office applications and services are not included in this plan either.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Price: ₹660 per month
- Email hosting with 50GB mailbox and custom email domain address
- The desktop version of office applications like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, plus Access and Publisher for PC only.
- File sharing and storage with 1TB of storage.
- 24/7 phone and web support
- One license covers 5 PCs, 5 tablets, and 5 phones
- Access to additional 1 note features
- Maximum number of users: 300
What's Next?
Microsoft is always working to improve its software to provide the best experience to its users. There is a very high probability that the company will soon release its latest version of the Microsoft Exchange Server. The new update can include even better features that can help businesses worldwide take maximum advantage of the server.
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