Exchange Interview Q-n-A

Q.1 What does the .edb and .stm file contain in Exchange 2000?

Answer:The .Edb File Contains All The Folders, Tables And Indexes
            For Messaging Data And Mapi Messages And Attachments
           The Stm File (New To Exchange 2000) Contains Internet Content In Its
           Native Format. 

  Note:-  (*.Edb + *.Stm) + (*.Log) = Database

Q.2 Where is the Directory Service database stored in Exchange 5.5?

Answer: Dir.edb 

Q.3 Mention the types of Routing Group Connectors in Exchange 2000?

Answer:

A Routing Group is a collection of Exchange servers that communicate with each other directly over the same internal network or reliable connection.

When multiple Routing Groups must be created, each individual group must be connected using one of three available Exchange connection types:

·         Routing Group Connector This connector is the default connector type. It can be used to connect a single or multiple Exchange bridgehead server for load balancing of message traffic.

·         SMTP Connector The SMTP connector uses the Simple Mail Transport Protocol to connect and communicate with remote Routing Groups, non-Exchange mail systems, and the Internet mail host.

·         X.400 Mail Connector Limited to a single local and remote host, the X.400 connector is primarily designed for communications between Exchange Server 2003 and X.400 mail systems.

Mixed Mode

When Exchange Server 2003 is in a mixed environment, Routing Groups can consist of only servers that had been installed directly into the Administrative Group where the Routing Group resides. Additional servers from other Administrative Groups cannot be added to the Routing Group.

Native Mode

After the functional level has been raised to Native Mode, Exchange servers can be managed and moved between Routing Groups.

Also, Routing Groups in a single Administrative Group can contain servers from other Administrative Groups.

Q.4 What are the features of Active Directory in Windows 2000?

Answer: Features of Active Directory in Windows 2000 can be categorised as

      Manageability :-Centralized Management, Group Policy, Global Catalog,IntelliMirror Desktop Management,
      Automated Software Distribution, Active Directory Service Interfaces, Backward Compatibility,
      Delegated Administration,Multi-Master Replication

      Security      :-Kerberos Authentication, Smart Card Support, Transitive Domain Trust,PKI/x.509,LDAP over SSL,
      Required Authentication Mechanism ,Attribute-Level Security, Spanning Security Groups,LDAP ACL Support

     Interoperability:-DirSync Support, Active Directory Connectors, Open APIs,Native LDAP,DNS Naming, Open Change History,
   DEA Platform, DEN Platform, Extensible Schema

Q.5 What are the features of Exchange 2003 over Exchange 2000?

Answer: - Better Anti-spam tools - comprehensive set of filters
                Improved Queue management
 Smoother integration with IIS
 Enhanced OWA.  Now includes a spell checker and X509 certificates
 Outlook Mobile Access (OMA), which functions like OWA for devices
 Cached replication of Outlook 2003.  Cached mode creates a local data file
 that Outlook uses for all foreground activity. It then contacts the
 Exchange server in the background.
 Volume Shadow Copy Service for Database Backups/Recovery
 Mailbox Recovery Center
 Recovery Storage Group
 Front-end and back-end Kerberos authentication
 Distribution lists are restricted to authenticated users
 Queues are centralized on a per-server basis

Move log files and queue data using Exchange System Manager
 Multiple Mailbox Move tool
 Dynamic distribution lists
 1,700 Exchange-specific events using Microsoft Operations Manager (requires    Microsoft Operations Manager)
 Deployment and migration tools  

Q.7 How to restore Group policies?

Answer:-                                           

A GPO is a container for policies that are applied on a domain. When you configure a domain, the domain creates a Default Domain Policy for itself. Each GPO that you create has a GUID. When you create a new user-defined GPO, the %SystemRoot%\Sysvol folder contains a folder that has the GUID as its name. This folder represents the newly created GPO. If you accidentally delete a GPO, the corresponding folder is automatically removed from the Sysvol folder. Back up the system state every day so that you can restore the policy files if you accidentally delete the GPO.

