Email Relay Service
What is the Email Relay Service?
One of the biggest obstacles during this process is that email sent to the domain in transit is not deliverable because it is held until the Domain move is complete. This can cause delays, rejected messages, and productivity. On Demand Migration for Active Directory addresses these concerns with its robust Email Relay Service which provides the administrator options on how email should be delivered. Migration Administrators can choose Either Basic Mode or Advanced Mode s based on their project requirements.
Microsoft has enabled “MTA-STS for Exchange Online” security feature in Exchange Online, and will refuse deliver messages to servers that don’t support TLS and have a trusted certificate. Customer will need to update their MTA-STS policy and add the Email Relay Server’s MX records to the policy. Below is a sample of the policy, additional detail for MTA-STS implementation in Exchange Online, please refer to Introducing MTA-STS for Exchange Online - Microsoft Tech Community link.
When Should Basic Mode be used?
Choose this mode if you would like to queue your emails using your existing delivery service during the domain move process. Mail flow for your domain will be resumed after the domain move has completed.
Basic Mode is easy to setup and requires no configuration changes to the tenant. Tenant administrators have the option to hold the email message delivery while the domain is being moved or to send the email messages to their own relay service provider for final delivery. In this mode, the directory synchronization component of On Demand Migration for Active Directory will facilitate the move for email addresses and domain names between tenants but it will not be responsible for the mail flow.
Basic Mode is the best choice when:
Only a handful of objects associated with the tenant and the domain move process will be done within a couple hours.
Continuous email delivery during domain move is not a requirement, and messages can be queued for delivery after domain move is completed.
Custom Transport rules and connectors are not allowed in Exchange Online for either source or target tenant.
When should Advanced Mode be used?
Choose this mode if you would like to have mail delivered to your users in the target tenant during the domain move process. Transport rules and connectors will be configured in the tenants when this mode is selected.
Advanced Mode offers the full coexistence experience for end-users that are affected by the domain move. It will relay incoming email messages sent to the source user mailboxes to their matching target user mailboxes. The benefit of choosing Advanced Mode is there is no email disruption while the domain is being moved.
Advanced Mode is the best choice when:
A large number of objects are associated with the tenant and the domain move process is expected to take hours.
Continuous email delivery during the domain move is a requirement. Mission critical systems and businesses are impacted when email delivery is suspended.
Custom Transport rules and connectors are allowed in Exchange Online for either source or target tenant.
Navigate
This user guide covers the steps required to configure and perform a Domain Move. The Domain Move Quick Start Guide summarizes these steps and addresses some frequently asked questions.
Dashboard
How do I navigate to the project dashboard?
The project dashboard includes overall project status statistics and summary sections covering project status, environments, and Domains ready for Cutover. Quick navigation icons are available at the top of the dashboard to go directly to project setup, settings, and refresh functions. Names and figures can be clicked on to view more detailed information for each item.
Does each project have its own dashboard?
Yes. Each project has its own dashboard. The project's name and number appears in the upper left of the dashboard. To change to another project’s dashboard, select "Projects" in the navigation menu.
How do I use the project dashboard?
A visual guide to the features of the project dashboard are presented in the images below. Click on a image to enlarge the image.
Figure 1: Example Dashboard
Menus
What menus are available?
Domain Move consists of two (2) menus. The left navigation menu which is sometimes referred to as the “Hamburger” menu and the right application menu, which is called, the “Waffle” menu.
The hamburger menu is used to navigate through the application’s different areas of management and configurations.
Figure 1: Example of Domain Move Menu
The waffle menu is your application menu where you can quickly navigate directly to an applications dashboard.
Figure 2: Example Applications Menu with all applications