Microsoft Exchange Server is a widely-used email server that is Windows Server-compatible. Exchange is compatible with web-based email services such as Microsoft Outlook, enabling users to read and manage their messages regardless of where they are. Since Outlook was developed with Exchange in mind, you can only get the most out of it with an Exchange account.

With Exchange, users can save and share their files and calendars, making it easier to organize schedules and collaborate on projects. The platform’s built-in storage and security solutions enable businesses to store data, perform searches safely, and carry out compliance requirements.

Exchange Server has become an important part of Office 365, a SaaS solution hosted in the cloud by Microsoft and provided by Microsoft.

What is Microsoft Exchange?

Microsoft Exchange is a popular email service offered by Microsoft and is often used by businesses, academics, and government institutions. It is a very flexible system that can handle a lot of users at the same time.

In addition, it was designed from the beginning to ensure that the server and client computers always have the most up-to-date versions of each user’s inbox. Exchange not only delivers email but also offers customers a worldwide address book, calendar, conference planner, and task manager.

Exchange Server 2019 features

The new version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 delivers much faster and more secure server failover. It was intended to improve the performance and take advantage of the latest storage technologies, such as larger disks and solid-state drives (SSDs).

The following are some of the additional MS Exchange Features:

Provides support for a maximum of 256 GB of random access memory (RAM) and 48 processing cores;
Installing on Windows Server Core is supported;
Allows the native restriction of access from the outside to the Exchange Admin Center and the Exchange Management Shell;
Uses cache allocation in RAM to get the maximum speed for active databases;
Users are prevented from forwarding meeting invites to other users;
Provides end customers with a more significant number of Out of Office solutions;
It provides the ability for administrators to call off meetings that have been organized by former users who have since departed the business.

How does the Exchange Server work?

The Exchange server consists of four key components that collaborate to ensure the operation is performed correctly.

These are the elements that make up the mail exchange server:

Information Store

Messages received by email are stored, sorted, and accessible in this specific area of the server.

System Attendant

It ensures that the client sending and receiving these communications will find them relevant to their needs. In a nutshell, it is responsible for the creation as well as management of email addresses.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

This element is the significant one. Transmission of messages between servers is possible. Messages are often meant to be sent from one server to another, especially if the recipient is far away or uses an email service other than Microsoft.

Active Directory

It is responsible for informing the system attendant of any new mailbox information. Additionally, it maintains user accounts and distribution lists independently.

The capabilities of the various parts make their functions very transparent. It means that Microsoft Exchange Server can’t function properly without the relevant elements.

As a result, the user can set up new email accounts and handle numerous data types, including calendars, address books, and emails. Rest confident that the emails you send will get to the inbox where they are intended to be so that the users may communicate with one another in a way that is both prompt and effective.

Benefits of Exchange Server

The Microsoft Exchange server plays an important role in your everyday life. The exchange server’s capabilities in formal documents, security, and mobility are unparalleled.

Now, we’ll look at the top ten reasons you should use an Exchange server.

Official appointments

The email server will ensure that you always remember a scheduled event. If you are out of the office, your customer will get an instant response from the system informing them of this.

Confidentiality of emails

When you are away from the workplace, you can delegate trusted coworkers to ensure that nothing crucial is ignored. Hence, it keeps the business going by allowing people to verify your availability for an important meeting and make appointments.

Address book feature

Finally, you no longer have to worry about your employees’ email addresses. All of the addresses will be updated right away in the address book. It will be helpful for urgent needs like mass messaging or other necessary private communications, ensuring security is not compromised.

Enhanced team productivity

It supports the development of proper communication between workers by allowing them access from home, the workplace, away from the office, or overseas. As a result, it dramatically streamlines communication and contributes to quick development and production.

Cost-effective

Exchange mail server saves money on communication costs since it is faster and uses less money than others, such as phone calls, faxes, and typing and mailing paper letters.

Customer satisfaction

With Microsoft Exchange Server, businesses can quickly answer customer questions and solve their problems, making customers happier.

Security

It provides more security choices than faxes and emails. Companies don’t have to worry about losing private data because it has features like preventing leaks, archiving, and preserving sensitive information while meeting government and industry standards.

Mobility and portability

The Exchange server lets employees and customers of a business access email, instant messaging, voicemail, video calls, and SMS text messages from anywhere safely. Everything they need is a computing device and an internet connection.

Cloud Computing benefits

Exchange lets users move to the cloud in the way that works best for them, whether that means moving quickly to the cloud or keeping both on-premises and online mailboxes to meet their business needs.

It gives end users a seamless experience, including sharing multiple calendars and setting up meetings with users on-premises and in the cloud.

Agility

The Exchange Server shortens the time needed to manage the messaging systems by providing highly adaptable management, accelerating the procedures.

What are the Microsoft Exchange 2019 requirements?

To successfully install Exchange 2019, you will need to ensure that you meet the following requirements below:

In Active Directory (AD) forests that already include Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2013 servers, the installation of Exchange 2019 is possible. There is a strict prohibition on installing any previous versions of Exchange in the same forest as Exchange 2019.
The Active Directory forest requires all domain controllers (DCs) to run.
It is required that the Active Directory forest function level be at least Windows Server 2012 R2.
The server that will host Exchange 2019 needs to have a 64-bit processor.
The random access memory (RAM) available on the server that will host Exchange 2019 needs to be between 128 and 256 gigabytes (GB) (RAM).
The New Technology File System, often known as NTFS. It must be installed on any disk partitions that house the system partition, Exchange binaries, diagnostic logs, and transport database. On partitions that hold mailbox databases as well as transactions.

Microsoft Exchange 2019 Server pricing

The cost of an Exchange Server installation significantly depends on the purchase method and the specific edition being used.

Exchange on-premises is offered on a per-server basis. Moreover, a Client Access License (CAL) is needed for each Exchange user. The Exchange Server should be installed on a server that runs the Windows Server OS, which also must be licensed with a per-server plus CAL model. You can only set up the server in a domain with at least one domain controller (DC) in Active Directory.

The Exchange Server itself is available at Standard and Enterprise licensing levels. Exchange CALs are also available in Standard and Enterprise varieties. Each user must have a Windows Server Standard CAL; if they want more power, they can also have an Enterprise CAL. Standard and Enterprise CALs are compatible with both server editions.

Exchange Online may be purchased on a user-by-user, monthly basis, whether as a standalone product or as a component of an Office 365 subscription package. There are two independent plans to choose from. Exchange Online Plan 1, which costs $4 per user per month, provides users with safe and accessible corporate email along with a mailbox capacity of 50 GB each.

The Exchange Online Plan 2 costs $8 per user per month and expands upon the capabilities of the Exchange Online Plan 1. It has unlimited storage space, hosted voicemail, and data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities.

Final Thoughts

End users often only need to learn a little about Exchange’s configuration to set it up or utilize it. You will need an email address and password from your IT administrator to get started. Once you have them, you can add the address to Outlook, and the program will automatically establish the account as an Exchange one

Microsoft Exchange Server: What You Should Know?