Testing the Exchange 2003 Installation

After Exchange 2003 has been installed and appears to be working, or at least nothing has reported an error that would indicate a problem with the installation, there are a few things that can be tested to validate the installation. Some of these steps involve actually setting up a test user, testing the sending and receiving of email from a test user , checking the flow of mail between servers, and checking to make sure the Outlook Web Access function is working properly.

Creating a Mailbox

The easiest way to confirm whether Exchange is working properly is to create a mailbox and test sending and receiving email. To create a mailbox, use the following steps:

1. Click on Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. Right-click on the user account you want to create a mailbox for, select All Tasks, and then select Exchange Tasks .

3. At the Welcome to Exchange Tasks screen, click Next to bypass the welcome page. You can disable the welcome page by clicking on the box next to Do not show this welcome page again.

4. Verify that Create mailbox is highlighted and click Next.

5. Accept the default or type an alias name for the user, server name, and mailbox store name .

6. Click Next to continue.

7. Click Finish. (You can click on the box next to View detailed report when this wizard closes if you want to see the full report of the mailbox creation.)

Testing Mail Flow Using OWA

Another test can involve whether the user can log on to Outlook Web Access. Successful OWA access validates that the Web services are working properly, that the front-end and back-end servers are communicating properly, and that the organization's firewall supports the passing of OWA traffic. To test mail flow using Outlook Web Access, follow these steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer and go to http://{ servername }/exchange .

2. Log in as an Exchange user and send messages to another Exchange user.

3. Open a second Internet Explorer window and log in as the other Exchange user.

4. Verify that mail has been received by the second user.

5. Send a reply to the first user and confirm that the messages were successfully sent and received.

NOTE

More specific details on using Outlook Web Access is covered in Chapter 26, "Everything You Need to Know About Outlook Web Access Client."

Installing the Exchange System Manager

If you have an administrative machine and you want to install the Exchange System Manager on it to perform administrative tasks for Exchange, you can install the Exchange System Manager program locally.

NOTE

When installing the Exchange System Manager only, you still are required to have the IIS SMTP and NNTP service installed on your PC. However, for a standalone administration system, the IIS, SMTP, and NNTP services are not required after installation and should be disabled after the installation is complete.

To install the Exchange System Manager program, follow these steps:

1. Insert Exchange 2003 CD (Standard or Enterprise).

2. Autorun should launch a splash screen with options for Resources and Deployment Tools. (If autorun does not work, select Start, Run. Then type CDDrive:\setup.exe and click OK.)

3. Click on Exchange Deployment Tools.

4. At the Deployment Tools welcome screen, click on Install Exchange System Management Tools only.

5. Review the prerequisite options, and when you comply with the initial configuration, click on Run Setup now.

6. Click Next.

7. Review the license agreement, and when in agreement, select I Agree, and then click Next.

8. In the component selection window, confirm that the Microsoft Exchange System Management tools option has been selected.

9. Click Next to begin the installation of the tools.

10. Click Finish when done.