Creating an Exchange Test Enviroment without Data

If you want to create a test/development enviroment for exchange with all you users but without the headache of the GBs of rubbish users call email?

This method is designed if you have imaged your server, minus the data to a Virtual Machine, I recommend the free VMWare server if you are unlucky like me to not have a ESX server hand..

Unfortunately Exchange will fail to start the Store service if your databases are missing. So you need to create an empty one, however without the store service running, Exchange System Manager wont come to the party....

Follow the steps below to get the service started and the store databases created:

1. Right click on each of the mailbox stores and check the option "Do not mount this store on startup"
2. Start the Exchange Information store service, it should now start...
3. Right click on each of the stores and click on Mount, you will be prompted to create an empty store, click Yes to do so.
4. Right click on the store and uncheck the option "Do not mount this store on startup".
5. Enjoy your new enviroment.

GMail via POP3 using Exchange

Have a mate ruuning SBS 2003 that needed had issues with current mail provider and doesnt have a static address. Google Apps / Gmail for domains to the rescue.

Only catch? POP3 only runs via SSL which native connector does not support. Found a post located at http://doesitecho.com/archives/2007/02/gmail_via_pop3_on_exchange.php

Here is the basic steps I used:

1. Download the latest binary of Stunnel and install it. This program handles the SSL translation for you.

2. Download and install OpenSSL. After Install, you will then need to copy C:\Program Files\GnuWin32\bin\*.dll to C:\Windows\system32.

3: Next you need to edit stunnel.conf in C:\Program Files\stunnel and in this file you need to makle sure the following settings are present, I commented out the other services to remove confusion but left the rest of the original config present.

client=yes
service=gmail
[gmail]
accept = 127.0.0.1:8110
connect = pop.gmail.com:995

4. Install and start the Stunnel Service (found in Start menu).

5. Now configure the POP3 Connector to point to 127.0.0.1:8110 or whatever port you specified, using your Gmail username and password, and hopefully it will now be able to download emails from your Gmail account.