Move to Microsoft Exchange

Answers to Frequently-Asked Questions about UVa's Migration to Exchange

[Nov 23, 2009 14:09] Web access to Microsoft Live@edu accounts now works.

Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQs)

General Questions

Email Questions

Calendar Questions

Answers

General Questions

Where can I get help or training on using Outlook or Entourage?

For tech support, ask your LSP, if you have one (does your department have one?), contact the ITC Help Desk.

If you would like to become more familiar with using Microsoft Exchange in Outlook, Entourage, or the Outlook Web interface, training opportunities are available.

Why is this transition happening so fast?
With the expiration of a multi-year contract with Oracle at the end of this year, Oracle Calendar will no longer be available at the University as of January 15, 2008. We therefore have to transition to Exchange in a relatively short time frame.
Why Exchange?
Because Exchange is the market leader for calendaring, a number of divisions across Grounds have already adopted it—Darden, McIntire, and the Health System, among others. By shifting ITC support from Oracle to Exchange, we are accelerating the consolidation that’s already taking place, enabling easier collaboration across Grounds. Also, Exchange's tight integration with email, sophisticated Web interface, and support for mobile devices like Palms and BlackBerries makes it more efficient than single-function products like CorporateTime and WebMail.
Can students have Exchange accounts?

Accounts are not automatically created for students, but if a student works for a department, and needs to schedule meetings, reserve resources such as conference rooms, or plan events in the capacity of either an employee or volunteer, the department can request an Exchange account for a student online, at no charge. Departments can request accounts for non-employee students as well, but must sponsor them, since a PTAO is required for these.

Exchange accounts are not available to students for personal use. If you are a student who needs calendaring services, though, you should note that the new UVa student email service that will debut in the coming months will include a calendar application. (See the UVa student email transition page for more information.)

Is there a charge to have an Exchange account?
Central Exchange accounts for all faculty, staff, and students who are paid or work on a voluntary basis (i.e. fulfill a business need) for the department are offered at no charge. Accounts for students who are not working for a department as staff or on a voluntary basis will cost $5/month or $60/year. Departments must use administrative tools to provision accounts for students; a PTAO is required for these. Faculty and staff may create their own accounts. Both department support people and individual faculty and staff can request Exchange accounts and access account management tools online.
Do I need to buy Outlook or Entourage?

If you don't have Outlook or Entourage currently on your computer, you need not purchase a copy—for two reasons.

First, you can also access your Exchange account with any Web browser using the Outlook Web interface (OWA). (Though all Web browsers work, Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7 provide additional features.) In addition, POP and IMAP configurations are also available for popular email programs such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and Eudora, if you have another email program on your computer. (Note, however, that you will still need to use the Web interface for responding to meeting requests; responding with an IMAP or POP client will not work.)

Second, because of UVa's partnership with Microsoft, we offer a Campus Agreement, enabling all full and part-time staff in Agency 207 departments (most members of the University community except the Health Sciences Center, the Foundation, Centers, and Institutes) to install Office or Entourage on their computer if needed, at no additional license fee.

What will and won't transition from current email and Oracle Calendar to Exchange?

For email, ITC has provided an email migration tool to move existing email and folders from the Central Mail Service (CMS) to the Central Exchange Service. Read more about what the email migration tool does—and doesn't—do.

For calendaring, no calendar entries from Oracle will be migrated to Exchange. You should manually re-create any already-scheduled meetings to be held on or after January 15, 2008 in Exchange. Make sure you re-reserve resources such as conference rooms and re-invite attendees so the meeting appears on everyone's new Exchange calendar.

I don't know my login/password. How do I log in?

Log into the Outlook Web interface (OWA) using the login eservices\ followed by your UVa computing ID (e.g., eservices\mst3k). Your password is your Eservices password. Don’t know this password? You can (re)set it.

I want to change the appearance of my name in the From: line. How do I do this?

We recognize that the ability to change your name as it appears in the From: line to include your nickname, etc. is important. Unfortunately, at the present time, this type of change is not possible. Though this sounds like it should be quite simple, it is actually a much more involved technical change than it might seem. ITC has staff working on this issue and hopes to have a way for people to designate how they want their From: address to appear in the not-too-distant future.

Back to top

Email Questions

Is it mandatory that I switch from the Central Mail Service (CMS) to Exchange?
No, but you will need to check email in two places. Check your regular email as you always have, and then begin checking email on the Exchange server for meeting invitations and any email from other Exchange accounts, which will be automatically delivered to your Exchange account. If you prefer not to use Outlook or Entourage, you can configure other email programs to connect to Exchange with an IMAP connection, but you would still have to respond to your calendar invitations in Outlook, Entourage, or the Outlook Web interface (OWA).
Will I lose all my old email and folders?
No. ITC has provided an email migration tool to move existing email and folders from the Central Mail Service (CMS) to the Central Exchange Service. This tool will queue your account to be migrated, and the request will be processed within 48 hours. This tool will not migrate mail folders stored locally on your computer, your mail filtering (server-side rules), or your address book. Read more about the email migration tool.
Will my email address change?
Your @virginia.edu address will continue to work. Your new Central Exchange address will be your computing ID @eservices.virginia.edu (e.g., mst3k@eservices.virginia.edu). If you use the email migration tool to move from the Central Mail Service (CMS) to Exchange (or follow the instructions on the manual migration page for do-it-yourselfers), it will automatically register Exchange as your primary address, so all email sent to that address (e.g., mst3k@virginia.edu and mike@virginia.edu) is redirected to your new Exchange mailbox. Read more about the email migration tool.
Is the Central Mail Service (CMS) going away?
There are no plans to retire the CMS.
Can I keep using my own preferred email program (e.g., Thunderbird, Apple Mail, etc.) instead of Outlook or Entourage?
You can, but then you will need to check two places in order to get all your mail: your primary account, and your new Central Exchange account. If you prefer not to use Outlook or Entourage, you can configure other email programs to connect to Exchange with an IMAP connection, but you would still have to respond to your calendar invitations in Outlook, Entourage, or the Outlook Web interface (OWA).
What does the email migration tool do? What does it not do?
The email migration tool will:
  • Copy your Central Mail Service (CMS) email and folders, including your Inbox, to the Exchange server; and
  • Register Exchange as your primary account, so all email sent to your CMS address (e.g., mst3k@virginia.edu or to mike@virginia.edu) will be directed to your new Exchange mailbox.

