Hi all, I would like to have a mess around with exchange 2010. I have got a server with hyper-v installed. On the server i have two forests and each forest has got two domains. Each domain has a single DC. I did this when preparing for my MCITP ent admin exm, it was great for messing with forest trusts, dns etc etc. I was just wondering if i could install and configure exchange into this setup? for example could i put exchange on a server in forest A and also on a server in forest B? Currently my VMs do not have an internet connection, this is where it becomes a bit grey to me, does exchange need a working public ip / a record to work or can i use it in a lab environment? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks

Hi, It should not be problem to to install Exchange 2010 in each forest (A and B). Internet is not a necessity in a lab environment considering you don't want to test exchange external access, sending/receiving emails to/from outside your LAN etc. You don't need a public IP or public DNS record for Exchange 2010 to function internally within a forest. Thanks, Faisal.

For exchange with no internet access. Configuring Exchange Servers Without Internet Access http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2010/05/14/3409948.aspx Speed up Exchange Management Shell and Exchange Management Console in lab environment http://terrytlslau.tls1.cc/2011/09/speed-up-exchange-management-shell-and.html James Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com