Exchange 2000 recommendations (for a newbie!) 3

[Raid99]

We would like to replace our current email (FTGate Pro), and move to an Exchange 2000 server. I need to do this using only ONE server, which will be purchased for this project. Is this possible/reasonable to do.

Network background:
18 Buildings, 27 Windows 2000 DC, all buildings are connected via T1. I would setup the new server (dual p2.8 xeon, 2 gig ram, raid 5) at the central site.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[speedracercjr]

How many users? Cause that's a pretty decked out server.

 

[Raid99]

oops, I forgot users...

~1200-1500 users

 

[speedracercjr]

if you have that many users depending on just one server your putting your entire job on the line!!!!!! Especially if your a newbie. I'd take some classes first! I don't know if you realize what your getting into with 1500 users!

 

[Raid99]

LOL, you're right, I don't know! I have about 2 months to learn exchange inside and out, and training is out of the question.

I have a test server that I am learning, and I am having some success with the product. I am just worried about having only one server. I also worry about screwing up my entire domains AD.

 

[Marcs41]

Your worries are founded.
As speed said, your job is on the line. It took most of us years to completely handle Exchange, but you are talking about different buildings, DC's etc.
I hope you are not being put responsible for doing all that without any help or resources.
I don't really want to scare you (well, maybe a little) but you are facing certain death if you do not get the needed training. Playing with a test machine is by far not real life environment. With 1500 users at different site, there are a whole lot of things that can and willl go wrong. On your own, you will not be able to cover it.
Insist on training and assistance to make that huge step. [sub]If 'something' 'somewhere' gives 'some' error, excpect random guesses or no replies at all. Please specify details.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC! - Marc[/sub]

 

[gurner]

This is the sort of thing that i am seeing all of the time and it is driving my absolutly potty.

the way the person with their fingers on the purse springs is tightening its grip so tightly on the MIS/IT Department that they are being strangled.

the potential for catastrophic failure is immense

The importance of the system cannot be under-estimated

(yes i am currently in this boat)

 

[Zelandakh]

Raid - if need be, show this thread to the powers that be. We are all Exchange experts with numerous years of Exchange usage in anger. Few of us would want to attempt what you need to do. Certainly not in the time frame and certainly not with no knowledge.

You are talking about modifying your AD schema master, taking email to the core of the OS, taking 1500 users and possibly stopping them from having email and maybe even stopping them from logging on at all if it screws the AD structure.

Your rollout will be neasured in months even with help.

Anyone who does not see this is short sighted. Giving you no training is a cost saving now but you will need consultants by the dozen to fix things if your knowledge isn't perfect. And mine won't cover you for this project - I've only got 4 years of Exchange, 11 MCPs, MCSE 2000 early achiever and 10 years IT support at senior level.

Good luck and let us know how things pan out if you don't run away...

 

[Guy987]

Install Domino instead of Exchange and you won't have to sweat about any of these issues. It won't screw up the AD and yes, you can sync it to the AD. It is easy to set up and administer and with that size of a box, can easily run that number of users without headaches.

 

[Marcs41]

I don't believe the question was WHAT to choose, but HOW to handle it.
And please do not give beginners the feeling Exchange is a bad choice and Domino would solve that. That is in NO way true and you know it.
This person faces an impossible task and we try to warn him, comfort him or whatever. He cannot do this alone in this short time with no prior experience, and not with ANY mailserver system. This is not about a simple quick to setup server if you read the details!
Domino can certainly not handle anything Exchange cannot, by far, so don't give him a feeling of a wrong choice.
He was probably forced into it, so that makes it a management decision, not his. [sub]If 'something' 'somewhere' gives 'some' error, excpect random guesses or no replies at all. Please specify details.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC! - Marc[/sub]

 

[jameshutchinson008]

I can see that you are in a sticky situation with no Exchange experience and the things that these people are saying are true but not very factual. I was in the same situation you are 12 months ago. I think it would be more helpful if people were to give you factual reasons and potential pitfalls for you to take back to your management as a simple "there are a whole lot of things that can and will go wrong" because those who are to be obeyed will most probably want to know what the potential risks are. The people who you are working for must have some level of intelligence and if faced with clear facts there decision to give no training and or thought into what is needed to be done to achieve their goals would become obviously not the way to progress.

How is your current email currently configured so we can make some comparisons and maybe highlight obvious areas of potential problems?

James

 

[Raid99]

We currently use FTGatePro for our email, which is straight pop3 and smtp. The administration wants calendaring and collaboration added. I looked at Domino, thought it "looked" good, but I tried Exchange and it seemed like a breeze compared to domino.

