Google Apps for Domains Demo

[Ben_Stanton]

Hi guys,

 

I've really only just started looking at this - and i'm obviously being blind. None of the google app pages really describe how this works. I can see via their videos that it's the normal google apps etc.. But how do you access them (from and end user perpective). Where do they go to log in? I can see there's an option to sync with AD (presumably for logins or email) but where on my domain name, do people go to log in (or can I create a subdomain and then redirect)? What exactly happens when I 'verify my domain'? As in, do google then play around with anything and am I likely to down the school website? We have exchange onsite and are happy using that - will this cause problems?

 

Does anybody have something I can log into to see?

 

Cheers,

 

Feeling a bit silly - but it really isn't very obvious to me!

[AngryTechnician]

Logins: you'll get login pages with addresses that look like this: http://mail.google.com/a/yourschool.com/

 

When using those links, users will only need to enter the username, not the full @Yourschool.com address. Alternatively they can use the normal login pages for Gmail etc and just use their full email address.

 

If you control the A records for your domain, you can also create subdomains such as webmail.yourschool.com that will redirect to the above addresses.

 

Verifying your domain: basically things won't work right until you do this. You can do it either by making a new DNS record or putting a special file on the root of your website. If done correctly it should not affect the running of your website at all.

 

On-site Exchange: if you don't want to use Gmail at all for any users, you can simply turn it off in the Google Apps control panel. Even if you leave it on, no mail will be delivered to it anyway unless you change your MX DNS records.

 

If you want Gmail for some users but still use Exchange for others, it's a bit more complicated, but still completely possible.

[edutech4schools]

You can sign-up and use it for free and if you do not change your current mail MX records or dns records it will run as a separate system without you having to lose your current mail / website while you test.

 

By default when a user logs in they get taken to a landing page that lists any services you have enabled. I built my own landing page for our staff as part of the schools website.

[Ben_Stanton]

I verified by domain by copying the required file to the root. I have not changed any MX or DNS records manually.

 

However, my exchange server stopped sending email yesterday and i'm trouble shooting now (rather awkwardly over my phone). It seems to be a problem with authentication.

 

Could google have done something? Just seems a coincidence?!?

[AngryTechnician]

I'm 99% sure it's a horrible coincidence. Without changing DNS records I see no way that Google Apps can affect your on-premises email.

[Ben_Stanton]

It's ok, all sorted. I stupidly, erm I mean, it must have been google that deleted the pop3 account we use in the send connector. Oops. Silly billy

[edutech4schools]

let us know how you get on.