So you can’t send email from a fresh install of Exchange 2010? Unlike Exchange 2003, Exchange 2010 cannot send emails to external domains out-of-the-box. This feature needs to be enabled through the use of an external send connector. By default, no send connectors are configured when an Exchange 2010 system is setup with a hub transport or edge transport role (typical installation). At first it seems odd for an Exchange server to not allow external email sending by default, but this is commonplace in insurance and financial institutions where complete control over external communications is necessary. I’ll walk you through the steps to create an internet-facing send connector which will allow you to send email to any external domain.

1. Open up the Exchange Management Console. Double-click on Organization Configuration and click on Hub Transport. Click on the “Send Connector” tab. Either right-click on the whitespace or select “New Send Connector” under the Actions task list.

2. Enter a name for the send connector. Under intended use, select “Internet” in order to send to external domains. Click Next.

3. Under Address Space click “Add…” and select “SMTP Address Space…” Click Next.

4. Under SMTP Address Space -> Address, put a * (asterisk) in order to send to all external domains. This is where you may wish to customize the address space by only allowing external emails to specific vendors or customers. Click OK, then click Next.

5. If you are using a smart host to route your emails (sometimes required by an ISP), configure it here. Otherwise, check “use domain name system” to route emails (typical). Click Next.

6. For a single-server installation of Exchange 2010, the source server will be the only one in the list. If you have multiple servers with a hub transport role installed in your organization, you can select a specific server to use. Click Next.

7. This is a summary page of the send connector. Click Next.

8. After the send connector has been configured, this page will appear. The syntax shown is also the powershell equivalent to what was run. Click Next.

9. Once the send connector has been created, you’ll need to configure one last item. Right-click on the connector and select “Properties.”

10. In order to get past some of the more strict spam filters, you need to configure the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). This is typically the internet-facing address of your email server. Click OK. You’re ready to send email to external domains!

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Well, it is here. Exchange 2010 has been released, and there is a 120-day trial available at Microsoft. Of course, if you have a technet subscription, you won’t need the trial.

http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010/en/us/default.aspx

The trial is the final version (14.00.0639.021), released 11/09/09, while the Virtual HDD version is still the RC dated 10/12/09.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=168905

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This will allow the Out of Office Assistant (OOF) to work when it is enabled from within the Options section of Outlook Web Access for Exchange 2003. The following is disabled by default.

1. Start the Exchange System Manager.
2. Click on Global Settings, and then “Internet Message Formats.”
3. In the right-hand pane, right-click and select Properties for “Internet message formats.”
4. Click on the Advanced tab, select “Allow out of Office Responses.” Below is a list of all the options available:

Allow out of office responses
Allow automatic replies
Allow automatic forward
Allow delivery reports
Allow non-delivery reports
Preserve sender’s display name on message

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Here are the Dell MD1000 Direct Attached Storage Benchmarks I had promised earlier. The performance is great. I’m trying to squeeze some more MB/s out of the read performance. I’ve also included performance / disk. Looks as though 4x and 8x disks in RAID10 have the best performance per disk. All the disks are 73 GB Seagate 15K SAS.

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I’ve found there is neither rhyme nor reason for Outlook having difficulty connecting to Exchange over RPC. Many times the same configuration will result in errors or unpredictable behavior. It is frustrating to say the least. There is a decent work-around that alleviates most connection problems, especially the dreaded first attempted connection error. Below are the various errors that you may receive, and the fix.

1. Open the registry editor (at the run box type: regedit).
2. Locate or create the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\RPC
3. On the Edit menu, click New and DWORD value.
4. Type DefConnectOpts and press ENTER.
5. Right-click on DefConnectOpts and set the value to 0 if it isn’t already.
6. Exit the registry editor and Outlook should connect to the Exchange folders now.

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