Disable or Remove Exchange

[brettban]

I've recently switched to a 3rd party Exchange service provider. Can I, or would it be wise, to remove or disable the Exchange service on my SBS 2003 server? I would like to remove it to free up disk space.

 

[LWComputingMVP]

I have to say, if you have Exchange on your server, your switch seems like an awful waste of money. Why pay for something you already have?

You could probably find a way to remove or disable it, but frankly, that would be a mistake as SBS integrates many systems together - things like your daily status reports would likely not work at all. And I don't know about you, but they've helped me identify problems before they became too serious.

 

[markdmac]

Exchange can certainly be removed, however I completely agree with lwcomputing in that it would be a waste and would break many tools that rely on it. Even SharePoint integrates with Exchange.

I would not spend the money on a service and would instead use Exchange in house.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

 

[brettban]

Mark,

Thanks for your input. I disabled the Exchange services and all kinds of errors came up in the Server Status report. I guess I better leave Exchange alone - it's too integrated in SBS03. I realize I'm wasting a big portion of SBS by not using Exchange, but switching to a 3rd party provider has been great. We are a small company (10 employees)and I just didn't have the time to maintain Exchange. Since the switch, our spam has virtually disappeared, I have unlimited storage, and I don't have to worry about backup or downtime. Not bad for about a $100 a month.

Thanks,
Brett

 

[markdmac]

Brett, it sounds like you don't have IMF enabled on your Exchange server.

Take a look at my FAQ faq955-6503. Exchange for 10 users should not require ANY real maintenance time other than backing up data which you need to do with SBS anyway for your user data.



I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[LWComputingMVP]

Not to mention, have you demoed GFI Mail Essentials? It's what I use for SPAM filtering and it's been fantastic for me - highly configurable - and once configured, you can generally forget it. It costs $450 for 25 mailboxes (minimum) and $125 annually for maintenance. This would pay for itself in 6 months.

Also, you probably should hire a consultant if you don't have time to properly manage your server. IF you find a good one, it could cost you about what you spend annually on your hosted service. I service several small business servers for clients and in one case, I'm there perhaps 2 hours every three months... and otherwise have an expert to handle major issues and make sure you're setup properly.