Resolving Exchange server issues for National Languages Project
Problem
When National Languages project had first consulted me and asked me to review their case, I had observed that they had good server hardware/ network equipment and software but were poorly implemented without following the proper configuration practices. Thereby causing many DNS, DHCP, Certificate, ActiveSync and exchange email problems which affected their day to day work. Moreover, there were no active disaster recovery strategies or processes in place, so the total IT system and the organization’s data were depended on basic luck.
Some of the major problems were identified as follows,
- Official sent emails had been rejected by the recipients as spam
- Certificate issues related to every service on the server (remote desktop, outlook web, active sync)
- DNS conflicts on the network (internal & external) and thereby randomly network requests get delayed
- No proper backup & disaster recovery strategy is in place
- No server documentation what so ever on the configuration, known issues or workarounds
Solution
Initially, I had Carried out an extensive analysis over the existing IT system and presented with a proposal on findings & feasible solution. The most ideal solution on such cases would be to fully reconfigure the server from scratch, but considering the down time, risk and clients financial/ time allocations, it was decided to fix the current faults and initiate a simple yet effective disaster recovery strategy.
Following are some of the tasks performed,
- Formulate & initiating the disaster recovery strategy
- Coordinate with the ISP, Domain registrar to configure the backup mail server and relevant DNS records
- Fixing Server configuration & in depth testing
- Preparation of system manual recording all the necessary documentations
Results
In just 7 days, I was able to successfully complete the project which resulted in resolving all the identified system problems under minimal down time and without disrupting organizations day to day work. Moreover, a system manual containing all the relevant technical documentation was also submitted for future reference purposes.
Testimonial
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