MICROSOFT 365

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Built a small cloud-based IT environment using Cloudflare and Microsoft 365, with a custom domain supporting email, identity, DNS, and web services.

The project was designed as a practical exercise in domain management, DNS, Microsoft 365 administration, email authentication, identity security, and cloud hosting.

ARCHITECTURE

01 — DOMAIN & DNS

The project domain was registered through Cloudflare, which also provides authoritative DNS for the domain.

• Registered the project domain through Cloudflare.
• Configured Cloudflare as the authoritative DNS provider.
• Created DNS records for Microsoft 365 services.
• Created DNS records for web hosting.
• Verified DNS resolution after configuration changes.

Microsoft 365 domain ownership was verified using the required DNS verification record.

02 — MICROSOFT 365

A Microsoft 365 tenant was configured and connected to the custom domain.

• Created the Microsoft 365 organization.
• Configured the custom domain.
• Verified domain ownership through DNS.
• Configured Microsoft Entra ID.
• Assigned Exchange Online licensing.

03 — EXCHANGE ONLINE

Exchange Online was configured to provide hosted email using the project's custom domain.

• Configured the custom mail domain.
• Created the primary mailbox.
• Configured a role-based email alias.
• Configured MX records through Cloudflare DNS.
• Tested inbound mail delivery.
• Tested outbound mail delivery.

No self-hosted SMTP server is used. Exchange Online handles mail hosting and delivery.

04 — EMAIL AUTHENTICATION

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC were configured to improve email authentication and domain reputation.

• SPF: Authorized Microsoft 365 as a sending service.
• DKIM: Enabled cryptographic message signing.
• DMARC: Added policy and aggregate reporting.

All three authentication mechanisms were tested using outbound email and verified for successful results.

05 — IDENTITY & SECURITY

Administrative access was secured through Microsoft Entra ID and modern authentication controls.

• Enabled Microsoft Security Defaults.
• Configured Microsoft Authenticator.
• Configured a passkey.
• Tested multi-factor authentication.
• Verified protected administrative sign-in.

06 — CLOUDFLARE PAGES

The public website was built using static HTML and CSS and deployed through Cloudflare Pages.

• Created the HTML structure.
• Created the CSS stylesheet.
• Tested the site locally.
• Deployed the site through Cloudflare Pages.
• Connected the custom domain.
• Configured the www hostname.
• Verified HTTPS access.

VALIDATION

SECURITY BOUNDARY

Documentation describes the architecture without exposing information required to access the environment.

• No passwords or credentials.
• No API keys or access tokens.
• No recovery codes.
• No private IP addresses.
• No tenant identifiers.
• No DNS verification secrets.

RESULT

The completed environment provides a functioning cloud-based infrastructure stack combining Cloudflare, Microsoft 365, Exchange Online, Entra ID, email authentication, and static web hosting.

The project demonstrates the complete process of establishing a domain, configuring DNS, connecting cloud services, securing identity, authenticating email, deploying a website, and validating the result.

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