To simplify administration and provide scalability, Microsoft Exchange Server is based on organizations and sites. An organization is the largest administrative unit in Microsoft Exchange Server. It contains all the servers that provide the messaging functionality for a company.
Typically a company has only one organization that consists of one or more connected sites. A site is a group of Microsoft Exchange Server computers that share the same directory information and can communicate over high-bandwidth, permanent, and synchronous network connections. Sites can also contain Microsoft Exchange Client computers. For example, if your organization has several offices in different cities, the clients and servers for each office can be in different sites.
You can connect sites by using a variety of methods, such as wide area networks (WANs), the Internet, or even dial-up lines. Connecting sites enables users in different locations to send messages quickly and efficiently and to exchange information by using public folders. It also allows you, the administrator, to manage servers from remote locations and ensure that information in all sites is the same.
You can manage your organization and sites by using the Administrator program, which can be run on a Windows NT Server or Windows NT Workstation computer. You can use the Administrator program to view and configure all the objects in your organization, such as sites, servers, connections, and message recipients.