Hi,

I'm fairly new to the world of Exchange and I would like some help.

I need to give my users in my local lab domain the ability to send and receive email.

My first question is :

1. Will I need to setup and install an Email Server to allow them to do this?  

2. Or can I implement a simpler method? (The test company will only have around 20 users) So a full Exchange Enterprise solution could be a bit too much.  

3. Or, could I setup up and install an SMTP Server to relay all outbound email to an online exchange solution, and have my users connect to the mailbox in the cloud? The third option sounds ok, but it means that the majority of my internal mail would be routed outside of the company only to come back in.

Thanks  

1. To recieve mail you need an email server. That may be on-premises or in the cloud.

2. If you have a mail server in the cloud (Office 365, ) you can connect your email application (Outlook) directly to the server and mailbox using either HTTPS (Exchange), IMAP or POP.

3. That's overkill. If you have an Exchange server somewhere, just connect Outlook to the server using the options described above. As with the out-in-routing, I would not think too much about it unless you are sending massive amounts of data, in which case you should look for a different solution all together! ;)

Ok thanks.

I think I will have to setup and install an internal Exchange solution, or see if I can get a O365 trial to test things out.

1. To recieve mail you need an email server. That may be on-premises or in the cloud.

2. If you have a mail server in the cloud (Office 365, ) you can connect your email application (Outlook) directly to the server and mailbox using either HTTPS (Exchange), IMAP or POP.

3. That's overkill. If you have an Exchange server somewhere, just connect Outlook to the server using the options described above. As with the out-in-routing, I would not think too much about it unless you are sending massive amounts of data, in which case you should look for a different solution all together! ;)

• Proposed as answer by Mavis_HuangMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator 53 minutes ago

1. To recieve mail you need an email server. That may be on-premises or in the cloud.

2. If you have a mail server in the cloud (Office 365, ) you can connect your email application (Outlook) directly to the server and mailbox using either HTTPS (Exchange), IMAP or POP.

3. That's overkill. If you have an Exchange server somewhere, just connect Outlook to the server using the options described above. As with the out-in-routing, I would not think too much about it unless you are sending massive amounts of data, in which case you should look for a different solution all together! ;)

• Proposed as answer by Mavis_HuangMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Thursday, February 26, 2015 10:56 AM

Hi,

Make a Hybrid deployment with Exchange on-premises and O365 is a great method : )

More details, please refer following arcile:

Exchange Server 2013 Hybrid Deployments

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200581%28v=exchg.150%29.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

 

Thanks

For the hybrid solution you need to buy a Server 2012 license, aswell as the Exchange 2013 license. I believe the E3 plan includes Exchange CALs. With any smaller plan, you also need to purchase an Exchange CAL for each user. Please consult your Office 365 partner to make sure you are fully licensed.

If you have a small budget, consider using a NAS to exchange larger files in addition to a Office 365 Business Premium, with Outlook 2013 in cache mode.

Good Luck :)