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Exchange OLE Database (ExOLEDB) provider evaluation criteria

Exchange

Published: July 16, 2012

Conceptual overview topic

Find evaluation criteria information for using the Exchange OLE Database (ExOLEDB) provider to develop messaging applications.

Applies to: Exchange Server 2003 | Exchange Server 2007

In this article
Functional criteria for the ExOLEDB provider
Development criteria for the ExOLEDB provider
Security criteria for the ExOLEDB provider
Deployment criteria for the ExOLEDB provider
Additional resources

You can use the Exchange OLE Database (ExOLEDB) provider in your application to access the Exchange store by using OLE DB and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). You can use the ExOLEDB provider on the local Exchange server only, to access Exchange store items on the server. You cannot use ExOLEDB on Exchange front-end servers.

Note
The ExOLEDB provider is not available in versions of Exchange starting with Exchange Server 2010.

Functional criteria for the ExOLEDB provider

The following table lists and describes the functional criteria for the ExOLEDB provider. For descriptions of the functional criteria, see Functional criteria in the Exchange development technology evaluation criteria descriptions article.

Table 1: ExOLEDB provider functional criteria

Criterion	Description
Application function	Applications that use the ExOLEDB provider typically access information from the Exchange store by using SQL queries. You can use the ExOLEDB provider to retrieve and manipulate all types of data in the Exchange store that the user has permission to access. the ExOLEDB provider also enables full-text search of items in the Exchange store.
Availability	The ExOLEDB provider is included in Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007. The ExOLEDB provider cannot be used to develop applications for versions of Exchange starting with Exchange 2010.
Application architectures	Because you have to run the ExOLEDB provider on the Exchange server and you can only access data that is located on that server, applications that use the ExOLEDB provider must also run on the Exchange server. These are typically ASP applications that require access to information in the Exchange store.
Remote usage	the ExOLEDB provider cannot be used remotely.
Major objects	The ExOLEDB provider is not typically used as an object model, but as an OLE Database provider, with ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). The ExOLEDB provider exposes an OLE DB version 2.5 object model that allows direct access without the overhead of ADO.
Data access model	The ExOLEDB provider provides a database-style access model.
Threading models	Applications that use the ExOLEDB provider do not directly access the provider; therefore, threading restrictions are determined by the application and ADO (or WebDAV).
Transactions	The ExOLEDB provider does not directly support transactions.
Management capabilities	The ExOLEDB provider provides performance counters that you can use to analyze application performance and health, as well as to measure the response time of the Exchange server.

Development criteria for the ExOLEDB provider

The following table lists and describes the development criteria for the ExOLEDB provider. For descriptions of the development criteria, see Development criteria in the Exchange development technology evaluation criteria descriptions article.

Table 2: ExOLEDB provider development criteria

Criterion	Description
Languages and tools	You can use the ExOLEDB provider with any COM/Automation-compatible language, as well as with non-COM languages such as C/C++.
Managed implementation	The ExOLEDB provider is an unmanaged component. Use of the ExOLEDB provider is supported under the COM Interoperability layer of Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework.
Scriptable	the ExOLEDB provider is scriptable by means of ADO.
Test/debug tools	You do not need any specific debugging tools to debug applications that use the ExOLEDB provider.
Expert availability	Developers who have experience with ADO and SQL are readily available. Developers who are specifically familiar with the full-text search query language are less common.
Available information	The ExOLEDB provider is described in some Microsoft and third-party Exchange development books. You can also find information about the ExOLEDB provider in the Exchange Server 2003 SDK.
Developer/deployment licensing	Refer to your Exchange and MSDN subscription licensing agreements to determine whether additional licenses are required for the computers that your ExOLEDB provider applications are developed and deployed on.

Security criteria for the ExOLEDB provider

The following table lists and describes the security criteria for the ExOLEDB provider. For descriptions of the security criteria, see Security criteria in the Exchange development technology evaluation criteria descriptions article.

Table 3: ExOLEDB provider security criteria

Criterion	Description
Design-time permissions	Depending on your development environment and configuration, you might need Exchange administrative permissions for the servers you are working with. Be careful when you grant anyone unrestricted access to user mailboxes and Exchange system configuration settings.
Setup permissions	You have to run applications that use the ExOLEDB provider on the Exchange server that the data is stored on, and users who install the application must have permissions on that Exchange server. Be careful when you grant users permission to install software on a production Exchange server. We recommend that you review those permissions after the application is installed and tested.
Run-time permissions	Because applications that use the ExOLEDB provider run on the Exchange server where the data is stored, users who run the application must have sufficient permissions to access the data.
Built-in security features	The ExOLEDB provider uses the underlying Windows Server 2003 security features.
Security monitoring features	None.

Deployment criteria for the ExOLEDB provider

The following table lists and describes the deployment criteria for the ExOLEDB provider. For descriptions of the deployment criteria, see Deployment criteria in the Exchange development technology evaluation criteria descriptions article.

Table 4: ExOLEDB provider deployment criteria

Criterion	Description
Server platform requirements	You can only run the ExOLEDB provider on an Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2007 server and can only use the provider to access databases and storage groups that are actually managed by that Exchange server. You cannot use the ExOLEDB provider on front-end Exchange servers. The ExOLEDB provider is not available in versions of Exchange starting with Exchange 2010.
Client platform requirements	Not applicable; the ExOLEDB provider is not a client-side technology.
Deployment methods	If the client or application that you are installing needs access to the ExOLEDB provider, the installer should verify that the computer is running Exchange and that the server has storage groups/databases managed by Exchange.
Deployment notes	None.