Setup on Exchange seems straight forward. I was able to add users to the active directory with scripts and then create mailboxes. It's maintenance, reliability and disaster recovery that I am concerned about.

 

[jameshutchinson008]

OK I can start the ball rolling with some simple but fatal mistakes you could make.

There are 2 versions of Microsoft Exchange Standard and Enterprise. The standard version has a database cap at 16GB. This would give you a maximum of 10mb per users for 1500 users. Exchange enterprise has no database cap and you would be limited by the size of your discs, which is my next point...

Microsoft Exchange builds a database filled with all the delights of your users email unlike pop mail, which is stored locally. This is stored on your Exchange server. For 1500 at 100 Meg mailbox limit you would need 150gb just for your mail stores.

The way the Exchange services work all transactions are firstly written into memory (need a lot of memory) then the transaction is written into a log file. It is recommended that the log files be on a separate spindle to the mail stores to guarantee disk time. These log files depending on the volume of mail per day can get quite large.

Now you have a lot of information on your big(ish) discs you are gonna have to back it up,,,, bummer.

this is just the tip of the iceburgh

next.....

 

[speedracercjr]

Just out of curiosity is AD totally implemented in your orginazation? Because that's no walk in the park either, and you have to have AD up and running VERY WELL before you can go about installing exchange. Unless you don't like your job!!!

 

[Raid99]

Yes, we have had AD up and running for almost a year now, on 27 DC under a single domain.

 

[kshillin]

If your forest is in a single domain and you have 27 DC'S spread around your enviornment/NOCs then you have won half of the battle. My user environment is 100K + mailboxes and we are setup in a multi domain enviornment but we will begin consolidating domains soon. We have run into various problems like members not being able to modify their dl lists, ADC issue, firewall issue, SRS issue, you call it, we can write the book on this. Some of the got yah's are things like your AD configuration, dns(Extremely Important for both client and application), and that your exchange server(s) are scaled correctly. I would recommend not putting all of your users on one server. I would recommend separating them on maybe two or more other servers and that all depends upon where your users are located geographically along with where the nearest dc/gc is. There are a lot more items that you must be aware of. If your company doesn't want to pay for training then I guess you are left with self discovery. I would also recommend that depending on the nature of the business that you work for, that you either hire an outside consultant to help you or buy a few exchange books and study because if email is as mission critical in the business I work for as yours then your you know what will be the bullseye for management.

 

[Raid99]

I work in a k12 environment, and even though some users have grown dependant on email, for others its used for non work related communications. I expect that with the added calendar and other exchange features that more people will grow dependant.

I did receive "Mastering Exchange 2000" book to read in my spare time

 

[vibestayo]

please dont set up multiple domains. just one. will save you lots of head ache. and also, hire a consultant to at least draw a plan for you,ie how many gc's , .. by the way, it is not hard at all to set this up "if" they give you plenty of time to set up lab then to pilot then to production. perhaps if you can, set up a clustered environment. personally it is not hard to set it but bitchy part is to troubleshoot little things that comes up once you are up and running.. good luck.

 

[philcruise]

You may want to consider implementing OWA for your Exch2k migration, since you have a good server

But I would still recommend having multiple server for frontend and backend implementation

Having OWA will eliminate the headache of administrating the MS Outlook clients that you will need to setup in your organization

 

[jovoian]

OK every one is complaining to you instead of helping you... well a few mentioned some good points on mailbox size ec.

i will give you hardware basics, i forget the actual smtp and connector settings, i havent set one up in a while, dual nics gives you good security..1 poublic Ip in DMZ for receiving mail, 1 Private in Lan for client to mail out..

i would definately have a backup exchange server ( save money buy a dual or quad PIII with good storage and gig or 2 or memory) or min set up a Linux or simple mail server you can have running somewhere outside you network with mx of 10 to first rec mail and forward to your exchange server with mx of 20, in case exchange or your ISP/T1 goes down, mail will not be lost that is being sent to your 1500 users...


i will give you hardware basics, i forget the actual smtp and connector settings, i havent set one up in a while, dual nics gives you good security..1 poublic Ip in DMZ for receiving mail, 1 Private in Lan for client to mail out..

you want to set up a dual Nic Server ( can someone post on config for him to set up dual nic server) Thx

depending on disk size, 2 10+GB to mirror OS
2 mirror transaction logs
3 plus in a raid 5 for exchange install