Inter-site Message
Transfers
Because the outsourcing vendor may have little control over the
stability of the hub servers, ABC Company may not require guaranteed
delivery times for mail originating from, or addressed to, any mailbox
outside of the ABC Company’s site.
However, inbound Internet email with legitimate addresses should not get
returned as undeliverable from the Exchange systems within the supported
(environment?). The outsourcing vendor should remedy any internal
Exchange process that returns mail.
Intra-site Message
Transfers
ABC
Company requires that intra-site Exchange mail be delivered to the
recipient’s server-based mailbox within 15 minutes of delivery to a
server within the supported site.
Remote
Synchronization Performance
Off-line Address
book
Remote users who replicate the Offline Address Book should never wait
more than thirty minutes for a complete refresh to transfer over a 56K
connection.
Mailbox Replication
You
should probably define the mailbox limits. In many cases, mailboxes are
classified into two or more categories. For example:
Directory update
frequency
Many companies configure
directory replication so that the directory is current within a
forty-eight hour time period. For example, a mailbox that is added at
3:00 p.m. on Tuesday must appear in the directory and Offline Address
Book before 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. This should be defined in the SLA.
System Changes
Administrative tasks, such
as Exchange/NT username add/remove/change, should be able to be handled
within one business day. The primary and backup responsibility may be
divided up among the server support team and the helpdesk.
An
matrix of administrative task groups and responsibilities should be
created in order to identify the ability of each group, including:
-
Add/Remove/Change of mailboxes and
distribution lists
-
One business day or less
-
Public Folder Creation
-
Two business days per request
-
Exchange Gateway settings
-
Two business days per request
-
Updating permissions and security settings
on Public Folders
-
One business day or less
-
Assigning email addresses to a Public Folder
-
One business day or less
-
Distribution List creation
-
Two business days or less
-
Distribution List modification
-
One business day or less
-
Mailbox restoration (from tape)
-
Three business days or less
The outsourcing company may want to define the
maximum number of one-day requests that can be filled per business day.
Additional requests will roll to the next business day and will take
priority over new requests.
Note: Public Folder applications that require or
use automation, such as routing or scripting, are considered a separate
project. New projects, which are likely to incur extra costs, are not
part of the SLA.
System availability can be
an expensive requirement. It is important that we identify the specific
requirements from a resource access standpoint and not necessarily on a
server by server basis. The specifics dictate the availability of the
servers.
Network and remote
access
Network connectivity between sites and for users should be defined
clearly as to the required uptime. Redundant links may be required based
on the connectivity requirements.
Mailbox Access
This specification details the amount of time a user cannot access
his/her mailbox on an Exchange server in the supported site. Many
companies define at least two types of mailbox classifications:
-
Class A users can be without access to their
mailboxes for no more than six business hours. This group usually
contains managers and key people within ABC Company
-
Class B users can be without access to their
mailboxes for no more than 24 business hours. This group represents the
bulk of the ABC Company Exchange users.
Public Folder Access
In
order to maintain the OST consistency of applications, you should define
how long Exchange users can be without a Public Folder. Some companies
place this between 24 and 48 hours. However, you should request that, if
restored, the Public Folders must contain all items as well as the most
current items possible.
Inter-site directory
In
the case of a corrupt directory, replication may need to be forced in
order to get the names and addresses of ABC Company mailboxes outside
the supported site. The site should not be without access to the
complete directory for more than 48 hours.
Intra-site directory
In
the case of a corrupt directory, intra-site replication may need to be
forced in order to get the names and addresses of ABC Company mailboxes
within the supported site. The supported site must not be without access
to the complete directory list for more than 24 hours.
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