Method 1: Copy all the old policy files to a new GPO

To copy all the old policy files to a new GPO, follow these steps.

Note To copy files from the old GPO to a new GPO, you must have the most recent system state backup that contains the Sysvol folder and the old GPO. Also, you must know the GUID of the old GPO.

1.

Restore the system state to an alternative location. To do this, follow these steps: a. Restart the computer. b. After the basic input/output system (BIOS) information is displayed, press F8. c. Use the DOWN ARROW key to select Directory Services Restore Mode (Windows 2000 domain controllers only), and then press ENTER. d. Use the UP ARROW key or the DOWN ARROW key to select your computer, and then press ENTER. e. Log on by using your administrative name and password. f. Create a temporary folder in the %SystemDrive% folder. g. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. h. Click the Restore tab. i. Click the appropriate backup media. j. To restore the system state, click to select the System State check box. k. In the Restore Files to box, click Alternate location. l. Click Browse, select the temporary folder, and then click OK. m. Click Start Restore. n. When the restore process is complete, restart your computer in normal mode.

2.

Use Active Directory Users and Computers to create a new GPO. To do this, follow these steps: a. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers. b. Right-click the appropriate domain name, and then click Properties. c. Click the Group Policy tab. d. Click New to create a new GPO. e. Rename the new GPO, and then click Properties. f. Notice the GUID for the newly created GPO, and then click OK. g. Click Close. h. Close Active Directory Users and Computers.

3.

Copy all the policy files from the temporary folder to the newly created GPO. To do this, follow these steps: a. Open the temporary folder that contains the restored system state data, and then locate the following folder: Sys Vol\SystemDriveLetter\Winnt\Sysvol\Domain\Policies b. Locate the GUID for the GPO that you want to copy policy files from. c. Copy all the policy files from the old GPO. d. Locate the GUID for the newly created GPO in the following folder: %SystemRoot%\Sysvol\Sysvol\DomainDirectory\Policies e. After you locate the new GPO, replace all the files in the new GPO with the old GPO policy files. f. Restart your computer.

Q.8 What is the function of NNTP service in Exchange 2000?

Answer:-While installing Exchange 2000, the system creates a default Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) virtual
 server. You can use this virtual server to house a feed from other newsgroups
 This Default NNTP virtual server can be used to create feeds to a Public Folder for storage (Internet Newsgroups).
 For other storage media (either a file system or remote share), you must create a new virtual server.

  

Network News Transfer Protocol

Because Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is growing in popularity, it would be wise for us to take a brief look at the architecture of this protocol. We'll then discuss the more pragmatic aspects of administering NNTP on your network.

NNTP Architecture

NNTP specifies a way to distribute, query, retrieve, and post news articles on the Internet. A client wanting to retrieve a subset of articles from the database is called a subscriber. NNTP allows a subscriber to request a subset of articles rather than requiring the retrieval of all articles from the database. Before NNTP was developed, two methods of distributing news items were popular: Internet mailing lists and the Usenet news system.

An Internet mailing list, commonly known as a list server, distributes news by the use of distribution e-mail lists. A subscriber sends a message to the distribution list, and the message is e-mailed to all of the members of the list. But sending a separate copy of an e-mail to each subscriber can consume a large amount of disk space, bandwidth, and CPU resources. In addition, it can take from several minutes to several hours for the message to be fully distributed, depending on the size of the list and the physical resources available to propagate it. Maintaining the subscriber list also involves significant administrative effort, unless a third-party program is used to automate this function.

Storing and retrieving messages from a central location instead of sending an email to each subscriber can significantly reduce the use of these resources. The Usenet news system provides this alternative. In addition, Usenet allows a subscriber to select only those messages he or she wants to read and also provides indexing, cross-referencing, and message expiration.

