1. Mastering Mobile Device and Wireless Access Essentials
Exchange Server 2010
supports wireless access for users with many types of mobile devices.
Exchange Server 2010 uses Exchange ActiveSync to provide mobile access
functionality. Using Exchange ActiveSync, users with mobile devices can
access their e-mail, calendar, contacts, and scheduled tasks.
When you install
Exchange Server 2010, Exchange ActiveSync is automatically configured
for use. As with Outlook Web App, this makes Exchange ActiveSync easy to
manage, but there are still some essential concepts you should know to
manage it more effectively. This section explains these concepts.
Tip:
As an Exchange administrator,
you can do many things to fine-tune the mobile access configuration for
your organization.
At a minimum, you'll want to ensure that the appropriate level of
authentication is applied. You'll also want to create and apply Exchange
ActiveSync Mailbox Policy.
Using Exchange Server ActiveSync, users whose mobile devices
have Windows Mobile 5.0 and the Messaging and Security Feature Pack
(MSFP) and later versions of Windows Mobile software can initiate synchronization
with Exchange to keep their data up to date and receive notices from
Exchange that trigger synchronization through the Direct Push feature. Direct Push is a key feature that you probably want to know a bit more about. It works like this:
The
user configures her mobile device to synchronize with Exchange,
selecting specific Exchange folders that she wants to keep up to date. When a new message arrives in a designated sync folder, a control message is sent to the mobile device. The control message initiates a data synchronization session, and the device performs background synchronization with Exchange.
Users with third-party
synchronization software for their mobile devices can also sync with
Exchange, provided the software is compatible with Exchange ActiveSync.
After they are synchronized, users can then access their data while they
are offline. In Exchange Server 2010, Direct Push is either enabled or
disabled along with Exchange ActiveSync itself.
Exchange Server 2010
enables ActiveSync for each user by default. If necessary, you can
disable ActiveSync for specific users. To do this, complete the
following steps:
In Exchange Management Console, expand Recipient Configuration and then select Mailbox. You
should now see a list of users with Exchange mailboxes in the
organization. Double-click the user's name to open the Properties dialog
box for the user account. On the Mailbox Features tab, the enabled mobile and Web access features for the user are displayed : To disable Exchange ActiveSync for this user, under Feature, select Exchange ActiveSync, and then click Disable. To enable Exchange ActiveSync for this user, under Feature, select Exchange ActiveSync, and then click Enable.
Note:
REAL WORLD ActiveSync notifications are sent over wireless
networks using the Internet. To take advantage of these services, users
must subscribe to the Internet services of a wireless carrier. The
actual process of receiving synchronization requests and sending
synchronization notifications is handled by Exchange. Exchange
ActiveSync is, in fact, configured as an ASP.NET application on the Web
server. For Exchange ActiveSync to work properly, the Web server must
be configured properly. If you want to learn more about Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET, I recommend Microsoft IIS 7.0 Administrator's Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2007).
To define
organization-wide security and authentication options, you can use
Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox policies. When you install Exchange Server
2010, a default Exchange ActiveSync
Mailbox policy is created. Through Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox policy
settings, you can precisely control mobile browsing capabilities for all
users in the enterprise, including:
Whether passwords are required and how passwords must be configured Synchronization settings to include past calendar and e-mail items Permitted devices and device options, such as whether a device can use
Wi-Fi, infrared, Bluetooth, or Internet sharing
2. Mastering Remote Mail and Outlook Anywhere Essentials
Two additional technologies you can use for mobile access
are remote mail and Outlook Anywhere. These technologies require extra
configuration for both Outlook clients and Exchange servers. This
section discusses Outlook client configuration.
2.1. Using Remote Mail and Outlook Anywhere
Using remote mail,
you can configure Outlook to connect to Exchange Server using a dial-up
connection to your organization's modem bank. Remote mail is useful in
these scenarios:
Users at a branch office must connect to Exchange Server by means of dial-up connections. Laptop
users want to connect to Exchange Server through dial-up connections
when out of the office.
Users working at home need to connect to Exchange Server by means of dial-up connections.
