2 exchange servers, 2 locations, one email domain

[bluegreenturtle]

I apologize that this question might be a little too much to ask on the forum, but I have to prep to do this this fall and I am a little over my head on how to proceed. Thank you to whoever might give me some direction.

The situation now:

Company is 30 people, spread between one location (15 people) a different location in a different state (8 people) and multiple little single and duos of people all over the country.

Company has POP email via a web host currently.

The two large locations both have SBS 2003 servers installed, each their own local domain (which have different names) and exchange is just turned off.

The company wants to move to using exchange. I would like to enable both exchange servers in the two locations and have them serve each of those offices (locally) and then use rpc over http or webmail for the stragglers that aren't in the main offices. I would like both of those servers going so that the users in each office have snappy local access and it's not all going through one office.

I am lost on how to do this. How do you have 1 email domain, but setup dns so that it can go to the appropriate server? There is no operational requirement for the two locations to be linked via active directory - in fact I think this is not even possible because both servers are SBS and both are domain controllers - I thought SBS won't tolerate another domain controller.


Any tips? Thanks a lot.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: bluegreenturtle
How do you have 1 email domain, but setup dns so that it can go to the appropriate server?

You can't. Given two emails with the same domain name, there's no way for a "foreign" SMTP Server to know WHICH mailserver to send them to.

SBS can have multiple domain controllers, but not more than one SBS Server in a Domain. And SBS Servers can't trust another Domain.

You'll be best off with setting up one of the SBS Servers as your company's single Exchange Server. Anybody who's offsite from that Server can get their mail/calendars/contacts/tasks via RPC, OWA, or Windows Mobile. It works just fine.

You could FORWARD emails from one main SBS Server to another one, but you won't get the contacts/calendar/task interaction that also comes with Exchange.

If you HAVE to have a second Exchange Server, then it'd probably be best to put a second Windows Server (or maybe a DC) at the remote site and join everyone to the same domain. You can install Exchange on that second server or DC, although it's not considered a "Best Practice" on a DC. You can then route email between the two Exchange Servers as needed. But I doubt you'll find it worth the cost.

 

[bluegreenturtle]

Thanks - that helps, I will need to start planning for a single server. Unfortunately the relative power of the 2 current servers is flipped where it needs to be; the newer faster one is in the smaller location with less user load, however potentially I can just add a second server in the larger location (which is going to grow a lot, too).

 

[Tarrant64]

My company currently has about 750 employees(and growing) with about 15 different sites. We used to use just 1 exchange server in one location, but as the locations have grown in size we have started to move towards some backup strategies. Anyways, about the exchange.

We have 2 exchange servers, 1 in the main site and another one in a different site. Users are spread about evenly depending on the site's user count, but they are all on the same domain and it seems to work flawlessly right now. Except when you lose one exchange server obviously some users will lose their email, but not everyone in the company is affected.

We have exchange servers separate from the domain controllers, so 1 exchange and 1 DC for those two sites.

For webmail we use Outlook Web Access, which works well.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: bluegreenturtle
Thanks - that helps, I will need to start planning for a single server. Unfortunately the relative power of the 2 current servers is flipped where it needs to be; the newer faster one is in the smaller location with less user load, however potentially I can just add a second server in the larger location (which is going to grow a lot, too).

that or you move the exchange server to a datacenter that has gigE uplinks, backup power, adequate cooling, etc.. so that even if all of your sites get leveled, your communications server is still running somewhere safe

 

[bluegreenturtle]

wow thanks guys that actually helps me quite a bit.

I think I can make the single exchange work - it's just rolling it out all at once and communicating to the remote users how to make the changes themselves without somebody doing it for them.

 

[RebateMonger]

SBS 2003 has EXPLICIT instructions on setting up RPC over HTTPS for Users. It's on the Remote Web Workplace page. It includes the EXACT settings that are needed, and is likely better than anything you can write yourself. It also references a Microsoft video that offers more explanations.

 

[bluegreenturtle]

Actually I have written up extensive documents for users on how to setup RPC, that's not the issue. It's explaining to 30 people in 5 states who don't work regular hours that all their email is changing at some point in the near future while doing the dns flip.