CDO Architecture

Topic Last Modified: 2007-11-09

Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) is a server-side collaborative component that is used in conjunction with Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO) 2.5 and Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI). You can use CDO to create Web collaboration solutions based on the Exchange store and the Active Directory® directory service in Microsoft Windows Server® operating systems. Whereas OLE DB, ADO, and ADSI provide the fundamental data access mechanisms to the Exchange store and Active Directory, CDO provides extended collaborative functionality that includes the creation and management of the following:

• Folders and non-folder items
• Messages
• Appointments
• Meeting request messages and responses (accept, accept tentative, decline)
• Contacts

In Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, CDO is available only on the same computer (or cluster) as Exchange 2007 itself. In addition, CDO can access data only in a local Exchange 2007 public store or mailbox store. It cannot directly access data located in different Exchange 2007 stores.

This section includes the following topics:

• CDO Components
• CDO and ADO
• Data Sources and Binding
• The Configuration Object