Installation process

CodeTwo Exchange Rules was designed for organizations that use Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 or 2016 for mail processing. Use the links below to learn about the software installation, installation management, upgrading, and more.

• General guidelines (read this before installing)
  • Installation in multi-server environments
  • Installation in hybrid environments
  • Installation on the Server Core version of Windows Server
• Installation process
• Managing the installation
• First steps
• Upgrading from previous versions of Exchange Rules Family
• Migrating from other versions of Exchange Rules family
• Migrating to Exchange Rules Pro
• Impact of the software on your IT infrastructure

General guidelines (read this before installing)

CodeTwo Exchange Rules is designed for adding signatures to emails sent from mailboxes hosted on Microsoft Exchange Servers 2019 and 2016.

The fundamental requirement for the program to work is that Exchange Rules Service needs to be installed on each Microsoft Exchange Server machine with the Mailbox role.

Before you move on with the installation, read also about the program's architecture, system requirements and licensing in multi-server environment.

Installation in multi-server environments

If you are installing CodeTwo Exchange Rules in a multi-server environment, you need to perform the installation of Exchange Rules Service (set of components responsible for processing mail) individually on each server processing mail. Otherwise, not all the message traffic will be processed by the program yet configured rules along the actions will not be applied to all messages within the organization. Therefore, install the Exchange Rules Service on each Exchange Server (2019/2016) with Mailbox role.

To perform the installation, please follow the steps below.

Installation in hybrid environments

Installation in hybrid environments is not any different from installation in standard Exchange on-premises environments. The software's Exchange Rules Service must be installed on the on-premises Exchange Server(s) with the appropriate role. The success of the deployment depends on how the hybrid itself is configured. The principle here is that inbound and outbound mail flow should be always routed through servers with CodeTwo software installed. Find out more on how CodeTwo Exchange Rules works in hybrid environments in this article.

Installation on the Server Core version of Windows Server

CodeTwo Exchange Rules can be successfully deployed on the Server Core version of Windows Server. Server Core has no graphical user interface (GUI / Desktop Experience), so the standard installation process does not apply in this case. Instead, you need to follow the instructions provided in this article.

On Server Core, it is only possible to install the CodeTwo Exchange Rules services and transport agent. In order to manage email rules or access other features of the program, you still need to use the Administration Panel of CodeTwo Exchange Rules. Since the Administration Panel is operated through a GUI, it needs to be installed on a non-Core client machine – see this section for installation instructions.

Installation process step by step

The installation of the software is simple and takes up to 60 seconds.

 After the setup wizard starts, first you need to accept the license agreement (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Accepting the License Agreement.

Next, you will be asked to specify the location where the program will be installed. By default, the program is installed to C:\Program Files\CodeTwo\CodeTwo Exchange Rules. However, it may be changed if necessary (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Choosing the installation path.

In the following step, you will have to decide which components of the program will be installed (Fig. 4.).

Fig. 4. Choosing which components of the program will be installed.

By default, if you are deploying the program on a server machine (with the Mailbox role installed), both the Exchange Rules Administration Panel and Exchange Rules Service options will be available. When deploying the program on a client machine, only the Administration Panel can be installed.

When you click Install, the wizard copies data files to your system and installs any required components. 

Managing the installation

You may install, repair and uninstall the program and its components at any time via the Control Panel. Just open it up, go to Programs, and choose Programs and Features. Right-click CodeTwo Exchange Rules and from the context menu click Change. The first screen of the installation wizard will open and once you hit Next the program's setup window will show (Fig. 5.) where you will be able to install / repair or remove the whole installation.

Fig. 5. Managing the program's components.

First steps

Once the installation is finished, CodeTwo Exchange Rules starts automatically along the Quick Tour slides showing the main features of the program (Fig. 6.).

Fig. 6. Quick Tour.

Note that straight after the installation, the Administration Panel tries to automatically connect to the Exchange Rules Service. However, in specific multi-server and multi-domain environments with many instances of CodeTwo Exchange Rules, Administration Panels may not be able to properly connect to the Service what results in the following error (Fig. 7.):

Fig. 7. Incorrect address or SOAP action error.

This error is likely to appear if the Administration Panel is installed on a machine from a sub-domain and tries to connect to the Service hosted on a machine from a primary domain. To resolve this issue, you need to configure the Service connection manually. Click Configure within the connection error notification. In the resulting window (Connection tab in Settings), mark the Connect to Exchange Rules Service hosted on this Exchange Server radio button. Next, enter the name or the IP address of a server hosting the Exchange Rules Service (Fig. 8.) and click OK. Last but not least, restart the Administration Panel and the connection should be established.

Fig. 8. Configuring the Service connection manually.

Last but not least, after fresh installation, the Administration Panel will open along the Critical notifications window (Fig. 9.).

Fig. 9. The Critical notifications window opened.

Here, you can select email addresses of users (specific email address, AD user, AD group) who will receive important information concerning the program's licensing:

• information on the licenses used once they reach 95% of the whole pool
• information once the license limit has been reached
• information on the days left for the trial version to expire (7, 3 and 1 day prior to trial period expiration)
• information once the trial version expires (on that day, 3, 10 and 17 days after trial period expiration and later on once a month)

You may also choose which particular mailbox (the Administrator one is selected by default) should be used in order to send these messages. After initial configuration, the critical notifications' recipients as well as the sender's mailbox may be adjusted at any point via the Help's context menu located within the Administration Panel's ribbon (Fig. 10.).

Fig. 10. Opening the Critical notifications window.

Upgrading from previous versions of Exchange Rules family

Before you move on with the upgrade, learn more about the new architecture of the program as the installation of its components will have a direct impact on the software's operation.