Outlook Anywhere is a
technology that allows users to access Exchange Server over the Internet
using Outlook. With Outlook Anywhere, you don't need to use a virtual
private network (VPN) to securely connect Outlook to Exchange Server.
Instead of relying on VPN for security, Outlook Anywhere takes advantage
of security features of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Outlook, and
Exchange Server 2010 to ensure that communications are secure.
Outlook Anywhere builds on the
RPC over HTTP feature introduced with Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook
2003. It provides additional, more dynamic communication protocols for
remotely accessing Exchange Server using
RPC over HTTP, with or without SSL encryption: With RPC over HTTP,
remote procedure calls (RPCs) are nested within HTTP packets, which can
either be encrypted with SSL or not encrypted with SSL, and then
transmitted. By adding encryption to either technique, you ensure that
data transmitted between Outlook and Exchange Server is encrypted and,
therefore, protected.
Outlook Anywhere is useful in these scenarios:
Users at a branch
office must connect to Exchange Server over a broadband connection,
such as a digital subscriber line (DSL) or a cable modem, and you don't
have a VPN, or you want to simplify the connection process by
eliminating the need for a VPN. Laptop
users want to connect to Exchange Server through broadband or T1
connections when out of the office without having to use VPNs.
Users working at home need to connect to Exchange Server by means of broadband connections without having to use a VPN.
Enabling remote
mail and Outlook Anywhere requires separate client and server
configurations. As discussed in "Creating Outlook Profiles for Dial-Up Connections to Corporate Networks" and Section 2.3
later in this article, configuring Outlook for use with remote mail or
Outlook Anywhere is easy—all you need to do is properly configure a
related mail profile. What isn't so easy is implementing the required
back-end server configuration.
2.2. Creating Outlook Profiles for Dial-Up Connections to Corporate Networks
You configure dial-up
connections for Outlook (also called remote mail) by creating an Outlook
profile that can be used for dial-up connections to the corporate
network. Before you can create this profile, you must also configure the
area code and dialing options to use with the computer's modem.
To configure the area code and dialing options for Windows 7, follow these steps:
Click
Start, and then click Control Panel. In Control Panel, click Small
Icons on the View By list. Finally, click Phone And Modem Options. Using the selection list provided, specify the country or region you are located in, such as the United States. Enter your area code, such as 212. Optionally, enter carrier codes, the number needed to dial in an outside line, or both. Select either Tone Dialing or Pulse Dialing. When
you click OK, the Phone And Modem Options dialog box appears with the
Dialing Rules tab selected. Review the configuration, and then click OK
when you are finished.
To create the Outlook profile for remote mail, follow these steps:
Exit
Outlook. Start the Mail utility. (Click Start, and then click Control
Panel. In Control Panel, click User Accounts, and then click Mail.) In the Mail Setup–Outlook dialog box, click Show Profiles. Then, in the Mail window, click Add. Type the name of the profile, such as Remote Exchange, and then click OK. This starts the Add New E-Mail Account Wizard. You need to manually configure settings. Select the Manually Configure Server Settings check box, and then click Next. Select Microsoft Exchange, and then click Next. In the Microsoft Exchange Server text box, type the host name of the mail server, such as mailer1. You can also enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the mail server, such as mailer1.cpandl.com.
Using the fully qualified domain name can help ensure a successful
connection when the mail server is in a different domain or forest. In the User Name text box, enter the user's domain logon name or domain user name, such as Williams or William Stanek.
Click Check Name to confirm that you've entered the correct user name
for the mailbox. You'll want to store a local copy of the user's e-mail
on his computer, so ensure that the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box
is selected. Click More Settings. This displays the Microsoft Exchange Server dialog box. With
remote mail connections, you'll usually want to work offline and dial
up only as necessary. Select Manually Control Connection State, and then
select Work Offline And Use Dial-Up Networking, as shown in Figure 1. If you want the user to be prompted for the connection type, select the Choose The Connection Type When Starting check box. By
default, data sent between Outlook and Exchange is encrypted. If you
don't want to encrypt message traffic, click the Security tab. Under
Encryption, clear the Encrypt Data Between Microsoft Office Outlook And
Microsoft Exchange check box. On
the Connection tab, choose Connect Using My Phone Line. Then, under Use
The Following Dial-Up Networking Connection, choose an existing
connection to use for remote mail, as shown in Figure 2. If no connection is available, click Add, and create a connection.
