The AD Administrator's Guide to Exchange 2007

While Exchange administrators are running around in a state of excitement about the latest version of Exchange, Active Directory (AD) administrators have to be content with patiently waiting for Windows Server 2008 (formerly code-named Longhorn) and the AD updates that it includes. The good news for those of you involved with AD and keen to get to grips with emerging Microsoft technologies is that you can get started learning about AD and Microsoft Exchange 2007 integration now. In fact, you’ll need to work more closely with your Exchange colleagues in future. Let’s take a look at the Exchange 2007 features that are most likely to be relevant to IT professionals working closely with AD.

AD Requirements
As with all Exchange versions after 5.5, Exchange 2007 requires AD. However, you can’t install Exchange 2007 in just any AD environment. First, the domain controller (DC) holding the Schema Master role must be running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later. Second, the installation of Exchange 2007 requires at least one DC acting as a global catalog server to be available within the AD site. This global catalog server must also be running Windows 2003 SP1 or later. . . .