Out of the box, Microsoft Exchange 2000 installs a single virtual SMTP connector that’s easy to configure to accept e-mail to a registered domain name. However, many companies have additional domain names due to acquisitions, name changes, and a host of other reasons. So you may need to support more domains than the default single connector provided by Exchange 2000. In this Daily Feature, I’ll explain how to add and configure additional virtual SMTP connectors to an Exchange 2000 Server.

Viewing the default SMTP server
Immediately after you finish installing Exchange, you’ll have a single virtual SMTP server that processes mail for the domain in which the Exchange server resides. Use the Exchange System Manager to view this virtual server. Start the Exchange System Manager by clicking Start | Programs | Microsoft Exchange | Exchange System Manager.

When the Exchange System Manager loads, navigate the tree pane to the Default SMTP Virtual Server branch. To do so, click Server | Protocols | SMTP | Default SMTP Virtual Server. You’ll then see the screen shown in Figure A.

Figure A
You can view your default SMTP virtual server by using the Exchange System Manager.

Creating a second SMTP virtual server
In Exchange, creating a second SMTP server is simple and requires the use of the Exchange System Manager as well as additional DNS entries to support the mail for the second domain. Once you’ve created the second virtual server, a home directory for it will be created in the MDBData folder on the Exchange server in question.

To create an additional SMTP virtual server, right-click SMTP, and then click New | SMTP Virtual Server. This will start the SMTP Virtual Server wizard, which guides you through the entire process. The first thing the wizard does is to ask you for a name for your second virtual server. You can name it anything you like, but you may want to make the name meaningful.

Next, the wizard will ask you to specify an IP address for your new virtual server. The server must be on either a different IP address or a different port from the default server. Multiple SMTP servers can’t share the same TCP/IP address. It’s possible to temporarily assign this server to the same IP address and port as the default, as long as you change the address of one or the other after the wizard is finished.

By default, the new virtual server is set with the same fully qualified domain name (FQDN) as the initial server. To change this information, right-click the new SMTP server and choose Properties | Delivery | Advanced. When you do, you’ll see the screen shown in Figure B. Enter the name of the new SMTP server in the Fully Qualified Domain Name field.

Figure B
Change the FQDN of the new SMTP virtual server using the Advanced Delivery Window.

Where is everything?
When you create additional SMTP virtual servers, Exchange creates folders in which to hold all of the data associated with your new servers. By default, Exchange is installed on the C: drive in C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr. The SMTP virtual server data is stored in the mailroot directory underneath. After you add additional virtual servers, you’ll notice two folders in the mailroot directory: Vsi 1 and Vsi 2. The numbers after the name correspond to the SMTP instance: Vsi 1 is the folder that contains the default SMTP, while the Vsi 2 folder contains the second server. As you create subsequent virtual servers, Exchange increments the Vsi folders: Vsi 3 for the third virtual server, Vsi 4 for the fourth, and so on. Inside each of these folders are additional folders for handling BadMail, SMTP pickups, and the message Queue.

Look back in the Exchange System Manager for the remaining items associated with the new SMTP virtual server, including session and queue information.

Virtually simple
The ability to receive e-mail at additional domain names is critical to companies that are merging or that wish to continue to use a brand while moving ahead with other projects. Exchange 2000 makes it easy to meet this need.