POP Download Problems 1

[jc999]

Got a strange problem with our Exchange Server (W2k SP4 - Exchange SP3) that I'm unable to fix.

Many clients are using Outlook with POP to get their mail from our server. When sending and receiving, the emails will send but they will only receive very slowly (too slow to use).

A reboot of the server seems to fix it for a half hour maybe before it slows down to a crawl again. Main problem is that I can't actually find anything wrong other than its slowed down a lot.

Clients running in Exchange mode seem OK, it seems to only be the POP access. No real errors in Event Log even with detailed POP logging on. No CPU or Network workload to speak of.

Any ideas at what it might be / how to find out whats wrong with it would be appreciated. Spent 10 hours looking at it and got nowhere .

 

[Marcs41]

First a question, WHY are some clients retrieving with POP?

Marc
[sub]If 'something' 'somewhere' gives 'some' error, expect random guesses or no replies at all. Please specify details.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC![/sub]
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[jc999]

Because that is how they were set up before I worked here. We are in the process of moving to exchangemode. We have limited disk space as well, so it does mean that the messages do not fill the server up.

 

[Davetoo]

I have sixty clients that retrieve via POP because they're external to my network. There are valid setups where POP is the best option.

If you're worried about storage space, I'd first consider upgrading the system with more storage, that would be the long term solution. In the short term, you can set mailbox limits and force users to archive off to PST's until you can implement a long term solution.

Now, to the problem. Specifically how many users do you have retrieving locally via POP?

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[jc999]

Thanks for the reply, we are planning to go to exchange mode for everybody but we're currently just fixing things at the moment.

We've currently got about 100 users picking up mail via POP.

 

[Davetoo]

Are these users on the local network, or are they outside of your network?

If they're local, you don't have to use POP3, they can connect to the Exchange server and store the email locally in PST's. Again, just a temporary band-aid until you can add storage to the server.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[jc999]

Thanks, What services do I add to Outlook to configure as you suggested? Is it just 'Microsoft Exchange Server' ? and where do I tell it to keep the emails locally in a PST?

 

[Marcs41]

That is why I asked before, if they are on a LAN, there is no need for POP.
Is it indeed 'Microsoft Exchange Server' and to store locally (not a good idea though), you change Delivery from Mailbox to Personal Folder.

Marc
[sub]If 'something' 'somewhere' gives 'some' error, expect random guesses or no replies at all. Please specify details.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC![/sub]
How Do I Get Great Answers To my Tek-Tips Questions? See faq219-2884

 

[jc999]

More specifically, if I want to enforce a mailbox size - do I do this in Exchange Manager (OK) and then just set up the archive settings for the folder in the outlook client??

The problem there is that the archive feature works by time, whereas the mailbox warnings are done by size - is there a good way to archive as soon as the mailbox reaches a certain size?

Thanks for help, btw

 

[jc999]

Just posted that message up at same time... you can ignore that. Just one quick question - where do you change Delivery from Mailbox to Personal Folder?? In AD?

 

[jc999]

Sorry, I have found it

 

[Marcs41]

Limits on the Server Mailbox are not the same as local limits!
If you are going to use the Exchange Mailbox, check out Mailbox Manager (see Help in System Admin)

 

[Davetoo]

For the short term I would set delivery to Personal Folders *and* set mailbox limits in the System Manager. That way a user can't revert the setting back to the Exchange Server and crash the system by taking up all available storage space on the server.

Again, short term solution. Long term, upgrade the storage space.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.