Understanding Outlook Junk-Email Rules

In Outlook 2000, is it the Exchange Server system or the local client that processes messages against the junk-email rules? I'm interested in using these rules but wonder whether the rules will create a large draw on my server—or just tax the local machines a little more than usual.

The junk-email rules in Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2000 and the built-in Junk E-mail Filter in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 all process junk mail at the client. Ideally, you should also use either an antispam gateway or a junk filter that integrates with Exchange to catch the most obvious junk mail at the server and save on network bandwidth and server storage, thus leaving the client only a small number of possible junk-mail messages to process. For more information about the Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter, see "Outlook 2003's Junk E-mail Filter," March 2004, InstantDoc ID 41655. For a guide to server-based spam filters, see Buyer's Guide, "Enterprise Spam Filters," April 2003, InstantDoc ID 38277. For a discussion about using a multilayered approach to fighting spam in your organization, see "Suppressing Spam," October 28, 2003, InstantDoc ID 40469.

—Sue Mosher