Out of Office Reply Microsoft Exchange

[Clayton]

I have a customer with 15 Computers and they have requested to have the
ability to return their customers email with a out of office reply etc when
they are away, apparantly they need to install Microsoft Exchange, can
someone please give me some more information about this?

Thanks
Clayton

 

[Leythos]

I have a customer with 15 Computers and they have requested to have the
ability to return their customers email with a out of office reply etc when
they are away, apparantly they need to install Microsoft Exchange, can
someone please give me some more information about this?

Clayton, since they are not running Exchange now, it would be expensive
for them to add it to their system - have you checked with the ISP to
determine if they have an AWAY or Vacation function? Some ISP's have
non-Exchange email systems that allow the user, through a web page, to set
an on-vacation/away/out of office message.

 

[Clayton]

Yes, I have advised them of the costs and they say it is not object, I have
cntacted their ISP and they do not offer vacation/away/out of office
messaging

 

[Leythos]

Yes, I have advised them of the costs and they say it is not object, I have
cntacted their ISP and they do not offer vacation/away/out of office
messaging

If they don't already have a DOMAIN, then I would suggest SBS 2003, it's a
DC, Exchange 2003 server, and is a all-in-one solution. Just make sure
that you purchase AV software that is Exchange Aware for the SMTP
filtering. I use Symantec Mail Security 4.6 on all Exchange servers and
set it to block spam, do RBL, remove attachments that should not be let
in, and also check all in/out bound email for viruses.

You also need to backup your exchange server nightly, I think that E2003
Standard is still limited to 16GB store size, so a cheap SCSI 40GB tape
drive will more than do for the Exchange side.

One thing I've seen is that Exchange loves memory. We have clients with
as few as 8 users and the server seems (running Windows 2003 Standard and
Exchange 2003 Standard - not SBS2003) to have a sweet spot of 1.5GB for
RAM (and Exchange is the only thing that server does).

Do you have a firewall appliance - something like a WatchGuard Firebox
III/700 or other vendor - one that does SMTP filtering can be a blessing,
it blocks attachments based on file extension and mime types, and it does
it before the Exchange server sees the email - also blocks/removed bad
headers and such...

They will also need at least 1 fixed IP address and also DNS entries, and
you should start by making sure that their ISP is not already on a
black-list. Also, some ISP's block SMTP except to their own email servers
and others require a Business account in order to run your own public
servers, you might want to check with the ISP first.

 

[Clayton]

Thanks for the info Leythos

If they don't already have a DOMAIN, then I would suggest SBS 2003, it's a
DC, Exchange 2003 server, and is a all-in-one solution. Just make sure
that you purchase AV software that is Exchange Aware for the SMTP
filtering. I use Symantec Mail Security 4.6 on all Exchange servers and
set it to block spam, do RBL, remove attachments that should not be let
in, and also check all in/out bound email for viruses.

You also need to backup your exchange server nightly, I think that E2003
Standard is still limited to 16GB store size, so a cheap SCSI 40GB tape
drive will more than do for the Exchange side.

One thing I've seen is that Exchange loves memory. We have clients with
as few as 8 users and the server seems (running Windows 2003 Standard and
Exchange 2003 Standard - not SBS2003) to have a sweet spot of 1.5GB for
RAM (and Exchange is the only thing that server does).

Do you have a firewall appliance - something like a WatchGuard Firebox
III/700 or other vendor - one that does SMTP filtering can be a blessing,
it blocks attachments based on file extension and mime types, and it does
it before the Exchange server sees the email - also blocks/removed bad
headers and such...

They will also need at least 1 fixed IP address and also DNS entries, and
you should start by making sure that their ISP is not already on a
black-list. Also, some ISP's block SMTP except to their own email servers
and others require a Business account in order to run your own public
servers, you might want to check with the ISP first.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a customer with 15 Computers and they have requested to have the
ability to return their customers email with a out of office reply etc when
they are away, apparantly they need to install Microsoft Exchange, can
someone please give me some more information about this?

Thanks
Clayton

In order to use Outlook's Out-of-Office Assistant, your client needs to
be getting their email via an Exchange Server. An Exchanger Server
needs to have a Microsoft Domain Server to provide authentication. The
best option, as long as the client has deep pockets, is to purchase and
install Microsoft's Small Business Server 2003, which includes Exchange
Server and 25 Client Access Licenses.


--

Bruce Chambers

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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Clayton]

I have just found out that the ISP does offer an Out of Office Reply which
is great, saves them a few thousand dollars.

I was told by one operator that they don't, goes to show that making a
second phone call pays off

Cheers
Clayton