How to Use FSS Documentation

Hi, my name is Scott, and I'm a technical writer in the FSS User Education group here on Long Island. I'm glad to be joining the ranks of FSS bloggers, and I hope that you find the following article useful. So, without further ado…

I thought it might be a good idea to point out what documentation we have available, which docs are useful for what purposes, and where to find each doc. The main Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server (FSE) TechNet page for documentation is located here:

https://www.microsoft.com/technet/forefront/serversecurity/exchange/library/default.mspx

[Pause for thunderous applause…you are applauding, aren't you? OK, maybe not…]

But hopefully you will be glad to hear about all the interesting info we have available that will help you optimize your user experience. You'll notice several links on this page, and I'm going to provide a few comments about each link in layman's terms.

Forefront Security for Exchange Server System Requirements - self-explanatory, no? This tells you the minimum system requirements you need to use FSE.

Forefront Security for Exchange Server Quick Start Guide - This doc was written to help you to get the product up and running in a basic environment. I find it helpful to print out the doc since it's rather small, at least in comparison to the User Guide! Point of rule is, if information you're looking for isn't here, it's probably in the…

Forefront Security for Exchange Server User Guide - This is the Big Bertha (any golf fans here?) of our docs, the one to go to when you need detailed information about how to use FSE. If it's not here, especially if it's about a specific issue, you might want to try searching TechNet for a Knowledge Base article on the subject.

Forefront Security for Exchange Server Best Practices Guide - This doc is new (introduced for FSE 10.0), and since it's also rather small I like to print out the downloadable .doc version (but suit yourself if you prefer HTML you techie showoff). This doc is all about recommending optimum settings for specific scenarios. For example, what should you do if there's a virus outbreak? Not sure? Then read this guide!

Those are our FSE docs, hope you like 'em. Also keep in mind that there are similar docs for Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint (main TechNet address is https://www.microsoft.com/technet/forefront/serversecurity/sharepoint/library/default.mspx) and for Antigen (the earlier version of Forefront for you newbies; your best starting place is https://www.microsoft.com/technet/antigen/default.mspx). Keep in mind that no Best Practices Guide exists yet for Antigen; however, one will be available with our next service release (SR). In fact, all of the docs are being updated for the SR, so be sure to check out the new and improved versions of the docs once the SR becomes available (all the more reason to upgrade, right? J).

Lastly, another good resource for information is the Forefront Forums (https://forums.microsoft.com/forefront/) where you can read and answer questions about our products. Note that a passport account is needed to access the Forum.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope this info has been useful and thanks for reading.

Scott Floman
Technical Writer
Forefront Server Security