NNTP is modeled on the Usenet news specifications in RFC 850, but it is designed to make fewer demands on the structure, content, and storage of the news articles. It runs as a background service on one host and can accept connections from other hosts on the LAN or over the Internet.

When a subscriber connects to an NNTP server, the subscriber issues the NEWSGROUPS command to determine whether any new newsgroups have been created on the server. If so, the server notifies the subscriber and gives the subscriber the opportunity to subscribe to the new newsgroups. After this, the subscriber is connected to the desired newsgroup and can use the NEWNEWS command to ask the server whether any new articles have been posted since the subscriber's last connection. The subscriber receives a list of new articles from the server and can request transmission of some or all of those articles. Finally, the subscriber can either reply to a news article or post a new article to the server by using the POST command.

NNTP uses TCP for its connections and SMTP-like commands and responses. The default TCP port for NNTP is 119. An NNTP command consists of a command word followed in some cases by a parameter, and commands are not case sensitive. Each line can contain only one command and may not exceed 512 characters, including spaces, punctuation, and the trailing CR–LF (carriage return/line feed) command. Commands cannot be continued on the next line.

Responses from the server can take the form of a text response or a status response. Text responses are displayed in the subscriber's client program, whereas status responses are interpreted by the client program before any display occurs.

Q.9.What is Recepient Update Service in Exchange 2000?

Answer:- Recipient Update Service (RUS) is a very important component in your Exchange installation, it is RUS that is
  responsible for updating address lists and email addresses in your Active Directory
        

 Default Exchange organization will have two RUS objects 

 (a) Enterprise Configuration RUS :-responsible for the updating of the email addresses for the
                                                 system objects such as the MTA & System Attendant.

 
 (b) Domain RUS :-responsible for the updating of the address information for recipient objects
    in the domain that it is responsible for

Q.10 The function of the Default SMTP Virtual Server in Exchange 2000?

Answer:-

SMTP virtual server plays a critical role in mail delivery.
SMTP virtual servers provide the Exchange mechanisms for managing SMTP.
the default SMTP virtual server sends messages within a routing group.
Additionally, if the server is a domain controller, Active Directory uses
this virtual server for SMTP directory replication. An SMTP virtual server is defined by  a unique combination of an IP address and port number.
The default SMTP virtual server uses all available IP addresses on the server and uses port 25 for inbound connections. A single physical server can host many virtual servers.

Q.1 What is the Active Directory?

Ans: Active Directory stores information about resources on the network and makes it easy for users to locate, manage and use their resources.

Q.2 where is the Active Directory database located?

Ans:  The Active Directory database is located in the

             “%systemroot%\NTDS\NTDS.DIT”

          It is based on Jet database.

Q.3 What is the Active Directory Schema?

Ans:  1. It is dynamically updatable.

         2. It is dynamically available.

         3. DACL.

Q.4 What is LDAP? What is the port for LDAP?  

Ans:  LDAP is a method of communication in Active Directory. LDAP is a directory service protocol that is used to query and update Active Directory.

Q.5 What is a tree?

Ans: A collection of domains which share a common namespace.

Q.6 What is the function of “%systemroot%\system32\dssec.dat” fie?

Ans: To delegate the right to unlock locked user accounts to a user or group in Active Directory, you must first make the right visible.

The %Systemroot%\System32\Dssec.dat file contains filters that control the whether a right is revealed, and can be written. Open Dssec.dat in Notepad and find [User]. Within [User], the lockoutTime entry is listed alphabetically. Change the mask from 7 to 0, yielding lockoutTime=0.
NOTE: The mask values appears to be:

0 - Read and Write of property unfiltered

1 - Read of property filtered

2 - Write of property filtered

7 - Filter out property.

Q.7 What are the core services in Exchange 5.5? Exlplain the order of starting the services?

