Exchange Server

Angie · Guest

Hi all,
I'm trying to find out if there is another way to connect to an Exchange
2003 server using Outlook 2003 clients over the internet without using VPN.
I know there's RPC over HTTP but our admin said that is "old stuff" and that
she's got it setup to connect natively. Problem is, less than 1/3 of us can
actually connect directly to our Exchange server using Outlook over the
internet without VPN.

I've used this before in a previous company and it really didn't seem very
complicated on the client side. Just gotta have the right server addresses
to point to in the user profile and things just "magically work". However,
in my current job, it's just aggravating that I have to use OWA 90% of the
time when I'm out of the office (which is VERY often).

I don't know much about Exchange or Outlook so I can't even tell what's not
right here. Our admin keeps telling us "it's quite complicated and will take
time to sort out" whenever we ask for an ETA on when we can get direct
connectivity again. Is it really that hard or are we being given the
runaround? I work with oracle databases which is notorious for being a pain
especially with older versions but many days, I get the feeling this
Exchange/outlook thing has somehow managed to get even more complicated.

Any thoughts/suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thank you.

aK.

greg.merideth@gmail.com · Guest

"I know there's RPC over HTTP but our admin said that is "old stuff"
and that
she's got it setup to connect natively."

Old stuff?..sorry..I had to cough a little bit there. It's so "old"
that it's only available when you have at least service pack 1 or 2
with Outlook 2003 it's that old.

You have a network admin that really really really doesn't want to
bother setting up RCP/HTTP. It takes nothing to setup RCP/HTTP on the
client computer as long as you have XP with at least SP1 and Office
2003. We setup a company with 48 desktops using RCP/HTTP to a hosting
provider in five hours with zero problems.

Server side, any admin who knows Exchange can have a FE/BE (front
end/back end) Exchange server setup to provide Exchange over HTTP in
about 2-3 hours. Now, while it's possible to run Exchange over RPC on
a single server it's not really recommended. So while it may be
"trouble" to actually get a second server and set it up, getting
Exchange over RPC is trivial compared to that.

jb · Guest

Your admin is afraid of certificates and leery to set it up. Tell her that
it is easy, safe and there is no real learning curve.

Angie · Guest

Thanks for both your responses. So is it safe for me (the Exchange
illiterate) to say:
1. There is another method for Outlook 2003 to access Exchange 2003 over the
internet directly without VPN and not using RPC over HTTP? If so, what is it
and where can I find more information? So far, I found a good deal of
content on Microsoft's site on RPC over HTTP but nothing else.

2. If #1 is true then what are the reasons for chosing one method over
another? As Greg indicates, old is hardly the appropriate description and
IMHO, if it works and serves my needs, I couldn't care less how old it is.
However, I do want to know the pros/cons of each approach in case our admin
has good reasons for doing what she's doing.

Thank you.

aK.

greg.merideth@gmail.com · Guest

The only methods I'm aware of for remote Exchange access would be
Outlook Web Access (OWA), a VPN tunnel and Exchange RPC over HTTP
(R/H).

VPN tunnels are good but I've been in plenty of spots where VPN
passthrough is not provided for at the firewall and my access has been
blocked. OWA's nice but you are getting roughly 80% of what Outlook
can do.

Exchange R/H is great. We've setup over 200 end users at 8 different
offices and have had only minor issues to contend with, mainly
bandwidth. Sending a 1MB file to five staff members means the 1MB file
must go out across your broadband connection, get replicated (even
using single attachment storage) to the five boxes and then get sent
down 5 times to 5 different people. Make that 38 users sending a 6MB
file of a guys house blinking to music and the bandwidth use can add up
fast.

It seems like your asking for just single access though. Most R/H
installs consist of a FE/BE setup (front end-back end). This means two
servers with the appropriate license and maintenance that it entails.
It's possible that for just 1 user your NA is simply saying "your not
worth it". Exchange R/H is very secure offering both Outlook and
Exchange encryption as well as the tunnel connection over SSL.

There are a number of case studies on the MS site along with technical
walkthroughs and a multitude of newsgroups to help the NA along if they
get stuck in the setup.

Pro's? Easy to access almost anywhere that supports port 80 traffic
(web browsing). VPN's can be blocked by firewalls at hotels and
airports. OWA is nice to "check mail" but doens't offer all features.
OWA can be rendered usless by spyware in the browser. Being that it's
a pure Exchange connection, you will have an OST created (offline file)
so if the Exchange connection is unavailable you can still access
email, calendar and all that stuff.

Cons? Can be run on one server but best on two. Licsensing can add up
unless you take advantage of the new MS licesning for Virtual Servers
and run a FE/BE on the same physical machine. Not the "funnest" thing
to setup and configure. Bandwidth issues if using for an entire office.

	Exchange Server Forum Index -> Clients	All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1