How easy is it to manage Microsoft Exchange

[steves22]

I am looking at getting MS Exchange into the school and was wondering what amount of expertise/effort we will need to devote to running it. We are quite tight on resources here so we would not want to take on something that could become a monster!

[mattx]

It's a monster - 'nuff said. [ And I don't work in a school anymore ]

[dgsmith]

Getting Exchange here was the best thing we ever did 5 years ago and causes us very little trouble - it just works!

 

We are an RM network and it comes under the RM support contract but little time have we needed to resort to RM to address issues. Neither of us are particularly exchange-savvy but once it's setup it just works!

[Gardinho]

If it is Exchange 2010 you're looking at, it is incredibly hungry on resources, so be sure to buy the highest spec server possible to run it on. Otherwise, you WILL run into problems.

Aside from the initial configuration, it can be left pretty much untouched whilst it is in operation. The only reason I ever access my server now is to create new mailboxes.

I have attached a useful guide that I used. Although I used this to migrate from 2003 rather than a clean installation.

In my opinion, nothing comes close to exchange for in-house email management.

Hope this helps.

rapid-transition-guide-from-exchange-2003-to-exchange-2010.pdf

[CyberNerd]

we ditched exchange because it was becoming too cumbersome and expensive to manage (it only had 200 staff accounts, Zimbra held 1700 and was easier!).

We now have a google apps email domain and haven't looked back

[icttech]

Hi Steave what version of Exchange would you be going for ?

 

At the moment we running server 2008 with exchange 2010. The management console is really easy to use.

 

Once set up the management side of it is really easy.

[riffleman]

Yes, it is a monster and not for the faint hearted. But when you get it right, running an Exchange system is very satisfying and allows a great deal of control over the flow of email in and out of the school, especially using the newer features of Exchange 2010. It's not a quick fix and requires a very good understanding of how email systems work and particularly how Exchange works. If you don't have anyone who has Exchange experience on your team, it may be a better idea to look at an alternative mail system.

[unixman]

Agreed - it's a real beast of a system. I've had the unfortunate experience of administering three exchange servers and two of them completely lost the configuration settings and had to be reinstalled.

[JonWPS]

We're on Exchange 2003 here and I find it easy to manage. Sure the setup is harder to sort out, but luckily it was in before I arrived. 2010 looms on the horizon though, so that PDF a few posts up makes for interesting reading.

[joe90bass]

Getting Exchange here was the best thing we ever did 5 years ago and causes us very little trouble - it just works!

 

 

Same here, we're now running 2007. Initially it was 2003, I did the migration myself with no issues. I would recommend testing on a non-production box first as if you have an error during the install it can mean an O/S reinstall. I had this issue on the 2003 install. I do very little on a day to day basis other than creating accounts.

[featured_spectre]

Exchange is nice to use, but the set-up is simply awful. I had to re-do it 3 times once because it faulted at the same point, and the guy on the phone from MS said all I missed off was a " : " symbol which corrupted the entire install.

 

Management console interface is lovely, but the whole thing will eat RAM as a snack. We had it limited to 16GB and it used ALL of it and wanted more.

 

If you dont want hassle etc of the set up and the like, ZIMBRA would be the way to go as it is less resource hungry and is a decent system.

[Gardinho]

We're on Exchange 2003 here and I find it easy to manage. Sure the setup is harder to sort out, but luckily it was in before I arrived. 2010 looms on the horizon though, so that PDF a few posts up makes for interesting reading.

 

I would have struggled without it.

 

From what I gather, a clean install is straight forward in comparison to a migration from an older version of exchange. Just make sure you have good, and fully tested backups of your public folders. Exchange 2010 does not like them, and I believe Microsoft are trying to phase them out.

[pete]

Provided you set it up correctly, pay attention when it tells you something important (use the syslog Luke), and feed it the occasional y7 in blood sacrifice, it's a doddle.

 

If you don't RTFM, then yes - you and your AD may quickly disappear down the brown river.

 

Also, learn powershell and read the patch notes.

[sukh]

1. PF will still be around for some time, there are too many customers using them and they will still be around on the next release of exch.

2. Setup is fairly simple, but it depends on your requirements, and what you want from it, it starts to get abit difficult when you start lookat at HA/FT.3

3. Migration can be easy too, depends what system youre migrating from and the exisiting setup, some can be complex others straight forward.

4. You have more control over your messaging env than having it hosted, and there's issues with hosted email be it MSFT, Cisco, Google etc...It's still not mature.

5. Exch will utilise all the RAM avaliable, however you should plan for this and your mailbox roles - Updates to the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server Role Requirements Calculator - Exchange Team Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs - Use the calulator to help you.

