Gardinho

Just to follow this up, the issue is due to the absence of the following parameters “DateFormat” and “TimeFormat” in the PowerShell command.

Hi guys, Another live@edu query for you: How do you set the regional and time options for all users? I've tried following James Marshall's detailed instructions from his live@edu blog, but I must be missing something. I've attached a screenshot of the error. Many thanks for your help.

Thanks for your help.

Where do I build the SSO portal?

Hi guys, Is there a way to customise a live@edu sign in page so that users don't need to add @schoolname.com? How have you configured signing in at your school? I'm open to suggestions, but I think the school here would like users to add their username and password to the sign in for another layer of security, as opposed to single sign on. I've requested a CNAME change so that users can use mail.schoolname.com as opposed to outlook.com. Thanks in advance for suggestions and advice.

Thanks for the reply. I know we can add certain different requirements to the csv, but not group membership. Does this have to be via powershell? Where abouts do you control blacklists and whitelists in the gui?

Hi guys, We have recently opted for Live@edu. So far, it looks great. We are looking to move from the truly awful, RM easy mail. We have purchased a new domain name, and now have the two email systems running along side one and other. This has given me plenty of time to familiarise myself with the interface and features. As my experience is predominantly an in-house exchange server, I thought it would be sensible to pay SWGFL the £800 migration and support contract. So far, I'm yet to determine what exactly they have done for us, other than register the domain name. I have yet to receive a single answer whatsoever to several basic questions (including what we get for our money!). Anyway, does anyone know if there is a way to add group membership information to the csv file to bulk create users? We are creating 2000 users, and want to add them to a students security group (or distribution group). This way we can control the rules, such as disabling outbound emails. How do you turn off features, such as blocking a sender? We want to be able to disable things like this for students. How will we migrate all old emails and contacts from the RMeasymail accounts to the new live@edu account, with different domain name? Many thanks in advance,

Hi guys, We are currently in the process of rolling out live@edu. Inevitably, some members of staff will not like change. Do you have any help documents, or anything similar that will help the staff get to grips with the changes? Has anyone got any documents that can be used to help them perform their day to day tasks? IE compose emails etc? Many thanks in advance.

Thanks very much for your help guys. I'm sure that will be enough information for now.

This is all very useful information guys, I'm very grateful. It's interesting to see the variety in sizes and setup. No 2 networks are the same. I would welcome any other comments. Many thanks,

It's a new job and I haven't yet had the opportunity to look into the details of service level agreements etc, but I will keep in mind your advice.

Hi Guys, I am designing a new server infrastructure for a school with 2000 users. I have never carried out any work on a network that large. Could you please help me with the following questions? 1/ How many users do you have? 2/ How many DCs do you use in your school? Are they all GC? 3/ How many DHCP servers? 4/ How many DNS servers? 5/ If you are virtual, how many hosts do you have? And how many servers per host? I want to build in many layers of fault tolerance to offer greater redundancy and high availability access. Your comments and advise would be much appreciated.

Our exchange server is virtual, built on VMware ESXi. The hosts are each connected to smart UPS batteries. You can either use a script, or Vsphere management assistant to safely shut all of your servers down before the UPS runs out of battery. We backup daily using Veeam for our entire virtual estate. It's first class. You can restore individual emails, entire mailboxes or the entire virtual server in a matter of minutes.

Live@edu on cloud computing looks great. I'd definitely consider that. Is that going to be replaced by Office 365?

Your job sounds different to mine. My boss doesn't care for me contributing to free systems. I'm required to install and maintain a robust and reliable network, whilst keeping the school at the forefront in ICT using the latest technology. I understand that we need to find the most cost effective solution for the school, but the pros outweigh the cons for me. I never considered this as I like to have total control of the email system. There is so many benefits to in-house administration, let alone the features for the end user. Things like centralised address lists and groups, sharing calendars and tasks, group enabled access, meeting planner, out of office assistant, integration with active directory and outlook (you can create about 1000 email accounts in less than a minute), the list just goes on and on... It's an interesting debate, I'm sure there are benefits and arguments for both. All I can say is that we have been running an internal exchange server here for 7 years (100% uptime, might I add). The staff here utilise and enjoy nearly all of the features. For the benefit of the original poster, could someone with experience of a different email service please list some pros to their product of choice? All I can think of is the cost and the responsibility of managing the school email system.

I think this one is more relevant to a clean build.Installing Exchange Server 2010.pdf

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

I thought the EA was regarded as the higher cert? I know the certifications are supposed to match job roles and experience, but is there any value in the SA if you have EA? It would be nice to get the SA and have some closure on exams for a little while. I've been constantly revising all year! Does anybody on here hold both EA and SA? Cheers.

Just a quick question to all the edugeekers employed as NM in a school. I have just accepted a job offer at a large secondary school with nearly 2000 users. I am moving from a secondary school of under 500 users. I want to study material that would be most relevant to a network of that size. I currently hold the following certifications: Windows 7 MCITP - EDST: 70-680 + 70-685 Windows Server 2008 - 70-640 + 70-642 If I am correct, that leaves me either 1 exam (70-646) to complete the SA, or 2 exams (70-643 + 70-647) to complete the EA. I want to get settled in the new job before I choose which exam/exams to sit, but it is in the back of my mind to complete the series. Which exams would you sit? Is one more relevant to working in a school than the other? Did you go straight for EA or SA first? At the moment, I'm leaning towards EA. That's down to current professional value and the fact that I already have a client exam plus 2 server exams. I'd be most grateful for your opinions and advice. Sorry if this has already been covered elsewhere! Thanks guys

Also, I can't imagine an awful lot of senior staff working in schools are particularly up-to-date with current IT certifications. I hope I'm wrong though!