Connecting to the Internet
Internet connectivity depends on SMTP and Domain Name System (DNS), and some other components. As stated earlier, SMTP is the protocol that is used by Exchange to deliver mail internally and to the Internet. To enable Internet mail delivery in your Exchange organization, you manage the SMTP protocol by configuring SMTP virtual servers and connectors. Additionally, you must make sure that DNS is correctly configured because DNS is responsible for locating mail servers outside the organization, so that SMTP can deliver mail to them.
Note
Before connecting to the Internet, configure your Exchange server in accordance with your company's security policy.
After you install Exchange, you can send and receive mail using the default configuration of an SMTP virtual server on an Exchange server if the following conditions are true:
| • | You have a direct connection to the Internet. Note Dial-up connectivity requires some additional configuration. For more information, see Configuring SMTP in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server. |
| • | You have DNS configured correctly to resolve Internet names and to send mail to your Exchange server. Specific DNS settings are discussed later in this section. |
This section describes how to configure Internet mail delivery. It includes:
| • | Understanding SMTP dependencies and how to configure SMTP Exchange relies on SMTP to deliver mail internally and externally. Because of this reliance, you must understand on which components SMTP depends and correctly configure them to support SMTP. After you have set up these components correctly, you must know how to control the configuration of SMTP. |
| • | Using a wizard to configure Internet mail delivery Internet Mail Wizard is intended primarily for small and medium companies with less complex environments than large or enterprise companies. |
| • | Manually configuring Internet mail delivery In large or enterprise environments, you may have to manually configure Internet mail delivery, in accordance with your organization's policies. When manually configuring Internet mail, there is a separate set of tasks associated with configuring Exchange to send Internet mail and to receive Internet mail. |
| • | Controlling junk mail using filters Exchange supports connection, recipient, and sender filtering. Using these various filtering options helps you control the junk mail your users receive. Note For detailed information about large or enterprise environments and common deployment scenarios for those environments, see Configuring SMTP in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server. |
For detailed instructions, see How to Use a Wizard to Configure Internet Mail.
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