Good Day; Our company is using Kerio Connect to deliver e-mail and groupware functionality. I have been asked to attach an `approximate´ number to the cost of switching to Exchange. We have about 400 users spread across three sites. The main site hosts the mail server, and has about half of the user base. The balance of the users are split over the other two sites. The sites are interconnected via VPN. The main site has 100MB fiber. One remote site has 10mb fiber, and the third is using `business´ cable. Each site has its own Active Directory infrastructure.
It´s been a long time since I played in the Exchange arena, so I don´t know what the current requirements are. From what I´ve found on-line: - An exchange system has several roles to be fulfilled, requiring at least two, maybe three servers; one for the mailboxes, one for relaying mail to the internet, etc. These servers should not be doing anything else. We're in a VMWare environment, so we can adapt accordingly. - An Exchange server license for each server running some component of Exchange - An Exchange user CAL for each user - A windows CAL for each user (over and above the CALs I currently own) Some questions that come immediately to mind: I know that Exchange is intimately tied to AD. What is the best way to have one Exchange system servicing the three sites? - Migrate all site to a single domain? Obvious management benefits, but lots of labor and user disruption - Create a new forest to include the three AD domains? How well (if at all) will Exchange work with that? Would it be a good idea to have a mailbox server in each site? What are the pros and cons of that? Any advice, or pointers to non-marketing technical info would be much appreciated. Bud Durland Director of Information Technology 1 Plant St. Plattsburgh, NY 12901 Office: 518.561.1812 Direct: 518.324.4850 Cell: 518.726.0967 Weatherchem.com | Moldriteplastics.com | Stulltech.com NOTE -- This message contains legally privileged and confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. Thank you.
