Public and Private Mode in Windows Server 2008 Fax Server

Fax Server in Windows Server 2008 supports two different operating modes, which are governed by the Reassign Setting for the fax server. These two modes, described in the following list, apply only to incoming fax messages:

Public Mode In this mode, all fax messages are received in a central Server Inbox, and these are visible and available to all users of the fax server.

Private Mode In this mode, all fax messages are received in a central Server Inbox, but this is hidden from individual users, and they cannot access these fax messages until they are assigned to the mailboxes of the individual users.

Configuring the fax server in public mode is recommended for small businesses that do not have a dedicated fax administrator or routing assistants and are comfortable with having the incoming faxes available to all users of the fax server. For example, a travel agency might configure its fax server in public mode so that all the travel agents are able to view incoming faxes and work with them. This mode does not require a large administration overhead, and it’s easy to configure and use. In this mode, when an authenticated user launches her Windows Fax and Scan application, she will have access to all the received faxes on the server.

Configuring the fax server in private mode is recommended for businesses that might have either a dedicated fax administrator or an IT generalist who manages the fax server along with other server roles such as file and print. This mode is recommended for the usage scenario where individual faxes need to be kept private and made available only to the intended recipient. This setting requires that the business employ routing assistants who have access to the protected server inbox, go through the received faxes manually, and assign them to the intended recipient. In this mode, when an authenticated user launches her Windows Fax and Scan application, the faxes that are assigned to her account show up in her Inbox.

The default setting in Windows Server 2008 is public mode. To configure this setting, the fax administrator does the following:

1. Launch the fax service manager.

2. Right-click on the root node.

3. Launch the Properties dialog.

4. Navigate to the Accounts tab.

5. Choose whether the Reassign Setting is On or Off.
When using private mode, the administrator has to designate certain users as routing assistants. These users have access to the server inbox and do the actual reassign operation. To designate a particular user as a routing assistant, the fax administrator does the following:

6. Launch the fax service manager.

7. Right-click on the root node.

8. Launch the Properties dialog.

9. Navigate to the Security tab.

10. Click the Advanced button.

11. Choose the particular user who needs to be designated as the routing assistant.

12. Click Edit.

13. Select the Allow check-box for the Manage Server Receive Folder setting.

As mentioned earlier, assigning a fax is permissible only in private mode. If a server has been set up in private mode, the routing assistants launch the Windows Fax and Scan application to assign faxes to the ultimate recipients. The routing assistants have access to the private server inbox that contains the unassigned faxes. If there are any unassigned faxes, the routing assistants can right-click the fax message and choose the Reassign task. Doing this displays a dialog box in which the user can choose the fax accounts to which the fax has to be assigned. The routing assistant can also optionally add some fax message metadata such as the subject and the sender, if that is displayed on the cover page. When the routing assistant completes the assign operation, the fax is marked as assigned and delivered into the Inbox of the intended recipient.

Also, the fax server can be made to operate in either of the modes by choosing the On/Off option for Reassign Setting. This new feature in Windows Server 2008 makes the management of received faxes easy and efficient, and it can be tailored to the requirements of the business.

Source of Information : Introducing Windows Server 2008