EDIT: This post was updated on 4/29/2008 to add more detail about the Exchange-aware backup on next version of SBS.
In a previous blog post, we wrote about the various versions of Exchange Server and...
Updated Jul 01, 2019
Version 2.0
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Note that it is not the lack of support for Exchange in Windows Server Backup (WSB) that doesn't allow WSB to backup Exchange - instead it's a lack of proper VSS integration from Exchange. WSB in WS2008 is a normal VSS requestor like other VSS backup apps and does reliably take VSS backups with other apps and services running on WS2008 (such as AD). Making this work is certainly something that needs to be addressed from Exchange, not WSB (and the fact that VSS backups are supported with DPM shows that Exchange provides some extra capabilities for DPM). Also note that streaming backup is disabled by default in Exchange 2007 SP1 as it's not considered secure and needs to be enabled with a special registry hack: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998870(EXCHG.80).aspx
The following statement in the blog could also lead to confusion: "Exchange 2007 effectively ignores read-only domain controllers and read-only global catalog servers, and Exchange 2007 requires a writable directory server in the Active Directory Site containing Exchange 2007 servers or users."
=> there is no concept of an AD site for users... So this could be confused that computers used by Exchange users also need to have a writeable DC in their site, which is not the case. A remote site ("branch office") with users that have a mailbox on a central Exchange Server in the datacenter, authenticate and work just fine with an RODC in the remote site. They don't need a writable DC to access their mail via Outlook or other clients. The writeable DCs are only required in the site that hosts the Exchange Servers.
The following statement in the blog could also lead to confusion: "Exchange 2007 effectively ignores read-only domain controllers and read-only global catalog servers, and Exchange 2007 requires a writable directory server in the Active Directory Site containing Exchange 2007 servers or users."
=> there is no concept of an AD site for users... So this could be confused that computers used by Exchange users also need to have a writeable DC in their site, which is not the case. A remote site ("branch office") with users that have a mailbox on a central Exchange Server in the datacenter, authenticate and work just fine with an RODC in the remote site. They don't need a writable DC to access their mail via Outlook or other clients. The writeable DCs are only required in the site that hosts the Exchange Servers.