Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 Inside Out

Edge servers

An Edge server is a peculiar beast that lives in a world of half-complete Active Directory and half-complete Exchange attached by an umbilical cord to its host Exchange organization. Of course, an Edge server is designed to live in a perimeter network, and it’s critical to reduce the attack surface presented by the computer so that hackers can’t gain access to valuable data by compromising the server. A standard Exchange server would be an attractive target because breaking into an administrator account would allow an attacker to access mailboxes and other data, not to mention the potential to wreak havoc on Active Directory and bring it and Exchange to its knees. An Edge server is therefore a form of truncated stand-alone Exchange ...