1.1.1 And Size Doesn't Matter

It should be noted upfront that the term mission-critical need not apply specifically or solely to large systems or even large Exchange deployments. Certainly, larger deployments in larger organizations may have millions of dollars of revenue per day riding on the availability of their messaging and knowledge management systems. However, in the eyes of a small/medium business owner or IT manager, a small deployment of 50 users may be equally important to his existence. Moreover, since a large portion of the total deployed Exchange servers in the market reside in small/medium businesses, we must not limit our discussions or focus to include only large deployments. Mission-critical refers not to the size of our messaging system but to the importance of our data and the medium itself. Therefore, even small and mid-sized companies can have a need for and deploy mission-critical Exchange servers. It is not the size that matters both large and small Exchange deployments need the tools, concepts, and methods I will discuss throughout this book.

Planning and implementing mission-critical systems is like buying insurance for your home or car. We accept the fact that, at some point along the road, something may happen, and we will have to file a...