XADM: Installing, Configuring, and Using the InterOrg Replication Utility

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5 SP2

SUMMARY

This document describes how to use the Microsoft Exchange Server InterOrg Replication utility to share free and busy and public folder information. The InterOrg Replication utility consists of two programs, the Exchange Server Replication Configuration utility (Exscfg.exe) and the Exchange Server Replication Service (Exssrv.exe). Using these programs you can coordinate meetings, appointments, and contact information between members of two different Exchange Server organizations. Additionally, message types can automatically be converted to posts and added to public folders, which can then be replicated.

By using a configuration file created by the Exchange Server Replication Configuration utility, the Exchange Server Replication Service continuously updates information from one server (designated as the publisher) to one or more Exchange Server computers (designated as subscribers). Schedule+ free and busy information is replicated from publisher to subscriber only. For this reason, you must have two free and busy sessions to bi-directionally update free and busy information. Public folders can be replicated from publisher to subscriber or bi-directionally. You can configure the replication frequency, as well as the logging of message and folder replication, and how much processing power you want devoted to the replication process.

NOTE: For specific information about creating a session configuration file, see the Help file for the InterOrg Replication Configuration utility (Exscfg.exe).

Multiple Exchange Server Organizations Within a Single Company

• A merger or acquisition of a company that has a separate Exchange Server organization takes place.



• Servers are added to a different Exchange Server organization that may or may not be merged with the parent organization.



• Earlier versions of Exchange Server must share folder and free and busy information with Exchange Server computers in different organizations using Exchange Server version 5.5 or later.



• Exchange Server computers are administered separately in different organizations because of geographical constraints.

Multiple Organizations That Span Companies

• Limiting the interaction of other organizations to a specific folder or folders.



• Preventing administrators of other organizations from seeing the structure of your public folder system, and preventing users who have not been granted permission from replicating free and busy information.

Security

MORE INFORMATION

System Requirements

• Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 Server with Service Pack 4 or later



• Exchange Server version 5.0 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 2 or later
  - or -
  Exchange Server version 5.5 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 3 or later

Network Requirements

• A Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI)-capable local area network (LAN) connection between different Exchange Server organizations

Setup and Installation

1. Preparing the publisher



2. Preparing the subscribers



3. Installing the InterOrg Replicator utility files



4. Creating a configuration file



5. Setting up the replication service

Preparing the Publisher

1. Create a Windows NT account and an associated Exchange Server mailbox for the utility to use as a service account.



2. Using Outlook, add the service account mailbox that you created as an owner for every top-level folder and subfolder you want to replicate.



3. Using Outlook, create a public folder named ExchsyncSecurityFolder in the root public folder. Grant Folder Visible permission to the service account mailbox that you created. Do not specify any Default or Anonymous permissions on this folder; it is used by the Replication Service for additional security and must be present on both the publisher and subscriber servers.

Preparing the Subscriber

1. Create a Windows NT account and an associated Exchange Server mailbox for the utility to use as a service account.



2. Using Outlook, create a top-level folder for every portion of the folder hierarchy you are replicating. The utility creates subfolders automatically.



3. Using Outlook, grant Publishing Editor permission for each top-level folder to the service account mailbox that you created.



4. Using Outlook, create a public folder named ExchsyncSecurityFolder off of the root public folder. Grant Folder Visible permission to the service account mailbox that you created. Do not specify any Default or Anonymous permissions on this folder; it is used by the Replication Service for additional security and must be present on both the publisher and subscriber servers.

Installing the InterOrg Replicator Utility Files

• Exscfg.exe, the Exchange Server Replication Configuration program



• Exssrv.exe, the Exchange Server Replication Service

• Windows NT version 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later installed.



• Outlook 98 or later installed.



• Exchange Server version 5.5 with Service Pack 3 installed.

1. Create a working directory for the utility to use (C:\Exchsync, for example).



2. Copy the Exssrv.exe and Exscfg.exe files into your working directory.

Creating a Configuration File

1. Double-click the Exscfg.exe file.



2. On the Session menu, click Add.



3. In the Select Session Type box, click Schedule+ Free/Busy Replication, and then type a display name for the session.



4. In the Maximum Task Number box, enter the number of threads to be used for replication.
   
   NOTE: The number of threads should be less than or equal to the number of sites you want to replicate free and busy information for.



5. In the Schedule box, enter the time, day, and frequency for the replication session.



6. If you want the utility to write a log during the replication process, click Logging, and then set the appropriate parameters.
   
   NOTE: Log files report if the service starts or stops, any errors it encounters, and statistical information for each session (for example, number of messages and folders replicated).



7. Type the publisher and subscriber server names, and the service account mailboxes that you created for each.



8. Click Advanced, and then type the Windows NT domain, service account, and password for each of the publisher and subscriber accounts.



9. Click OK to add the session to the configuration file, and then save.

1. Double-click the Exscfg.exe file.



2. On the Session menu, click Add.



3. In the Select Session Type dialog box, click Public Folder Replication, and then type a display name for the session.



4. In the Maximum Task Number box, enter the number of threads you want to use for replication.
   
   NOTE: The number of threads should be less than or equal to the number of sites you want to replicate information for. Using higher task number values can negatively affect performance.



5. In the Schedule box, enter the time, day, and frequency for the replication session.



6. If you want the utility to write a log during the replication process, click Logging, and then set the appropriate parameters.
   
   NOTE: Log files report if the service starts or stops, any errors it encounters, and statistical information for each session (for example, number of messages and folders replicated).



7. Type the publisher and subscriber server names and the service account mailboxes that you created for each.



8. Click Advanced, and then type the Windows NT domain, service account, and password for each of the publisher and subscriber accounts.



9. Click Folder List to choose the folders that you want to replicate. In the Session Folder List dialog box, select the folder or folder hierarchy on the publisher that you want to replicate, and then select the destination folder on the subscriber.



10. Click the > button once to replicate public folder information only from the publisher to the subscriber. Click it again to toggle bi-directional replication.



11. Click OK to add the session to the configuration file and save.

Setting Up the Replication Service

1. Double-click the Exssrv.exe file. The first time you run the Exssrv.exe file, click Install.



2. Type the Windows NT account name and password from the service account and mailbox that you created. You can use either the publisher service account or the subscriber service account.



3. Type the path and file name of the configuration file that you created.



4. Specify whether or not you want the service to automatically start when you turn on the computer.
   
   After you have installed the service, click Start, or start it from the Control Panel.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q238642 XADM: Troubleshooting the InterOrg Replication Utility

Q221767 XADM: Public Folder InterOrg Replication Does Not Work Across Different Languages

Additional query words:

Keywords : exc55sp2
Version : winnt:5.5 SP2
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbhowto