Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 Administrator's Companion

Chapter 2. Understanding Exchange Server Storage Architecture

• Storage Design Goals in Exchange Server 2003

• Database File Structure

• Data Recovery and Transaction Logs

• Installable File System

• Public Folders

• Client Access to Exchange 2003 Stores

• Indexing

• Front-End/Back-End Servers

• Summary

This chapter describes the storage architecture in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. We’ll cover the database file structure, the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE), the change made to the Installable File System (IFS), and the way Exchange Server 2003 handles public folders. Finally, we’ll look at indexing and how clients access Exchange Server 2003 stores, as well as the front-end/backend server architecture.

Storage Design Goals in Exchange Server 2003

The storage architecture ...