Migrating to MDaemon

from Microsoft Exchange

Alt-N Technologies

July 7, 2005

TABLE OF C ONTENTS
The Main Reason to Migrate 1

MDaemon vs. Microsoft Exchange 2

Server Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
General Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

MDaemon as the Exchange Alternative 3

Integration with Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Supplying Equivalent Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Migration Overview and Requirements 5

Migration Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Main Reason to Migrate

The primary reason to consider migrating to MDaemon from Mi-

crosoft Exchange is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
The TCO encompasses all elements of ownership for both en-
terprises and service providers. It consists of both direct and “. . . whole books have
peripheral expenses of items such as: been devoted to managing
and troubleshooting the
• Initial Software
Microsoft software. . . ”
• Upgrades
Personal Computer World,
• Licensing
February 2004
• Operations
• Feature set
• Administration ease of use
• Email user support
• Email user satisfaction
• Specialized staffing needs

1
 • Operating system requirements
• Hardware requirements
In all of these areas, MDaemon is superior to Exchange for email
applications with one user to several thousand. MDaemon is “a real
alternative to Exchange
and a role model for the
MDaemon vs. Microsoft Exchange others. . . ”
Personal Computer World,
February 2004
Exchange is an able email server. However, it is also resource-
intensive and technically-complex to deploy.
Typically, the hardware and operating requirements for Exchange
intensify with each new release. Each new version often requires
the purchase of a new Microsoft operating system, meaning you
also may need a new computer with greater power.
From a staffing point-of-view, Exchange usually requires highly-
trained fulltime support. One or more richly-paid IT profession-
als are often beyond the means of budget-conscience organiza-
tions. Such salary support can add tens of thousands of dollars
(U.S.) to the annual cost of operating your email server.
The standard version of Exchange for smaller applications quickly
falls short as traffic increases. Standard Exchange has artificially
“Despite the complex
imposed ceilings in both its maximum number of accounts and scenarios that can be
its maximum disk storage. When your needs surpass these limi- involved in initially setting
tations you must move to Exchange Professional with even more up a mail server, Alt-N has
complex and expensive operational requirements. simplified the choices to
those most vital, and
As an alternative, consider the much more reasonable MDaemon.
chooses intelligent
Alone, or with its plug-in applications—such as Outlook Connec-
defaults otherwise. . . ”
tor or AntiVirus for MDaemon—MDaemon provides professional
email services with much more relaxed requirements for hard- ServerWatch, June 2004
ware, software, daily operations, technical assistance and overall
costs.
MDaemon runs on any version of MS Windows starting with
Win95 (OSR2) and continuing through the most current release.
This goes easy on email budgets. MDaemon was designed from “. . . it’s the value for
the ground up with professional quality, beginner ease-of-use and money aspect that appeals
economical operation in mind. most with MDaemon. . . ”
PC PRO, September 2003

Migrating to MDaemon Alt-N Technologies

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Server Security

MDaemon is an industry leader and trendsetter in email security.

For example, it is the first Windows-based email server to deploy
DomainKeys, HashCash and SPF (Send Policy Framework). “While most email server
vendors boast that they
MDaemon has built-in protection to stop unauthorized use, fight
adequately protect end
spam, block viruses and encrypt message content. Security mea-
users from the spam
sures can be both global for all access or specific to IP addresses,
onslaught, few can
domains and email addresses.
out-maneuver spammers
When compared to Exchange, MDaemon is sometimes used as a as well as Alt-N’s
front-end to protect Exchange from break-ins, viruses and spam. MDaemon e-mail
server. . . ”
MDaemon resists attacks from spam, hackers and viruses. For
example, during a recent flurry of virus attacks, networks were CRN, March 2004
shutting down worldwide because of the infections. Yet MDaemon
users with the AntiVirus plug-in suffered little to none during the
same time.

