Dell PowerVault 770N, Deployment Manual

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Installing the Feature Pack
Feature Pack Deployment Guide 25
Drive Mapping on the Exchange Server
The Feature Pack works with Exchange tools and services to enable the Exchange server to
access remotely stored databases and transaction logs on the Windows Storage Server computer.
The Distributed File System (DFS) sets up and provides access to the paths for remotely stored
files and folders.
Using a Stand-Alone DFS for Local Drive Mapping
DFS is a service of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Server that
makes it easier to manage distributed resources. The DFS service provides the consolidated
drive mapping and links that are required to access remotely stored Exchange databases and
transaction logs on a Windows Storage Server computer.
The Exchange server accepts only mapped drives as valid paths for remote locations. Exchange
cannot find databases and transaction logs that are stored in shared folders on the Windows
Storage Server computer unless the shared folders are mapped to a local drive. To provide a
manageable solution, the Feature Pack consolidates all drive mappings for Exchange shares that
are hosted on Windows Storage Server computers into a single, stand-alone DFS root on the
local Exchange server. The drive letter is mapped to the DFS root, and the links for all Exchange
shares are created under the DFS root. The stand-alone DFS keeps configuration information in
the local registry of the host server.
When the Feature Pack is installed on the Exchange server, a mapped drive is created, which
maps to the stand-alone DFS root. By default, the S: drive is used. If that drive letter is already
in use, the next available drive letter is assigned.
The DFS root is named based on the mapped drive letter. If the S: drive is used, the DFS root is
named S$. The folder for the DFS root is located in %ProgramFiles%\Windows Storage
Server\Exchange\.
Figure 2.1 shows how a path that is stored in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory
directory service and used by the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service is mapped to a
UNC path for a shared folder on the Windows Storage Server computer.
Figure 2.1 How the Network Address for a Remotely Stored Exchange File Is Mapped to
a Local Drive on the Exchange Server