Question:
How do I host multiple domains with Exchange Server 5.5? I have six domains that I would like to host on this server, but I only know how to do one.
Answer:
You certainly can do it and it’s not too difficult, depending upon a few minor variations.
First of all, you need to set up the MX records for each domain to point to the Exchange Server.
Second, you’ll need to go into the Exchange Administrator program and assign each user the SMTP address(es) you want them to have. For example: If User 1 is a member of a.com, then you would give her an SMTP address of [email protected]; if User 2 is a member of b.com, then his would be “[email protected].”
If you want User 3 to receive mail at both a.com and b.com, then you could give him both [email protected] and [email protected] addresses. All you need to do then is select which of those addresses you wish that user to have as his “Reply To” address and click the “Set as Reply to” button on that same screen that you add addresses on.
This is no big deal if you have just a few users to modify. But If you have a lot of them, you might consider exporting a .CSV file, manipulating it (perhaps with a macro) in Excel, and then reimporting it.
Pointing MX records at Exchange Server and configuring SMTP addresses for each mailbox is all you need to do for basic hosting of multiple domains. If you have the IMS routing enabled, you’ll also need to add an Inbound Route for each of the new domains in the Exchange Server.
Conventional wisdom, however, says to shy away from enabling IMS routing (for security/spam reasons) unless you really need to do so.
