Info on Exchange

[steve_nfi]

Hi all

 

My school is considering setting up an Exchange Server. We currently just use the Webmail supplied by our ISP.

I don't really have any knowledge of this so can anyone recommend some reading/training material (preferably free).

Also is it true that you can't read your emails externally.

My IT Manager is fairly insistant that you are not able to read any emails unless you are on site in which case I can't really see the point of having it.

[FN-GM]

Also is it true that you can't read your emails externally.

 

No its not true, you have a webmail option called outlook web access

 

you can also lookat this being an option - http://www.zimbra.com/

 

You may find this site handy

 

Microsoft Exchange Server Resource Site: Articles & Tutorials

Edited June 20, 2008 by ZeroHour
Merge posts, use the edit button

[CyberNerd]

Hi all

 

My school is considering setting up an Exchange Server. We currently just use the Webmail supplied by our ISP.

I don't really have any knowledge of this so can anyone recommend some reading/training material (preferably free).

Also is it true that you can't read your emails externally.

My IT Manager is fairly insistant that you are not able to read any emails unless you are on site in which case I can't really see the point of having it.

 

you may also want to consider zimbra Zimbra offers Open Source email server software and shared calendar for Linux and the Mac the opensource edition is free, web-based and offers almost identical functionality to exchange. The 'network edition' has commercial support (included in the price) and allows full outlook integration. both integrate with AD.

[Richie]

We did exactly what you are thinking of, we took email as a service from EMBC and replaced it with our own exchange server.

 

You can access your mail from outside your LAN but you will need to get your internet provider to allocate an externally visible address to your mail server.

 

Security is very important at this stage. We have 2 network cards in the mail server, each allocated a static IP address. We then requested an externally visible address for the second network card (this network card has strict firewall rules that only allow port 80 to be visible).

 

The internet provider then gave us an IP address and a related dns name, connections to which are forwarded to your designated internal address.

 

As for incoming mail, again ask your email provider to forward all mail for your domain to your exchange server address.

 

The whole setup can take as little as a few days depending on your provider.

[SteveMC]

Hi all

 

My school is considering setting up an Exchange Server. We currently just use the Webmail supplied by our ISP.

I don't really have any knowledge of this so can anyone recommend some reading/training material (preferably free).

Also is it true that you can't read your emails externally.

My IT Manager is fairly insistant that you are not able to read any emails unless you are on site in which case I can't really see the point of having it.

 

There's a few handy videos on the ITIdiots site (listed in the shows here) on Exchange, certainly gave me a better idea of how 2007 worked.

 

I don't know what anti-spam/anti-virus protection your ISP provides, but if it's any good you can usually get them to continue being the primary mx for your email domain, with them forwarding the email to your server. This also helps if you have any downtime, as the emails will be held by the ISP rather than bounced straight away.

Edited June 20, 2008 by SteveMC

[FN-GM]

here are a few more links that might be handy

 

Planning for Your First Exchange Server

SSL Encrypted Access to Exchange - EduGeek.net Wiki

[SeanVin]

Hi all

 

Also is it true that you can't read your emails externally.

My IT Manager is fairly insistant that you are not able to read any emails unless you are on site in which case I can't really see the point of having it.

 

No its not true, you have a webmail option called outlook web access

 

Strictly speaking it is true, email is not available off site unless you make your email server available externally via your ISP. We're using exchange, and our email is only accessible from the school network.

[FN-GM]

That’s naff, we use OWA. to be honest i would rather use the VPN and use outlook on my work laptop.

[shep1987]

Anouther way to use outlook both in and out od school is to use rcp over http(s), called outlook anywhere in exchange 2007 its what we use and best of all it works over port 80 so no extra port changes =)

[sahmeepee]

Presumably everyone who exposes their OWA to the outside world is paying for an external connector license?

 

Proper Exchange licensing

 

(bit old, but still accurate?)

[beatthedrum]

The company I work for Class Technology Solutions Ltd, have implemented Eschange at a number of schools with Outlook web access. None of the schools have needed to purchase that license.

 

If you require any help drop me an email

[FN-GM]

Hi all

 

My school is considering setting up an Exchange Server. We currently just use the Webmail supplied by our ISP.

I don't really have any knowledge of this so can anyone recommend some reading/training material (preferably free).

Also is it true that you can't read your emails externally.

My IT Manager is fairly insistant that you are not able to read any emails unless you are on site in which case I can't really see the point of having it.

 

What solution did you end up going for?

 

Z