Building a Server Application

Server applications extend the basic functionality of Microsoft Exchange Server. They can be used to provide a broad range of services, from mail gateways and voice mail to document management, content indexing, and electronic newspapers.

Server applications can be developed either as extensions to the Administrator Program or as stand-alone applications. Administrator extensions use the Administrator program interface and extend its functionality. Most standalone server applications are either mailbox agents or gateways. Mailbox agents are server applications that are accessed through a mailbox on a server. Gateways are interfaces with other mail systems. This section focuses on mailbox agents, but most of its concepts apply to gateways as well.

For complete discussions about server application development, see the following topics:

• For information about writing a custom setup program for your server application, see Setup Programs.
• For information on effective ways to access other user mailboxes from your application, see Information Store Operations.
• For information on how to add new application-specific user information to the system, see Directory Operations and Administrator Program Extensions.
• For information on gateways, see the Gateway Programmer's Reference.