Add the domain for your organization to Microsoft Online Services

Updated: April 21, 2009

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

If your organization owns an Internet domain and you want to send and receive e-mail that is addressed to that domain in Exchange Online, you must add your domain to Microsoft Online Services and you must verify that you own the domain. You must also change registry settings to inform components in Windows SBS 2008 that Exchange Server is not locally available.

To add your domain to Microsoft Online Services

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center by using your administrator user name and password.

  2. On the Administration Center home page, in Tasks I Need To Do, click Add your domain to Microsoft Online Services.

  3. In the Name box of the New Domain Wizard, type your domain name. For example, type contoso.com.

  4. In Type, select Authoritative.

  5. Click Create, and then, on the Confirmation page, verify the domain name and domain type that you provided.

To verify that you own the domain

  1. If you are not already signed in to the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center, sign in by using your administrator user name and password.

  2. On the Users tab, click Domains, and then, in the Status column, click Verify Now.

  3. In the Verify Domain Wizard, create a new alias as follows:

    1. On the Verification details page, carefully read and follow the instructions.

    2. Open a new Web browser or tab, navigate to the portal of your domain registrar, and then sign in to your domain account. (Contact your domain registrar if you need help accessing your domain account.)

    3. Create an alias (CNAME) resource record in your domain account by using the information that is provided to you by Microsoft Online Services.

    4. Save your changes in your domain account, and then sign out of the Web portal for your domain registrar.

    5. Close the Verify Domain Wizard, and then sign out of the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center. Wait at least 15 minutes.

Note

It takes between 15 minutes and 72 hours for the new alias that you created on your domain account to propagate through the Internet. The domain is not verified until the propagation is finished.

6.  After at least 15 minutes, sign in to the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center by using your Administrator user name and password.

7.  On the **Users** tab, click **Domains**, and then, in the **Status** column next to the appropriate domain in the **Domains** pane, click **Verify now**.

8.  In the Verify Domain Wizard, on the **Verification Details** page, click **Verify**.

9.  On the **Confirmation** page of the Verify Domain Wizard, make a test connection to your domain and confirm that the verification is successful.

10. After you successfully verify that you own the domain, click **Close** to exit the Verify Domain Wizard. Your domain is now listed as **Verified** in the **Domains** pane of the Exchange Online page.

Change registry keys for Exchange Server components

Registry keys are used to inform components in Windows SBS 2008 that Exchange Server is installed. You must change the registry keys to ensure that the components recognize that Exchange Server is not locally available.

To change the registry keys that relate to Exchange Server

  1. Click Start, click Run, and then, in the Open text box, type regedit.

Warning

Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer.

  1. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SmallBusinessServer\Components.

  2. Right-click Messaging, type 0 in the Value Data box, and then click OK.

  3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SmallBusinessServer\Networking\Services.

  4. Click Edit, click New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  5. Type SkipMXConfig for the name of the new key.

  6. Double-click the new SkipMXConfig key, type 1 in the Value Data box, and then click OK.

  7. Click Edit, click New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  8. Type SkipSpfConfig for the name of the new key.

  9. Double-click the new SkipSpfConfig key, type 1 in the Value Data box, and then click OK.

  10. Close the Registry Editor.