Exchange server without in house mail server

[bluehangook629]

Hello all,

My employer wants to implement an exchange server to store emails and contacts on the server away from end user pc's. They want me to figure out if this system is feasible for our business. I do not know much about exchange server so here I am asking bunch of questions.

System Summary
1 x Server 2008 Enterprise (Domain controller)
2 x Server 2008 (data & storage)
1 x server 2008 Quickbook Server
150 desktop 20 laptops 50 true end users. All running Windows XP
(70% of our desktops are used to collect data on excel and not part of our domain)

1. What are some of the cost of implementing and maintaining an exchange server? does exchange server require end user license for each user of the pc?

2. By implementing exchange server, will it store data(email, contact, calendar) on the server?

3. Currently using yahoo business mail service. Anyway to keep the same service and have exchange server receive all emails and distribute them to the users? (so no in-house email hosting)

4. Any way to migrate data store on the outlook personal datafile .pst to the server?

It would be great if someone can help me answere these questions.
Thanks everyone.

bluehangook629

[jlego]

exchange server is expensive. yes you need a user cal for each user. you need a cal for each system. if something breaks you better hope you can fix it outside companies will charge 100+ an hour to look at it. the server that exchange needs to go on should be a 4quad 64bit system at least..

you need to look at security for it. make sure there is proper mail handling. you dont want to get your ip blacklisted, might want to check into a secondary ip just for your exchange server.

exchange stores email, contact, calendar, notes, tasks, and much more directly on the server, accessible from any computer that logs into the desired account via outlook
unless you archive your personal stuff..

i beleive yahoo might work. i have read that google apps can do similar to what you are asking, you would have to ask probably yahoo tho.

yeah you can copy the .pst files easily from machine to machine, not sure why you want to copy it to the server however..

there is alot more involved. i just can't think of it right this second. i have about a 40 item check list that covers the basic must dos to run your own exchange if you want it.

[bluehangook629]

Thank you Jeff

I want to have pst file on the server because we go through a end-user pc crash about once a week and everytime it happens we have to move large 1gb+ file around. If I am able to have the .pst on the server then I would be able to configure outlook to retreive .pst from the server instead of moving it around from one pc to another.

I would love to have a copy of 40 item check list for exchange server if it isn't a problem for you. I think it will help me and my team to make the right decision on implementing exchange server.

[jlego]

send me a message with ur email address - or post it here whichever you choose. im learning exchange best practice/management as well currently so maybe we can both learn something from eachother...

regarding the systems crashing - do you have an active directory server?

[bluehangook629]

Yes we have an active directory server same as our domain controller.

I just sent you a pm with my email address

[jlego]

you should think about using group policies to lock down the machines, setup something like opendns.org to prevent unwanted websites (moderate is a good setting) and purchase an anti virus for each machine. i know if u get avast with 1 key u can install it on however many you want. then a server antivirus like norton or something on the servers. its prevented alot of issues here

[bluehangook629]

what do you mean by lock down the machines? do you mean prohibit users from using the internet and installing software?

[jlego]

well.. you can if you want to.
wheneveri first started wherei am at, it was a mess. viruses all the time,computer crashes, everything was dying all thetime

i set up avast! pro on all the machines (one licensed installed to every user-end machine, 30$), setup group policy to keep them out of settings i didnt want them in, and i set up opendns.org as the dns for my DC and set the settings to moderate. we always use mcafee anti-spam as a spam filter that scrubs all incomingemail (our mx records are set to the mcafee servers, the mcafee servers forward to our exchange) i set up 2 black list filters on our exchange server as well. and i prohibit new employees from internet email until the probationary period is over. this has dramatically calmed down the failure rate

[pjhutch]

[QUOTE=bluehangook629;1435223]Hello all,

My employer wants to implement an exchange server to store emails and contacts on the server away from end user pc's. They want me to figure out if this system is feasible for our business. I do not know much about exchange server so here I am asking bunch of questions.

System Summary
1 x Server 2008 Enterprise (Domain controller)
2 x Server 2008 (data & storage)
1 x server 2008 Quickbook Server
150 desktop 20 laptops 50 true end users. All running Windows XP
(70% of our desktops are used to collect data on excel and not part of our domain)

>1. What are some of the cost of implementing and maintaining an exchange server? does exchange server require end user license for each user of the pc?
Yes,it is expensive, I don't know specific costs, it depends on your type of business.
Yes, you will need a CAL for each user.

>2. By implementing exchange server, will it store data(email, contact, calendar) on the server?
Yes, it will store it on Mailbox databases (EDB files).

>3. Currently using yahoo business mail service. Anyway to keep the same service and have exchange server receive all emails and distribute them to the users? (so no in-house email hosting)
You can use a POP3 service to download mail from Yahoo into user mailboxes.

>4. Any way to migrate data store on the outlook personal datafile .pst to the server?

Yes, once you have mailboxes setup, you can drag n drop mail from the Personal Folders to folders in user mailboxes using Outlook.

Peter