Remote email access

[Eniigma]

Ok the biggest mistake I made on my network was giving one of the directors remote email access. Now she sms me all times of the day and night and weekends to complain everytime she can't connect. I need to do something to make this more stable.

Here is the scenario: I have an Exchange 2003 box (SBS2003) with a 512kb adsl line. We have a static public IP and a cisco pix as well. I've setup remote access and OWA on the server. The user can connect via two methods. 1. She can establish a VPN with the pix using the cisco vpn software and then access her mail. Or 2, she can establish a vpn direct to the SBS without any extra software and then access her mail.

Either way works - intermittently.
I connect in to my network using the second method and I don't have any issues unless I'm running a download over night or something and even then it works, it's just slow.

She tries to connect via an MWEB adsl account, or her vodacom 3g, or wireless wherever whenever she is over seas. It's not like it is even just slow for her, it physically drops her vpn connection.

So now I've had enough, she's had enough and as she's married to the MD politically all the other directors have had enough too. I need a different solution....

Ideally I'd like to forward all her #$%$@# @$## % mail to her phone so it @#%#$ beeps at her at 2 in the morning when she gets some stupid newsletter she'll never read, but that would come back and bite me too.

She has a blackberry, people get mail on their blackberrys all the time, surely there is a way to have it so I can send all her mail to her berry and have it synced with exchange so she wont have to go through the same mails again on her laptop. I guess their is such a solution, it probably just costs a small fortune right?

She does not use any of the Blackberry features nor have any of the blackberry services on her account.

I'd ideally like a solution that will work with any smart phone so when she upgrades her phone in 6 months (hopefully back to a nokia) I won't have to make any major changes.

 

[Amida]

How about going to her house when she is having problems as it clearly on her side if you don't have the problems?

Only way you can sync it with exchange is using a BES server or you can setup a permanent pc that running the desktop redirector.

The way I do it is to forward her emails to their blackberry email addresses but then they need to read email twice.

 

[vangend]

I used to have a similar setup. ADSL with a static IP is crap for that type of use.
It also depend on the IP she gets allocated when she use her wirless connection overseas. For example MTN, you have to get them to provision your sim on the MTNVPN apn before you can establish a vpn connection. I am sure some of the providers overseas will work the same

If a few people at your company use blackberry, get your own BES server.

 

[Eniigma]

We have 3 people that are allocated VPN access on our network, the problem, the FD and myself. In 2 years, the FD has tried to access once, I use it only when there's a problem and I'm not in the office. She uses it daily.

I honestly believe that this is a DFU problem as I've test her machine so many times and it always works. The only problem I've encounted with her machine is when trying to connect to Vodacom's 3G network.

 

[vangend]

We have 3 people that are allocated VPN access on our network, the problem, the FD and myself. In 2 years, the FD has tried to access once, I use it only when there's a problem and I'm not in the office. She uses it daily.

I honestly believe that this is a DFU problem as I've test her machine so many times and it always works. The only problem I've encounted with her machine is when trying to connect to Vodacom's 3G network.

True, I had one user that kept on phoning me complaining that she cannot connect remotley to the mail, but she never plugged in her 3g card.

 

[Eniigma]

I don't know if the problem could have as simple a solution as upgrading my ADSL line to a 1mb line.

However I do want to make this whole thing as DFU proof as possible.

 

[Drake2007]

She has a blackberry, people get mail on their blackberrys all the time, surely there is a way to have it so I can send all her mail to her berry and have it synced with exchange so she wont have to go through the same mails again on her laptop.

Sounds like you're using POP3& SMTP, IMAPI will sync read mail.

 

[NoCause]

Solution is simple.

RPC over HTTPS for your exchange.

Pm me if you need assistance setting this up.

Since you already have OWA enabled and working, geting this to work will be fairly easy.

 

[NoCause]

If you want to go the blackberry route, it is not exp if you use the professional version.

Pm me if you need help i have 2 BES servers hooking up to our exchange systems.

 

[Eniigma]

Solution is simple.

RPC over HTTPS for your exchange.

Pm me if you need assistance setting this up.

Since you already have OWA enabled and working, geting this to work will be fairly easy.

This is probably the route I'll go...

thanks for all the input guys.

 

[ngwenyas]

I used to have a similar setup. ADSL with a static IP is crap for that type of use.
It also depend on the IP she gets allocated when she use her wirless connection overseas. For example MTN, you have to get them to provision your sim on the MTNVPN apn before you can establish a vpn connection. I am sure some of the providers overseas will work the same

If a few people at your company use blackberry, get your own BES server.

with Vodacom you need to activate 'InternetVPN' .

 

[ngwenyas]

If you want to go the blackberry route, it is not exp if you use the professional version.

Pm me if you need help i have 2 BES servers hooking up to our exchange systems.

you could also call 0821930 Vodacom business.they can host ur BES server for you for a reasonable price .

 

[morfo]

usefull info for me, thanks

 

[ivusi]

I realise this thread id a tad old, but I'm really interested in thiis :-

The user can connect via two methods. 1. She can establish a VPN with the pix using the cisco vpn software and then access her mail. Or 2, she can establish a vpn direct to the SBS without any extra software and then access her mail.

I have 1 question - If you have OWA set up - why on earth are setting up a VPN connection?? The whole point of OWA is mail over 80 or 443. I dont understand the reason for the VPN.

I can understand the VPN if she wants to access her files and folders etc but you dont need the VPN for mail.

With regard to her Blackberry - you can set it up without having a BES server. What you do need to do is set it up using OWA . I know in the UK I had to contact my provider and gave them my server details ( Public IP address etc) and the relayed the messages to the device. Easy peasy !!

 

[EasyUp Web Hosting]

If you want to go the blackberry route, it is not exp if you use the professional version.

Pm me if you need help i have 2 BES servers hooking up to our exchange systems.

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/business/server/express/

 

[Eniigma]

I realise this thread id a tad old, but I'm really interested in thiis :-



I have 1 question - If you have OWA set up - why on earth are setting up a VPN connection?? The whole point of OWA is mail over 80 or 443. I dont understand the reason for the VPN.

I can understand the VPN if she wants to access her files and folders etc but you dont need the VPN for mail.

With regard to her Blackberry - you can set it up without having a BES server. What you do need to do is set it up using OWA . I know in the UK I had to contact my provider and gave them my server details ( Public IP address etc) and the relayed the messages to the device. Easy peasy !!

Firstly I seem to get the various terms a little mixed up, basically I was trying to get outlook anywhere or RPC of HTTP to work. The problem was I was doing it without certificates and getting stuck very fast. Everything I seemed to find said I had to have a certificate to do it and frankly I did not know how to get the whole certificate thing to work.

Also I don't know if i was just being stupid or if it was because my senirore was not really standard. At the time I was using a static IP with a cisco pix and I think I was running ISA 2004 as well. I was also downloading my mail via pop from the content filtering service at my ISP.

The other problem was she did not want the messages on her cell phone so the blackberry services where a non starter.

Anyway I've since got it all working and done a number of changes to my setup and now it all works like clockwork mostly without using a VPN.

Sorry for the semi thread necromancy...