RPC over Port 80 - Configure Outlook 2003

[maxxheight]

I have been involved with another discussion in this group, and it led me to do some testing which has lead me to a dead end.

I have an Exchange 2003 server with RPC over port 80 (443) all configured and working. I bought all of the office online using RPC over port 80 while I was at the office, and none of them have had any issues. Where I am having problems is setting up a client outside of the the Lan that the Exchange server is on. I cannot get the client to make the initial RPC connection. It appears that if you set up a client to use RPC over port 80 on the same network as the server that everything works just fine going forward no matter if the user is in or out of the Lan, but try to make that initial connection outside of the lan (even on a laptop that is a domain member) and no dice.

If anyone has any ideas, I am all ears.

Mark

 

[AndyPeck]

Is OWA working correctly from the outside world and have you enabled SSL on it ?

Going to need a little more information to help on this.

 

[maxxheight]

Andy, thanks for the repsponse.

I have OWA configured to use port 443 , and forms based authentication is working as well in the background. OWA works just fine from behind the firewall, as well as outside of the firewall.

What baffles me, is that if I was to take my test laptop, connect it to the network that the server is on, and then allow it to connect via RPC, it would work just fine from that point forward no matter where it connected from. But I do not have that option with all the users out in the field.

Hope that gives a little more insight.

Mark

 

[jgiacobbe]

I have recently implimented rpc over http also and found that you have to set up the outlook 2k3 client while on a local network. All the lterature I have found comfirms this also. This question came up when the CEO wanted his email available in Outlook on his home computer. My work around so far is to use a VPN to connect for the initial setup.

How have your users been connecting to outlook before your rpc over http deployment? Have they been confined to OWA?

Maybe Microsoft coded rpc over http this way to prevent dictionary attacks against the rpc over http server from pulling down email.

Jeremy

 

[mikem501]

RPC over HTTP ONLY works with Outlook 2003, other clients do not support it. You have to open https on your firewall just like you open them for web access.
I would suggest you that first you set up your Outlook 2003 from the LAN to use rpc over http then you connect it with the server from the outside (also) make sure how are you calling the SERVER name from your outlook account settings.
Because when your boss is at home he is not logged in the domain maybe and if the name of the server is say EXCHANGE
if you cannot ping the fqdn exchange then your outlook will never connect to your exchange server with the public ip address. Therefore you can simply add 2 entries in the lmhosts file in the advanced properties of your network settings under the WINS tab.

Hope that you find this helpful.

 

[Zelandakh]

For outside the LAN you can do a VPN initially to use the MAPI connection then disconnect. You only need it for a check name.