14 DAY TRIAL // While the first service pack for Exchange Server 2010 is cooking over in Redmond, Microsoft has taken Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3 out of the baking oven. SP3 is the latest upgrade to Exchange 2007, the predecessor of Exchange 2010, and is designed to bring to the table a number of enhancements, bug fixes, new features and capabilities. According to the software giant, Exchange Server 2007 SP3 has been designed to play nice with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
“For administrators, Exchange Server 2007 SP3 provides further flexibility with the addition of Windows Server 2008 R2 support for server roles and Windows 7 support for the Exchange management tools. These additions, along with enhancements for the advanced protection options against e-mail security threats, such as spam and viruses and the tools which help manage internal compliance and high availability needs provide Exchange administrators with the tools they need to manage their Exchange 2007 environments efficiently,” Microsoft stated.
Customers currently running older releases of Exchange Server 2007 would be able to perform clean installations of SP3 on a new server by following the same steps as when deploying Exchange 2007 RTM, Exchange 2007 SP1 or Exchange 2007 SP2, Microsoft stated. The third service pack for Exchange 2007 enables the product to be installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 without any issues. Kevin Allison, GM - Exchange Customer Experience, explains that this was a top request in the feedback that customers provided Microsoft with, driving the company to act accordingly.
“Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3 (SP3) has been designed specifically to meet the challenges facing our customers and to help address the needs of all the different businesses and organizations utilizing our Exchange Server 2007 enterprise messaging system,” the software giant added. “Exchange Server 2007 SP3 is a mission-critical communications tool that enables employees to be more productive and access their information anywhere and anytime while providing a messaging system that enables rich, efficient access to e-mail, calendar items, voice mail, and contacts.”
Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3 (SP3) is available for download here. Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta is available for download here.