This article is designed to be a brief overview and central resource for all Mimecast Synchronization Engine (MSE) knowledge articles.
What is the Mimecast Synchronization Engine
The Mimecast Synchronization Engine (MSE) is a proprietary Mimecast application installed in your environment. It enables features that provide closer integration between your Microsoft infrastructure and the Mimecast cloud. See the Supported Environments section below for additional details.
MSE is a replication and synchronization service between Exchange and Mimecast. It is not involved in mail delivery or routing, and configuring it does not resolve email routing or filtering issues. It is primarily used for on-premises Directory Synchronization and mailbox folder/calendar replication tasks.
The Mimecast Synchronization Engine can be downloaded from the Application Downloads page.
Once the Synchronization Engine is installed in your environment, its features are configured in the Mimecast Administration Console. The availability of each feature is dependent on your Mimecast subscription.
Supported Scenarios
Directory Synchronization
Mimecast Synchronization Engine to synchronize your organization's Active Directory with Mimecast. This uses a secure outbound connection from your internal network to Mimecast.
| Scenario | Description |
| Single Domain |
In a single-domain environment, the default settings for Active Directory Sync should be used. See Directory Synchronization for full details. |
| Parent-Child Domain |
In a parent-child domain, one Directory Integration per domain is required. The Replicate Different Domain is used to override the:
See Directory Synchronization for full details. |
| Resource Forests |
In a resource forest scenario, there are one or more forests with active user accounts and a resource forest where Microsoft Exchange Server is deployed containing disabled user accounts. See Directory Synchronization for full details. |
Exchange Tasks
The Mimecast Synchronization Engine (MSE) offers features and functionality that can be applied to Mailboxes, Messages, Attachments, Folders, and more by creating Definitions. Task Schedules set the frequency mailboxes are checked against these definitions. For active mailboxes, synchronization with services such as Microsoft 365 can occur multiple times per day (up to several times within a 24-hour period), depending on configuration and feature usage.
Calendar Replication
The Calendar Replication feature uses native Exchange entry points to extract calendar appointments (including attachments) from Exchange mailboxes and submits this data to the Mimecast platform, which is made available to end users.
Mailbox Folder Replication
The Mailbox Folder Replication feature continuously extracts folder and message meta-data from Microsoft Exchange mailboxes and submits this to the Mimecast platform. Once a user's mailbox has been successfully replicated, they can access their Mimecast archive in the same familiar, structured format they use daily in their email client.
Managed Folders
Managed Folders uses native Exchange entry points to identify and take action on email messages in specific Exchange mailbox folders. Message Action options include Exchange Delete, Expire View, and Archive Purge. These actions are driven by Definitions and associated schedules configured in the Mimecast Administration Console.
Mailbox Storage Management
Mailbox Storage Management uses native Exchange entry points to identify and take action on email attachments in Exchange mailboxes. Mimecast stored message data can be directly accessed from the Exchange mailbox, allowing administrators to control the size of mailboxes on the corporate Exchange servers while still providing users access to archived content.
Mailbox Permissions Sync
Mailbox Permissions Sync (Delegates Sync) uses native Exchange entry points to synchronize mailbox permissions between an on-premises Exchange organization and Microsoft 365 or Office 365 in a hybrid deployment. This is done using a Task configured in Mimecast with an associated schedule, and requires appropriate Exchange permissions (such as EWS / application access and service principal configuration) so that Mimecast can query mailbox and delegate permissions.
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