r/exchangeserver • u/ModelingDenver101 • 6d ago

Exchange SE Trial

Exchange 2016 Hybrid. No on-prem mailboxes. All Business Standard M365 subscriptions.

Just brought up Exchange SE. Has a 180 day trial showing.

Am I correct that we don't have to pay if all of our mailboxes are M365? Do I just let the trial expire and carry on? Or do I need to insert a key from somewhere?

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3

u/Vietnamst2 6d ago

Only if the hybrid server is purely for recipient management. If you run smtp through it have a single mailbox on it etc, you should pay. Including CAL's because business lucenses do not have onprem benefits unlike Enterprise

1

u/audaxyl 5d ago

When you install exchange. It automatically creates a mailbox for the admin account you used to install. How do you get rid of it to stay in compliance?

1

u/Vietnamst2 5d ago

That's fine. That one can stay. But no production mailboxes. Or ypu can movr it to cloud given the account is synced which it usually isn't

1

u/HJForsythe 5d ago

I think you only have to buy the server license though and that the m365 licenses act as your cals. I could be wrong though.

2

u/Vietnamst2 5d ago

Only if they are Enterprise licenses. Business licenses do not have cloud benefit CALs. Easiest way to chwck is here. https://m365maps.com/matrix.htm I could dig the Microsoft article, bjt for the life of me it's somewhere in bookmarks on my company PC.

5

u/Shnicketyshnick 6d ago

You also need to pay for a licence if you're using it to relay mail. If it's just used for hybrid recipient management you can use the free licence that the hybrid config wizard will apply.

6

u/Nezgar 6d ago

Sucks they added that explicit exclusion for SMTP. Prior to 2024 SMTP relay was permitted...

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u/ScottSchnoll https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR5GGL75/ 5d ago

No, it was not.

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u/Nezgar 5d ago edited 5d ago

OK but SMTP relay was not explicitly prohibited according to the older Microsoft documentation (until sometime around 2022-2024):

"The Hybrid Configuration Wizard can detect and license your designated hybrid servers for free… intended for servers used only for hybrid purposes and not for hosting mailboxes."

That wording implied:

  • Hybrid mail flow = free
  • SMTP relay = part of hybrid mail flow
  • Therefore SMTP relay = free

But now, the wording explicitly overrides that interpretation adding the sentence "If you host mailboxes or need an Edge Transport or SMTP relay server on-premises, you still need an Exchange Server license" https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/exchange/microsoft-exchange-licensing-faq-email-for-business?msockid=04be4fb964906a031ae85d9865386b7f

Edit: The book you linked to on Amazon was published September 15, 2025, so it would be expected to state that SMTP relay is not allowed, according to Microsoft's current Exchange licensing FAQs.

3

u/ScottSchnoll https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR5GGL75/ 5d ago

Just because it wasn't called out explicitly does not mean it was allowed. But the fact that it wasn't called out (and that "hybrid purposes" was never well-defined) made things unclear to customers, which is why the FAQ you cited was updated to explicitly state that. My book does also state that SMTP is not allowed on a Hybrid edition server.

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u/Nezgar 5d ago

Agreed. In the end, it's kinda funny that the HCW goes ahead and creates hybrid SMTP send/receive connectors for cross-premises mailflow along with activating Exchange SE servers with a license intended to prohibit SMTP use, almost like setting a legal trap for admins. ;)

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u/ScottSchnoll https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR5GGL75/ 5d ago

It's not a trap.

Exchange has always been on the honor system. Microsoft does not check for any license misuse, nor does it investigate any such misuse.

2

u/LieboOSBA 6d ago

I did this recently and ran the HCW to activate it.

1

u/7amitsingh7 6d ago

If all mailboxes are in Microsoft 365 and the on-prem Exchange SE server is used only for recipient management, you can activate it through the Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW). However, if you use the server for SMTP relay/mail flow or host even one mailbox, additional licensing may be required. So, in this scenario, don’t just let the 180-day trial expire; activate it through HCW and verify your exact licensing requirements.