Build an Exchange mail server

In the enterprise's Internet application, how to establish an efficient, stable, easy to manage Internet Mail Server is an important work. This article discusses how to build a complete Internet Mail server system on a Windows NT platform and how to implement advanced features such as mail server reuse.

First, select the appropriate mail server software

Currently, there are many WWW servers using Windows NT as the operating system platform on the Internet, while for mail servers, most of them use SendMail system based on UNIX platform. In fact, with a lot of budget constraints, creating a mail server based on a Windows NT platform can save a lot of money, and its functionality and performance are quite good, and management is less difficult than Unix.

There are a number of alternative mail servers on the Windows NT platform, and this article recommends using Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 for the following reasons.

1. Exchange Server 5.5 is well integrated with Windows NT, and its account management can be integrated with Windows NT account management.

2. Exchange Server 5.5 is a groupware system, and the Internet Mail service is just one part of the functionality; With its groupware features, more office automation functions can be realized.

3. Exchange Server 5.5 is open and provides a sophisticated programming interface for developing applications that are based on client/server or browser/server architectures.

4. The purchase of Exchange Server 5.5 at home can enjoy the free technical support of Microsoft Company for a certain period of time, which is helpful for new users.

Of course, Exchange Server 5.5 is a bit overqualified for users who just want to use the Internet Mail Server feature. If you want to choose a more single mail server software, it is best to examine its stability, integration with Windows NT, and whether to provide programming interfaces.

Second, install Exchange Server 5.5

The process of installing Exchange Server 5.5 is not complicated, but be careful to establish a Windows NT domain account for installation prior to installation. The specific steps are as follows.

1. Create an Exchange Server Management account in Windows NT User Manager, such as "Exadmin". Note that you must add this account to the "Administrators" group. As shown in Figure 1.

2. Run the Exchange Server Setup program. When the installer prompts the administrator account, select the "Exadmin" you just established.

3. The remaining steps follow the installation prompts until the installation is finished properly.

At this point, only the basic parts of Exchange Server are installed and cannot be used as an Internet mail server. In Exchange Server, a service option, called an Internet Mail service, is responsible for completing the Internet Mail Services feature.