Using the Exchange 2003 Mail Wizard

This article is based on Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition (Build 3790) and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 (Build 6944.4).

Introduction

Exchange 2003 implements a new version of Internet Mail Wizard that helps you configure Internet mail connectivity with Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2000 Server.

You can use the wizard to send and receive internet mail. With the help of the Internet Mail wizard you do not have to configure the SMTP virtual server and the SMTP Connector manually.

Microsoft has deployed this wizard for small and medium sized Exchange organizations with a simple and not complex messaging infrastructure. The Mail Wizard does not work under the following circumstances:

Modified configuration settings of the Default SMTP Virtual Server.
The existence of an additional SMTP virtual server.
The server is a node on a Windows Cluster.
The server is a node on a Network Load Balancing cluster.
The server contains multiple network interface cards that are configured with separate networks, where Internet protocol (IP) routing is enabled between the networks. (See the section later how to configure the wizard on a multihomed server)

See the link at the end of this article for more information about limitations and error messages of the Internet Mail Wizard.

Let’s begin

The first step is to open the Exchange SystemManager (ESM) and right click the organization object and select – Internet Mail Wizard. This will start a very helpful wizard.

Figure 1: Start the Wizard

Figure 2: The first Step in the Wizard

The next step is to select the Server in the Exchange organization for internet mail delivery.

Figure 3: Select the Server for mail delivery

The wizard checks if the server is a multihomed server (a server with multiple network interfaces). If this is true the wizard displays a message with more details what to do.

Figure 4: The wizard tests the server for the existence of more than one NIC

The next page lets you choose the way for the mail flow. You can select the option to receive and/or to Send internet e-mail.

Figure 5: Select the direction of e-mail flow

Select the Domain/s for incoming E-Mails. This page displays the domains based on the configured E-Mail domains in the Default recipient Policy. You have to configure E-Mail domains in the recipient Policy.

Figure 6: Select the Domain/s for incoming E-Mails

Select the virtual SMTP Server as a Bridgehead Server for outbound E-Mail.

Figure 7: Select the SMTP Bridgehead Server

Select the Open Relay Configuration. The Default is “Disable open relay” I recommend to disable open relay, because an open relay opens your e-mail Server for Spammer and so on.

Figure 8: Select the open relay configuration

Select the way how to send E-Mail to the internet. The preferred way is to send E-Mail through DNS.

To send E-Mail through DNS you have to configure your internal DNS Server to forward E-Mail to the internet (for example with the help of Root hints, Forwarder (conditional forwarding)).

The other way is to specify the name or IP address of a smart host. A smart host is a host to which all E-Mails will be delivered.

Figure 9: Select outbound Mail Configuration

In this wizard page you can specify if you want to configure the Exchange Server to send e-mail to all Internet e-mail domains or to only selected e-mail domains.

Figure 10: Select the scope of e-mail delivery

This page displays the configuration summary of the Internet Mail Wizard. You should review the summary of the wizard. To make changes you have to click “Back” and modify the configuration.

Figure 11: Configuration Summary

The full text of the wizard copied from the above wizard page:

Server ‘MSXMIG’ has been selected as the Internet Gateway Server

Inbound Configuration was selected:

Your current settings for the SMTP Virtual Server ‘Virtueller Standardserver für SMTP’ are:

Relay Restrictions = OPEN RELAY
Access Control / Authentication = Anonymous Access is enabled

Your settings for the SMTP virtual server ‘Virtueller Standardserver für SMTP’ will now be:

Relay Restrictions = closed relay
Access Control / Authentication = Anonymous Access is enabled
The domain(s) your server is configured to accept inbound mail for are the following authoritative inbound SMTP domains that are configured in Recipient Policies: migdom.local;

Outbound Configuration was selected:

New SMTP connector named ‘Internet Mail SMTP Connector (MSXMIG)’ will be created under routing group ‘NTDOM’
SMTP Virtual Server ‘Virtueller Standardserver für SMTP’ is configured as the Outbound Bridgehead with the following settings:
Uses DNS to send email
Allows delivery to all Internet e-mail domains

Congratulations. You have successfully configured the Internet Mail Wizard. In this example I have selected “View detailed report when this wizard closes” to show you more information.

Figure 12: The final Internet Mail Wizard page

Screenshot of the detailed report.

Figure 13: Detailed report of the Internet Mail Wizard

Configuring a Dual-Homed Server Using the Wizard

When you configure the Internet Mail Wizard on a server with two NICs, the wizard configures the Server as follows: The wizard creates an additional SMTP virtual server on the Exchange server. It configures Internet mail delivery in as follow:

The Internet Mail Wizard guides you through the steps of assigning the internal IP address to the default SMTP virtual server on which it creates the SMTP connector to send outbound mail. You assign the internal IP address to this virtual server so that only internal users on your internal network can send outbound mail.

To configure the server to receive Internet mail, the wizard guides you through the process of assigning the Internet IP address to the external SMTP virtual server. You assign an Internet IP address to this virtual server because the external Server must be able to connect to the SMTP virtual server to send Internet mail.

The last step is to configure an MX record on your DNS Server that references to the IP address of the “Internet” Virtual SMTP Server.

Conclusion

The new Internet Mail Wizard is very helpful for small and medium sized organizations. It provides an easy way to configure your Exchange Organization for Internet E-Mail Access.

Exchange 2003 Administration Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=98e45481-1458-4809-97d6-50d8aeebd8a1&displaylang=en

Microsoft Exchange Server
www.microsoft.com/exchange

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article – 821830
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;821830