6. Overall exch is my opinion is a good systems and it is a leading messaging system in the industry.

[Gardinho]

1. PF will still be around for some time, there are too many customers using them and they will still be around on the next release of exch.

 

I'm afraid that might not be the case. Microsoft are encouraging users to use Sharepoint rather than public folders.

 

Migrating from Public Folders

 

Public Folders continue to be whittled away - BeingExchanged

[dhicks]

I am looking at getting MS Exchange into the school and was wondering what amount of expertise/effort we will need to devote to running it.

 

More than I'd expect from something you pay money for. If you're going to pay for something it should just work, if you're going to have to learn how to set things up anyway then you might as well learn how to set up a free email / webmail / etc solution.

[Gardinho]

More than I'd expect from something you pay money for. If you're going to pay for something it should just work

 

Thats an interesting concept. If that were the case, why employ skilled IT staff?

 

From my experience, good things cost money. I'm not saying that cheaper alternatives won't do the job, but there is no comparison with Microsoft Exchange.

 

You will learn a great deal from building and deploying an exchange server at your school. It's also adds value to your personal CV as so many organisations use it.

 

Obviously this is just my opinion. If you are running on a tight budget (like a lot of schools), it would be foolish not to consider the other options.

[shenley]

I haven't used exchange for a couple of years so this may not be true any longer. It used to lack a connection to pop3 servers and there was no ability for a global address book, shared folders, calendars, etc. To connect to pop3 and use groupware, third party add-ons were required, and probably still are. This may or may not be an issue to you. It was to us (a showstopper) so Exchange was off the menu.

[sukh]

I'm afraid that might not be the case. Microsoft are encouraging users to use Sharepoint rather than public folders.

 

Migrating from Public Folders

 

Public Folders continue to be whittled away - BeingExchanged

 

1. I strongly disagree. All MSFT are saying are not to use public folders and to use Sharepoint as an alternative, or to migrate to your existing PF to Sharepoint.

2. They are still around in exch 2010 as they have been with previous version and still be in in the next version of exch.

3. There are too many customers who are using PF for them to be removed from exch.

4. When exch 2007 was going to be launched, the rumors were PF will be removed, however they were still there, then it was tried again to move PF in exch 2010, hoping customers had moved to SP, but they hadnt. Again, it was still there in 2010.

5. I actually worked for one of the customer who heavily used PF and was one of the many which influenced this decision along with other similar cstomers.

6. Over 120,000 seats, in the private/public sector, that al of money for MSFT, multipl that by that by similar sized companies, would impact MSFT if they were to move away.

[Gardinho]

1. I strongly disagree. All MSFT are saying are not to use public folders and to use Sharepoint as an alternative, or to migrate to your existing PF to Sharepoint.

2. They are still around in exch 2010 as they have been with previous version and still be in in the next version of exch.

3. There are too many customers who are using PF for them to be removed from exch.

4. When exch 2007 was going to be launched, the rumors were PF will be removed, however they were still there, then it was tried again to move PF in exch 2010, hoping customers had moved to SP, but they hadnt. Again, it was still there in 2010.

5. I actually worked for one of the customer who heavily used PF and was one of the many which influenced this decision along with other similar cstomers.

6. Over 120,000 seats, in the private/public sector, that al of money for MSFT, multipl that by that by similar sized companies, would impact MSFT if they were to move away.

 

I guess we will just have to wait and see. I use PF here, and love them so I hope you're right.

 

Microsoft are reducing functionality with each version in order to encourage users to use SP. Public folders were great in 2003, and not so great in 2010. Lets just say, they won't be around forever.

[Gardinho]

Anyway, sorry for hijacking the thread. Back on topic.

 

You can download a 30 day trial of Exchange 2010. Give it a go, I'm sure you'll love it.

[glennda]

Exchange is very easy to setup and run except when it goes wrong it can be very fiddly and a pain in the backside to get working again!

 

Plus can be resource hungry. I have around 900 mailboxes on a VM with 10GB of ram though - the other physical box has slightly less at around 700 mailboxes and 8gb Ram.

 

Both run happily though.

[Gardinho]

I think this one is more relevant to a clean build.

Installing Exchange Server 2010.pdf

[dhicks]

Thats an interesting concept. If that were the case, why employ skilled IT staff?

 

To understand, install and be able to contribute to free systems.

 

From my experience, good things cost money.

 

Absolutly, but I figure you might as well either hire someone who knows how to set up your own email server or simply pay for a service where it all just happens for you instead of paying for an email server and then paying again for someone to run it.

[jamesfed]

Have a look at Live@Edu and see if it meets your needs - it cuts out a large amount of the headache of looking after exchange and is free to schools.