This tool will not:

  • Migrate mail folders stored locally on your computer;
  • Copy over your mail filtering (server-side) rules; or
  • Move any contacts in your CMS address book.

Before using the email migration tool, read what to do before using the email migration tool.

After using this tool, you account will enter a queue to be migrated, and the request will be processed within 24-48 hours. You will receive an email at your new Exchange mailbox confirming your mail has been migrated. (You can check the Outlook Web interface (OWA) to receive this message if you do not yet have Outlook or Entourage configured on your computer.)

Note that if you have the technical know-how, you may also opt to migrate yourself manually rather than using the tool. See the manual migration page for do-it-yourselfers for more information.

Can I migrate myself manually rather than using the automated email migration tool?
Yes, you can. See the manual migration page for do-it-yourselfers.
Will my mail filtering rules and contacts in my address book be brought into my new Exchange mailbox?

No, the email migration tool does not bring over contacts from the Central Mail Service (CMS) address book. However, UVa’s Central Exchange service offers a fully pre-populated Global Address List (GAL), which includes University faculty, staff, resources (such as conference rooms), and distribution lists for MyGroups. Exchange also automatically builds personal contacts for you if you use Outlook, Entourage, or the Outlook Web interface (OWA). You can add any additional personal addresses and distribution lists you desire using the address tools within your program or OWA.

Any pre-set mail filtering rules you have in place for the CMS will also not translate directly to rules for Exchange. You will need to use Outlook, Entourage, or the Outlook Web interface (OWA), to re-configure these rules for your new account.

What will happen if I don't migrate my email?
If you opt not to use email migration tool to redirect your CMS email to Exchange, you will need to check email in two places. Check your regular email as you always have, and then begin checking email on the Exchange server for meeting invitations and any email from other Exchange accounts, which will be automatically delivered to your Exchange account. Read more about the email migration tool.
How large can my Exchange mailbox be? Is there a quota?
Your mailbox quota is 2 Gigabytes. Exchange recognizes the size of your entire mail store, whether one or many email folders. For performance reasons, Microsoft does not recommend mailboxes larger than 2GB; however, you can request a larger quota if needed. There is a fee structure for quotas over 2GB.

Back to top

Calendar Questions

Is it mandatory that I switch from Oracle Calendar (CorporateTime) to Exchange?

If you wish to continue using a centralized calendar solution at UVa, you must migrate to Exchange before Oracle Calendar (CorporateTime) is retired on January 15, 2008. (This timing is dictated by the status of our contract with Oracle, which ends at the start of the new year.)

Exchange accounts were created for all active Oracle Calendar (CorporateTime) account holders on December 4, 2007. If you have used Oracle Calendar since September 2007, an account was automatically created for you. You can begin checking your messages online using the Outlook Web interface (OWA). If you believe no account was created for you and you would like one, you can request one.

Is CorporateTime really going away? Can I still use it after January 15 if I need to?
Access to Oracle Calendar will no longer be available at UVa after January 15, 2008, due to the end of our multi-year contract with Oracle. If you wish, you can archive past Oracle Calendar entries and/or view your calendar in offline mode.
Can't I just import all my Oracle Calendar entries into my new Exchange Calendar?

ITC does not recommend importing future meetings from Oracle into Exchange, since key elements such as room reservations and other invitees will be lost. Future meetings to be held on or after January 15, 2008, should be manually re-created. Read more about migrating your calendar.

But past meetings can be imported into Exchange for historical reference, though only meeting name, date/time, and location will be imported—other attendees and notes about the meeting will be lost. If you need more complete information, save your calendar data and open as a spreadsheet.

Are conference rooms and other resources available to book in Exchange?
Conference rooms and other resources are available in Exchange, so you can reserve them there. Be sure you re-reserve any resources in Exchange that have already been reserved in Oracle Calendar for events occurring on or after January 15, 2008.
How can I make my Exchange calendar behave more like CorporateTime?
Make sure you have implemented the UVa-specific recommended settings for Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, Entourage 2004, or the Outlook Web interface (OWA) for a more familiar experience.
How do I...schedule a resource? Respond to a meeting invitation? Etc.
Please see the FAQ in our Exchange at UVa support site and also be sure to read the article by Mircrosoft®, "Outlook meeting requests: Essential Do's and Don'ts". If your question is not addressed in either place, email exchange-consult@virginia.edu.

Back to top

© 2009 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.

The information contained on the University of Virginia’s Department of Information Technology and Communication (ITC) website is provided as a public service with the understanding that ITC makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of the information, including warrantees of title, non-infringement of copyright or patent rights of others. These pages are expected to represent the University of Virginia community and the State of Virginia in a professional manner in accordance with the University of Virginia’s Computing Policies.