Ans:   1. Directory service(DS): “net start msexchangeds”

       2. Information Store(IS): “net start msexchangeis”

       3. Message Transfer Agent(MTA): “net start msexchangemta”

       4. Internet Mail Connector(IMC): “net start msexchangeimc”

       5. “net start msexchangees”

Q.8 What is the size of Transaction log file?

Ans: 5 MB (Exxxx.log)

Q.9 IMC service in Exchange 5.5 does not start. Explain the necessary steps you would take to check and resolve the problem?

Ans: 1. Incorrectly configured Address Space.

      2. Use a blank space in the Address Space field which will lets the Internet Mail Connector send mail to all recipients and provides a basic configuration on which to build after you know your service works. If you have entered anything in this box, try removing it and see if the IMC starts.

Q10. What are the core services in Exchange 2000? Explain the process of starting the services?

Ans:  The core services are

 

1.   Microsoft Exchange MTA Stack(msexchangemta).

2.   Microsoft Exchange Information store(msexchangeis).

3.   Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine(reSvc).

4.   Microsoft Exchange Sysytem Attendant(msexchangesa).

5.   Network News Transfer Protocol(NNTPSvc)

6.   Simple Mail Transfer Protocol(SMTPSvc).

Q11. Explain the Hierarchy of the Exchange Management Console Program?

Ans:    Organisation Name

                            à Global Settings

                                               àRecepients

                                                            àAdministrative Groups

                                                                                      àTools                                      

Q12. What is the latest service pack for Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000?

Ans:  Exchange 5.5: SP4

         Exchange 2000: SP4

        Exchange 2003: SP2

Q14. What is RUS? Which service is responsible for the RUS?

Ans: The Recipient Update Service (RUS) is a component in the Exchange 2000 System Attendant service. The RUS creates and maintains Exchange 2000-specific attribute values in the Active Directory.

      If you create a mailbox for a user, the RUS is responsible for the automatic generation of the user’s Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address and any other proxy addresses that you have defined for your recipients. However, in Active Directory Users and Computers tool, the proxy addresses are not displayed immediately because a short latency period occurs before the Recipient Update Service produces the new e-mail addresses. This latency occurs even if you have configured the RUS to run continuously.

      After you install Exchange 2000, two instances of RUS are created:

1. The enterprise configuration RUS,
2. The domain RUS

 There is only one instance of the enterprise RUS in the organization. You must have a RUS for each domain that contains mailbox-enabled users.

Each instance of the Domain RUS associates one Exchange 2003 computer(where the RUS runs) with one Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 Server Domain controller(where AD objects are updated).

Only one RUS can be associated with any Active Directory domain controller.

If you have multiple sites, you can also add multiple instances of the RUS for each domain. In this scenario, an instance of the RUS is hosted on a DC in each site, and mailbox creation does not depend on the inter-site replication schedule of the AD.

If you create a new mailbox-enabled user, that user cannot log on to their mailbox until the RUS has generated the new proxy e-mail addresses. If you set the RUS to run on a schedule, that user may have to wait a short period before they can use Exchange 2003.

To update addresses immediately, you can force the RUS to run manually.

Q15. What is a recipient policy, e-mail policy and mailbox manager policy?

Ans: Recipient policies are used in Exchange 2000 server to automatically control the generation of e-mail addresses for recipient objects

      The following are recipient objects,

1.   Mail-enables users

2.   Contacts

3.   Groups

4.   Public Folders.

      Recipient policies are similar to the “Site-Addressing” feature in Exchange 5.5, but are more flexible. For e.g. recipient policies allow you to create multiple addresses for a given address type.

      They provide a set of LDAP-based filter rules. These rules allow you to select the set of recipients to which the recipient policy will apply.

Mailbox manager policy is the policy in which the Exchange Administrator has the ability to control the content of user’s mailbox.

Recipient policies are a set of configurable rules that run on a schedule and evaluate all the messaging-enabled objects in your Active Directory forest. The policy uses the rules to filter all of the objects and to selectively apply e-mail addresses of specific types to those instances that fit the predefined rules.