Establish e-mail coexistence between your server and Microsoft Online Services

  • Article

Updated: April 21, 2009

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

You can create user accounts locally and in Exchange Online. Each user account is created with a mailbox. Until you completely migrate your mailboxes to Exchange Online, you can maintain user accounts in both domains. While mailboxes coexist, when you create a local user account, a local mailbox is also created. If you want that user to receive e-mail in Exchange Online, you must disable the local mailbox. You must also change registry settings to inform components in Windows SBS 2008 that Exchange Server is not locally available.

Use your existing Internet domain in Exchange Online

If your organization owns an Internet domain and you want to use it to send and receive e-mail in Exchange Online, you must add your domain to Microsoft Online Services and verify that you own the domain.

Add your domain to Microsoft Online Services

You can add your domain to Microsoft Online Services from the Tasks I Need To Do pane of the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.

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. If you have not created a new domain entry for your company in Microsoft Online Services, on the Administration Center home page, in the Tasks I Need To Do pane, click Add your domain to Microsoft Online Services.

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

  4. In the Type area, select External Relay.

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

Verify ownership of your domain

Microsoft Online Services must verify that you own the domain name that you specify in the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.

To verify ownership of your 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 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, 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 related 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, in the Value Data box type 0, 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, in the Value Data box type 1, 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, in the Value Data box type 1, and then click OK.

  10. Close the Registry Editor.