Re: Guideline for Exchange server in branch office -- PCTECH

On 3/24/2009 5:07 PM, Tom Jedrzejewicz arranged the binary bits such that:

On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 11:46 AM, Roger Vicker, CCP <rv-tech@xxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

Hello,

I am looking for some better (more up to date...) guidelines for setting
up an Exchange server on SBS 2008 for a remote branch office where the
internet domain is hosted elsewhere on a Linux server. The branch is
pretty much a stand alone server and since the main email is hosted on
Linux there is no Exchange to Exchange configuration chance.

Why have a separate mail server? What are you trying to accomplish?

If the branch is small enough for SBS to make sense, the number of mailboxes
is likely not enough to make a difference on the main server. I suspect
that it would over-complicate the environment. Is SBS even allowed in this
kind of situation?

My first thought would be to put the users on the main server or get a
"sub-server" of the same flavor as the main server. That said, I am sure it
can be done, but I don't know the specifics. The Exchange side will need to
be setup to send outgoing mail to the main server, and the main server setup
to relay from the Exchange server, and the main server setup to forward the
mail for the Exchange users to the Exchange server.

The users want to use Outlook 2007 (not my argument since several

managers have retirement dates on their calendars) but the company wants
a single internet domain for everyone's email address.

The single "company.com" email domain is good .. I always wonder about
companies where there are several fiefdom.company.com emails. That said,
this is the requirement that makes it hard.

The primary email server should be able to forward particular addresses to
another internal mail server, even if it is a different "flavor". How that
is setup depends on the email server.

The primary email server can do forwarding but that would be
abc@xxxxxxxxxxx gets delivered to abc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(branch.example.com would be the Exchange server). Not hard to do but
the end users needs to send as from abc@xxxxxxxxxxxx Even when they do a
reply or forward the next receiver needs to see only abc@xxxxxxxxxxx and
no sign of abc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx unless they expressly go looking at
all the headers.

I know how to

setup Outlook to use SMTP/POP3 or SMTP/IMAP directly to the main email

server but would like the advantage of Exchange being able to recreate
the user's desktop PST file when they get a new PC or it goes casters
up.

I hate PST files .. they are more trouble than they are worth. If you use
Outlook and connect to the mail server via IMAP, then there is no issue
about losing email when a user switches PCs because IMAP will sync the new
PC to the server. That is the beauty of IMAP. Don't use POP3.

The reason for Exchange is that the user's like to a) have everything
(mail, calendar, address book...) together in one place called Outlook
b) have it all together and in sync when they are outside the office and
OWA does that for them. RDP doesn't quite fit as the desktop would be
their office PC and that would require them all to be left on 24x7x365.
Side benefit for me would be the simplicity of just pointing Outlook at
the server and all the user's goodies are (back) in place. All I have to
worry about is backing up the server and not folder redirection or
folder sync or backup agent to get it there from the desktops. Actually
folder redirection is there, just not for the Application Data folder
since it seems to be in more disfavor than PST files.

Also, I will be able to setup a public DNS entry to the branch so
they would be able to use OWA when they are out of the office. The
webmail to the main email server wouldn't have their address book or
calendar entries.

I presume that the main email server doesn't have contact or calendar
capabilities. If that is the thing you are trying to solve, find another
way to make contacts and calendar available. For the calendar, they can use
Google Calendar

So far the guides that I have found talked about Exchange 2000 or maybe
2003, but they seem to be pretty fragmented for this setup or don't
apply to the new Exchange. If anyone knows of a link that details setting
up this configuration, without branching or calling in a bunch of other
documents, please let

me know.

This is a non-standard configuration .. that you can't see it documented
should tell you something. It sounds like you are opening a hole can of
worms trying to put a "skunk-works" Exchange server at a branch office. Be
careful.

I wouldn't say non-standard just not common. Some of the documents I
have found so far show Exchange 2003 being configured as "not
responsible for the domain" that it is configured for and using a POP3
connector to go to the primary email server and retrieve the specific
list of mailboxes that it is responsible for. Emails to the same domain
get forward if it can't be delivered locally the same as for domains
that are truly external.

It's not a "skunk-works" project, everyone knows what is going on. It is
just that to perform what the total organization requires the primary
server won't be Exchange and there will be one and only one domain to
the public perception, no sub-domains.

Personally I would junk all the software and go with Thunderbird,
Lightning and find some extension to *automatically* sync their address
books to the primary server. But as I said management is used to what
they are used to and don't see any reason they should have to change
when they can see retirement from here. However, that reason could be a
"thorough research shows you can't get there from here."

-----
Tom Jedrzejewicz
tomjedrz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roger