Web Storage System

A storage platform that provides a single repository for managing multiple types of unstructured information in one infrastructure. The Web Storage System combines the features and functionality of the file system, the Web, and a collaboration server (such as Microsoft Exchange Server) through a single, URL-addressable location for storing, accessing, and managing information, in addition to building and running applications. The Web Storage System is based on the technology that drives Exchange Server Information Store.

The database architecture in Exchange 2000. Previous releases of Exchange only exposed data such as public folders through MAPI, whereas Exchange 2000 exposes all of its data through MAPI, HTTP, OLE DB and Win32 layers.

This means that an object stored in a public folder can be retrieved and manipulated through a Web browser or a standard client with a network redirector. The Exchange 2000 store exposes itself to the operating system as an installable filing system, which means that the underlying data can be accessed through a drive letter, and in turn, this drive and its folders can be shared via a universal naming convention (UNC) path to allow other clients to connect to the data. [Exchange 2000]