Click OK. In the Add New E-mail Account Wizard, click Next, and then click Finish. In the Mail dialog box, select Prompt For A Profile To Be Used and then click OK.
2.3. Configuring Outlook Profiles for Outlook Anywhere
You configure Outlook to use Outlook Anywhere by completing the following steps:
Exit
Outlook. Start the Mail utility. Click Start, and then click Control
Panel. In Control Panel, click User Accounts, and then click Mail. In the Mail Setup–Outlook dialog box, click Show Profiles. Then, in the Mail window, click Add. Type the name of the profile, such as Outlook Anywhere, and then click OK. This starts the Add New E-mail Account Wizard. If
you've properly configured the Autodiscover service, Autodiscover will
automatically configure the client for you, and you can skip the rest of
this procedure. Otherwise, you need to manually configure settings.
Select the Manually Configure Server Settings check box, and then click
Next. Select Microsoft Exchange, and then click Next. In the Microsoft Exchange Server text box, type the host name of the mail server, such as mailer1. You can also enter the FQDN of the mail server, such as mailer1.cpandl.com.
Using the fully qualified domain name can help ensure a successful
connection when the mail server is in a different domain or forest. In the User Name text box, enter the user's domain logon name or domain user name, such as Williams or William Stanek.
Click Check Name to confirm that you've entered the correct user name
for the mailbox. You'll want to store a local copy of the user's e-mail
on his computer, so ensure that the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box
is selected. Click More Settings. This displays the Microsoft Exchange dialog box. With Outlook Anywhere connections,
you'll usually want to manually control the connection state and
connect to Exchange only when there is an active connection (meaning
when you are online as opposed to when you are offline). On the General
tab, select both Manually Control Connection State and Connect With The
Network options. If you want the user to be prompted for a connection type, select the Choose Connection Type When Starting check box. By
default, data sent between Outlook and Exchange is encrypted. If you
don't want to encrypt message traffic, on the Security tab, under
Encryption, clear the Encrypt Data Between Microsoft Office Outlook And
Microsoft Exchange. On the Connection tab, select Connect Using Internet Explorer's Or A Third Party Dialer. Select the Connect To Microsoft Exchange Using HTTP check box. Click the Exchange Proxy Settings button to open the Exchange Proxy Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 3.
In the Use This URL To Connect To My Proxy Server For Exchange text box, enter the Exchange Outlook
Web App URL. Selecting the Connect Using SSL Only check box ensures
that the connection to Exchange Server is secure and uses SSL. The
On Fast Networks and On Slow Networks check boxes allow you to
configure the protocols used by Outlook Anywhere. When configuring these
options, keep the following in mind: If
you select neither check box, Outlook tries to use TCP/IP. Outlook can
switch between TCP/IP and Outlook Anywhere. If you are not connected to
the corporate LAN either directly or via a VPN, TPC/IP will fail. If
you select both check boxes, Outlook Anywhere first tries to use RPC
over HTTP. If it experiences problems connecting or transmitting, it
then tries to use RPC over TCP/IP. If
you select only the Slow Network check box and Outlook Anywhere detects
the user is on a slow network, it first tries to use RPC over HTTP and
then tries to use RPC over TCP/IP. The definition of a slow network is
configured in Group Policy. By default, a slow network is a network with
a connection speed of 256 kilobits per second or less transmission
speed. If you
select only the Fast Network check box and Outlook Anywhere detects the
user is on a fast network, it first tries to use RPC over HTTP and then
tries to use RPC over TCP/IP.
NTLM
authentication is the default authentication technique. Using NT LAN
Manager (NTLM) authentication ensures that the user's credentials are
protected and encrypted when transmitted over the network. After you finish configuring remote mail, click OK. In the Add New E-mail Account Wizard, click Next, and then click Finish. In the Mail dialog box, select Prompt For A Profile To Be Used and then click OK.
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