To upgrade CodeTwo Exchange Rules from any previous version please follow the steps below:

1. Purchase the upgrade license pack first with the number of licenses corresponding to the ones you already have
2. Export settings from your current version of CodeTwo Exchange Rules family product and store them locally.
3. Run the setup of the newest version of Exchange Rules and install Exchange Rules Service on top of the previous version of the program on each machine equipped with the Mailbox role. Furthermore, install Administration Panel on any supported machine within your domain. Learn more
4. Once the installation is completed, the next step is to import your rules definitions. The settings file generated by CodeTwo Exchange Rules Family of versions prior to 2007 4.x (deprecated), 2010 3.x (deprecated), and 2013 2.x (deprecated) needs to be open up by the Settings Importer tool, which is available either via Import / Export button from Administration Panel or the list of programs. Just follow the wizard to convert and import settings from the previous version of the program.

   Important

   Import settings only on the first updated or a new instance of the program within your multi-server environment. Thanks to the real-time replication of settings, they will be propagated to other instances of the program once they are installed and opened. Therefore, if you run the Importer and import settings on other machines equipped with the program, you will end up with duplicated rules.

5. Activate the program on the server equipped in Exchange Rules Service with the license key provided.

Old access rights conversion

Older releases of CodeTwo Exchange Rules featured user-based access rights model i.e. where rights were configured individually per each user given access to the software administration. In version 2007 4.6 (deprecated) / 2010 3.6 (deprecated) / 2013 2.6 (deprecated) this was changed to role-based rights management model to make easier managing access rights for bigger number of users and to better addresses admins' security needs.

If you had any rights configured in version 2007 4.5 (deprecated) / 2010 3.5 (deprecated) / 2013 2.5 (deprecated) or older, these are going to be automatically converted to the new access rights model introduced in version 2007 4.6 (deprecated) / 2010 3.6 (deprecated) / 2013 2.6 (deprecated) upon updating or upgrading. In general, the software converts each user, group or external user old access rights to a separate access role. However, the software will attempt merging roles together - this will be successful only for users who have had identical set of permissions in previous version.

Migrating from other version of Exchange Rules family

Before you move on with migrating from other versions of Exchange Rules family, learn more about the new architecture of the program as the installation of its components will have a direct impact on the software's operation.

To migrate CodeTwo Exchange Rules from any other version, please follow the steps below:

1. Purchase the migration license pack first with the number of licenses corresponding to the ones you already have.
2. Export settings from your current version of Exchange Rules family product and store them on the machine where a new installation will be performed.
3. Run the setup of the newest version of CodeTwo Exchange Rules and install Exchange Rules Service on each machine equipped with the Mailbox role. Furthermore, install Administration Panel on any supported machine within your domain. Learn more
4. Once the installation is completed, the next step is to import your rules definitions - to do so, use the Import settings... command, available under the Import / Export button in the Administration Panel. Finally, restart the whole application to see the changes.

   Important

   Import settings only on the first updated or a new instance of the program within your multi-server environment. Thanks to the real-time replication of settings, they will be propagated on other instances of the program once they are installed and opened. Therefore, if you run the Importer and import settings on other machines equipped with the program, you will end up with duplicated rules.

5. Activate the program on the server equipped in Exchange Rules Service with the license key provided.

Migrating to Exchange Rules Pro

Before you move on with the migration, learn more about the new architecture of the program as the installation of its components will have a direct impact on the software's operation.

To migrate to CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro, follow the steps below:

1. Purchase the migration license pack first with the number of licenses equivalent to the ones that you already have.
2. Export settings from the previous version of the Exchange Rules family and store it locally on the machine where Exchange Rules Pro will be installed.
3. Uninstall completely any previous version of the Exchange Rules family from each machine equipped with the program.

   Warning

   Do not install the Pro version directly on top of your existing CodeTwo Exchange Rules installation.

4. Run the setup of CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro 2.x and install Exchange Rules Pro Service on each machine equipped with the Mailbox role. Furthermore, install Administration Panel on any supported machine within your domain. Learn more
5. Once the installation is completed, the next step is to import your rules definitions.
   
   The settings file generated by CodeTwo Exchange Rules Family of versions prior to 2007 4.x (deprecated), 2010 3.x (deprecated), and 2013 2.x (deprecated) needs to be open up by the Settings Importer tool, which is available either via Import / Export button from Administration Panel or the list of programs. Just follow the wizard to convert and import settings from the previous version of the program.
   
   On the other hand, if you have a settings file generated by newer release of CodeTwo Exchange Rules family, import it using the Import settings... command, available under the Import / Export button in the Administration Panel. Finally, restart the whole application to see the changes.

   Important

   Import settings only on the first updated or a new instance of the program within your multi-server environment. Thanks to the real-time replication of settings, they will be propagated on other instances of the program once they are installed and opened. Therefore, if you run the Importer and import settings on other machines equipped with the program, you will end up with duplicated rules.

6. Activate the program on the server equipped in Exchange Rules Pro Service with the license key provided.

Impact of the software on your IT infrastructure

During the installation and configuration of the program, CodeTwo Exchange Rules makes the following changes to your system:

Changes to operating system

The program lets you install .NET Framework 4.6.2 (required to run the Administration Panel), if it's not already installed.

Changes to on-premises Exchange server

The MSExchangeTransport service is stopped while the program is being installed.

The Sent Items Update service grants impersonation permissions over all users in an organization and makes changes directly in users' mailboxes (updates the Sent Items folder according to your email rules).

See also

Hints to getting started - this article describes information useful while starting work with the program.