Shield Activation Step 7 - Outbound Connector

Description

An outbound connector for Shield must be configured in the Microsoft 365 (M365) tenant to relay messages from M365 to Mailprotector's servers.

Configuration steps for an inbound connector are in the Shield Activation Step 8 - Inbound Connector article.

Applies to:

Microsoft 365, M365, Exchange Online, Exchange Online Protection

Configuration Steps

NOTE: The following steps apply to the Exchange Admin Center's new interface. If your interface doesn't match what is shown below, toggle "Try the new Exchange admin center" in the top right corner of the page.

Outbound Connector Configuration

1. Open the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and navigate to the Exchange Admin Center, as shown in Figure 1. This link will open a new tab in your browser with the Exchange Admin Center.
   
   Fig. 1
   
   
   
2. Find and click the Connectors link under the mail flow options, as shown in Figure 2. The link takes you to the connectors for the domain.
   
   Fig. 2
   
   
   
3. You may have other connectors already listed. Click on Add Connector to add a new connector. A new window will open to select your mail flow scenario. Select Connection from: Office 365 and Connection to: Partner organization as shown in Figure 3. Then click the Next button to continue.
   
   Fig. 3
   
   
   
4. Enter a name for the connector, for example: Shield Outbound, and add a description if you would like. By default, the connector will be set to turn on as shown in Figure 4. Click the Next button to continue.
   
   Fig. 4
   
   
   
5. Specify you want to use this outbound connector for all domains by clicking the + (plus icon) to add a domain and enter a * (asterisk) to match on all domains as shown in Figure 5. Click the Next button to continue.
   
   Fig. 5
   
   
   
6. Mail will route through the Mailprotector smart host. Select Route email through these smart hosts and click the + (plus icon) to add the appropriate outbound SMTP hostname.
   
   NOTE: Find the hostname in Step 7 of Shield activation. The example shown in Figure 7 illustrates the mptestercody.com domain.
   
   Fig. 6
   
   Fig. 7
   Click the Next button to continue.
   
   
7. Configure the connection to Always use Transport Layer Security (TLS). By default, the checkbox for Always use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to secure the connection is checked as shown in Figure 8. Make certain Issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA) is also selected. Click the Next button to continue.
   
   Fig. 8
   
   
   
8. Validate the configuration of the outbound connector by clicking the + (plus icon) and entering an email address that is not in the domain you are configuring. Click the Validate button to run the test.
   
   Fig. 9
   
   
   
9. The validation test will take three steps to complete. During the test, a status window will display like the one shown in Figure 10. The test is complete when the window shows Validation successful as in Figure 11. Click the Next button.
   
   Fig. 10
   
   
   Fig. 11
   
   
   
10. The final screen summarizes the steps taken above and should look similar to Figure 12. You may need to scroll down in your summary window to see all of the settings. Click the Next button to continue.
    
    Fig. 12
    
    
    Fig. 13
11. Confirm all Connector settings between the Shield activation page and the M365 Connector Review page
12. Click Create Connector and Done

Return to your Shield Activation page and test the Outbound Connector email using your own email and domain. See Figure 14 for an example. It can take up to an hour for the test to be successful. If you receive an error (Figure 15) please wait the full hour and try again. If you are still unable to successfully test mail flow, double-check all your connector settings and contact the Partner Success Team for further assistance.

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Once the test is successful you are ready to move on to Step 8 of Shield activation.