General Features

Both MDaemon and Exchange are feature-rich, offering basic

POP, IMAP, SMTP, web mail and groupware services. You can
access email from both servers by using standard email clients,
web mail and wireless devices, such as the Palm and the Pocket
PC.
MDaemon makes its features available through an interface of
mostly easy-to-use menus and options. Exchange configuration
requires navigating through complex nested dialogs. “. . . the software is
designed to be easy to use
When it comes to enhancements, Alt-N’s customers really make
for novices . . . ”
the difference. MDaemon users provide most of the input for
new and enhanced features. PC World, January 2004

MDaemon as the Exchange Alternative

There are two primary ways people use MDaemon as an alterna-

tive to Microsoft Exchange—integration with Outlook and sup-
plying equivalent functions.

Integration with Outlook

People use Exchange primarily because of its integration with Mi-

crosoft Outlook. Outlook is a personal information management

Migrating to MDaemon Alt-N Technologies

from Microsoft Exchange 3 http://www.altn.com/
tool supplied with Microsoft Office. Outlook handles email, cal-
endars, contacts and tasks for individual users. It can also keep
a journal of documents and actions related to contacts.

On the negative side, Exchange’s sharing capabilities are mostly

proprietary, making interchange with the outside world difficult,
if not impossible. Also, Exchange is all-around expensive and its
security is weak. “After looking into other
products, like Exchange
Outlook Connector for MDaemon, a separately licensed plug-in
Server, MDaemon was
product—but still much more economical than Exchange—frees
chosen for its
Outlook from the constraints and costs of Microsoft Exchange.
price/performance ratio.
It enables Outlook clients to share their proprietary email, cal-
It was only after we had
endars, contacts, tasks and other Outlook-specific items through
already installed the
MDaemon.
software that we became
An Outlook Connector account makes Outlook folders function aware of the EXCELLENT
the same with MDaemon as they do with Exchange. level of support. . . ”
Shawn D. Silvas
Support Engineer,
Supplying Equivalent Functions Magnasync

For a lot of email applications, Outlook is simply expensive overkill.

Consider, for example, groupware functions such as shared cal-
endars, tasks, contacts and email folders. In its professional
version, MDaemon’s WorldClient web mail server supplies all of
these functions without the need for Exchange or Outlook.
WorldClient users can share their calendars, tasks, contacts and
email folders with other users.

Migrating to MDaemon Alt-N Technologies

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Over the past several years, MDaemon has become a viable al-
ternative to Exchange for cost-aware organizations seeking ways
to minimize expenses.

Migration Overview and Requirements

Alt-N supplies a migration program designed to work with Ex-

change 5.5, 2000 and 2003.
MDMigrator.exe enables an email or network administrator to
extract this data from Exchange:
• mailboxes and contents
• public folders and contents
• account information
The program then transfers the account, mailbox and public folder
data to MDaemon.
To operate the migrator correctly you must have:
• MDMigrator.exe installed. It is located in the Apps subdi-
rectory inside the MDaemon directory.
• MDaemon installed, but shut down for the migration
• Exchange Administrative Components installed on the Ex-
change computer.
• Service Account Admin privileges at the Organization, Site,
and Configuration levels of the Microsoft Exchange Direc-
tory.

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 • The target computer as a member of the Exchange server
domain.

Migration Steps

To migrate to MDaemon from Exchange:

1. Start the MDMigrator program. It is located in the MDaemon\App
directory.
It also available for download from the MDaemon section
of the product downloads page (http://www.altn.com/download/)

2. Enter the Exchange server computer name for Source Com-

puter and use the Next button.

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 3. Select Microsoft Exchange Server and use the Next button.

4. Chose a MAPI profile. Make sure the selected profile is

configured for the appropriate Microsoft Exchange Server.
Also, the user name must be that of the administrator.
Note: You can create a profile if the appropriate one does
not exist.

5. Select one of the listed Exchange Organizations for which

you wish to perform the migration process.
6. Select one of the listed Exchange Sites for which you wish
to perform the migration process.
7. Enter the primary domain name.

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 8. To migrate secondary domains, check the appropriate box.
9. Review your selections and use the Next button to start the
migration.
The migrator creates a log file in MDaemon\Logs\migration.log.

Alt-N Technologies, Ltd.

2201 East Lamar Blvd, Suite 270
Arlington, Texas 76006
Phone: (817) 525-2005
Fax: (817) 525-2019
http://www.altn.com

Migrating to MDaemon Alt-N Technologies

from Microsoft Exchange 8 http://www.altn.com/