Broadband access to Exchange 2

[doctorswamp]

Hi All

Have an Exchange 5.5 server at work and normally collect messages by dial-up.

Now have broadband available and when I try to set up Exchange I can ping the IP Class A address and it appears to find Exchange, but then fails to verify user name / password as being valid.


Any ideas?

 

[Grenage]

Greetings,

You have not given us enough information so I will assume the following:

Your old dialup was with the same company that hosts your email.
Your new broadband connection is not with the company that hosts your email.

Many Internet Service Providers do not allow you to download your email from a connection not hosted by themselves. For example I can download my BT emails via POP3 using my BT broadband or dialup but I probably cannot using a Freeserve dialup or other service provider.

 

[doctorswamp]

Sorry, here's some more background.

I dial straight into our network, modem to modem, after using my log-in details for the work domain, then have an Exchange mailbox set up in Outlook with a private IP address (10.x.y.z).

I'd like to use broadband instead and our administrator has given me the IP address of the Exchange server for access via the web (62.x.y.z) and I can ping this okay. When I try to connect after entering the work domain name and username/password for my mailbox it doesn't accept them. I know they're right because I use the same ones for dial-up access.

 

[jcneil1]

It sounds like this an exchange account as opposed to a pop3 account. If it is exchange- you are communicating with RPC not pop3/smtp. If you dial in, you are privately connected- this is quite safe. If you connect via internet, you would have to open up RPC on your firewall to allow users it to exchange- this is VERY unsafe. The answer is to use a VPN connection- win2k server has RRAS which can create VPN ports using PPTP to allow this type of setup.

 

[Grenage]

I think I understand.

Is it possible that the IP address you have been given is for "Outlook Web Access"?

I think the best course off action here would be to talk to your administrator to confirm the password, and check that you do not need to access your mail in a different way.

 

[doctorswamp]

Thanks

I've checked Services and RPC starts automatically.

In the past I've installed the set of MS03-xyz patches recommended for closing up RPC security holes, and have the XP firewall switched on. Does this still mean RPC could be being blocked?

 

[Grenage]

If you are entering your username and password but it is being refused, I doubt the problem is that you are being blocked. Unfortunately my knowledge of remote access to networks is not great so I cannot be sure of this.

 

[jcneil1]

Ok- doctorswamp in order to help you I need to know if
Outlook is setup as an exchange client as opposed to being a pop3 cleint- If you are an exchange client mail is delivered instantly, if you are pop3 mail has to send/receive
This can also be found in Outlook- tools- accounts/email accounts/services depending on the version.

 

[doctorswamp]

Dear jcneil1

It's set up as an Exchange client. In Properties I've set the IP address for Exchange (62.x.y.z) and entered my mailbox name.

'Check Name' leads to a long delay then an Enter Password box asking for what I take to be the domain log-in details, ie User name, Password, Domain name - different from the mailbox details. It returns 'Your logon information is incorrect' even though it's definitely the right.

On the dial-up connection I'm wanting to replace I use the domain logon details when starting the machine (away from the office). I then use dial-up to the office with Outlook working offline, and Send/Receive to transfer. For some reason it won't connect to Exchange if I don't manually dial up in this way - but that's another problem.

 

[jcneil1]

Ok- here's what I see- When you use dial up server in Outlook you are doing a form of RAS "remote access" that is a way for your machine to communicate with the Exchange server on your corporate network using protocols that are generally blocked by firewalls (such as RPC). In this way it appears to your machine and the server that you are actually there.
What you are trying to do now is connect to an Exchange server via the internet- assuming you don't have Exchange 2003 which can use RPC over HTTP you would have to have the exchange server on the internet with no firewall (very stupid) or have a firewall setup to allow the RPC ports open (also risky although Microsoft ISA server claims to do it safely).
If you use Exchange 2000 you would also have to have DNS server access setup with the FQDN of your mail server for Global Catalog access- in other words it is a lot more complicated than connecting to a pop3 or smtp mail server- the recommended way to do this is using VPN- that will do the same job that your "connect using modem" option in Outlook gives you and keep your Exchange server out of harms way.

 

[doctorswamp]

Many thanks for your time jcneil1.

Sounds like I need to learn how to set up a VPN.

David

 

[Zelandakh]

Or if available, you could Terminal Server into the office and locally use Outlook to pick up Exchange Server.