Determining the Scope of Information Transfer

The method used to transfer directory information depends on the scope of the transfer — whether it's within a Microsoft Exchange Server site or organization, beyond it to another organization, or to a foreign mail system.

The following cases summarize how directory information can be shared.

Information Transfer Within a Microsoft Exchange Server Site

You can configure the automatic directory replication process using the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program. For more information about transferring information between servers within a Microsoft Exchange Server site, see the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator's Guide.

Information Transfer Between Microsoft Exchange Server Sites

You can configure directory replication between sites using the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program and the directory replication connector. For more information about transferring information between Microsoft Exchange Server sites, see the Microsoft Exchange Server Concepts and Planning Guide and the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator's Guide.

Information Transfer Between Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Mail 3.X Server

To configure directory synchronization between a Microsoft Exchange Server system and a Microsoft Mail 3.x server (or any system that uses the Microsoft Mail 3.x protocol), you can use the directory exchange agent supplied with the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program. For more information, refer to the Microsoft Exchange Server Concepts and Planning Guide.

Information Transfer Between Microsoft Exchange Server and Other Foreign Systems

You can transfer directory information to or from foreign systems (other Microsoft Exchange Server systems or outside mail systems other than Microsoft Mail3.x). The process includes generating a file that contains the directory information, sending it to the other system, and importing it at the foreign system. The DIRSYNC sample application demonstrates how to accomplish this type of information transfer, using a keyboard command for each part of this process. DIRSYNC can also be modified to perform this task automatically and avoid the need for creating or transferring files manually.

Note  Public folders, which have components in both the directory and the information store, are automatically replicated to other servers and sites. For more information, see About Public Folder Replication.