Hey I know this is probably not the right place for it, but can anyone please link me a good tutorial to setup an exchange server on windows 2003? I basically wana learn the process. And is it true the true email server is Exchange Server? I've heard the mail server in windows 2003 is a joke compared to exchange server.

Windows Server is the operating system on which the Exchange Server application runs. They are two different, albeit interdependent, things. Windows 2003 server does contain a feature-limited mail server, which may be what you are thinking of. It is certainly much less powerful than Exchange, but may be perfectly adequate for some uses. Microsoft's Exchange Server 2003 deployment guide is a pretty comprehensive document. It is a lot of reading, and will probably be a bit overwhelming if you haven't worked with Exchange before. You will really "learn the process" if you have the patience to read through it. If you want an easier introduction to email on Windows platforms, I would recommend configuring the Mail Server role on your Windows 2003 server. This installs the built-in mail server. You can use it to familiarize yourself with the basics of email, which will make learning Exchange much easier later on. The built-in help files are a goldmine of information for setting, configuring, and using the built-in mail server. I suggest you read through them - unless you really can't wait to dive into that Exchange deployment guide ;)

Also....depending on who you ask, some might say that sendmail is the one true email server ;)

"I've heard the mail server in windows 2003 is a joke compared to exchange server." That's because comparatively, it is. ;-) Also, make sure you are familiar with Active Directory before you deploy Exchange. If you don't know AD and deploy Exchange, you're asking for a world of hurt. I supported Exchange for Microsoft in phone support, and probably half the problems people called up with were not Exchange problems; their AD's were hosed. In fact, their MPSReports for Exchange includes almost all the AD troubleshooting utilities. ;-) "...but in my defense, it was dark, I was drunk, and it was delicious!"

Check out http://www.msexchange.org but for a real A-Z guide on Exchange you will probably need a book from somone like Sybex.

Hi there ! Please let me know which is the best ? I have licensed copies of w2k and w2003 server standard edition. Which one of these will go smoothly with Ms Exchange 2000. Regards, Anupli

Exchange 2000 will not run on Windows 2003. Peter