Exchange Server

[ninja12innotts]

Long time user of windows mobile devices and long time reader of this great forum ( well nearly 2 years anyway )

I've not contributed much as I dont posses the knowledge that some of you guys have.

For those new people that come on here the only advice I would ever give is search and read, the answers are nearly always there.

Anyway on to my point.

I have just set up an exchange server ( windows small business server 2003 ) and have things syncing across the airwaves nicely.

Laptop, desktop and mobile device all saying the same thing with no duplicates poping up. ( Always seemed to be a problem when syncing between two computers, for me anyway )

Also able to use Outlook Web Access.

Set this up for myself for a couple of reasons, firstly to make sure all computers where synced properly and secondly because it was worth a challange to learn how to do it.

If there are any people out there that would like the facility that exchange server gives PM me, as i will give it a go setting it up.

You will get exchange server syncing ( calender, contacts, tasks and emails ) with desktop/laptop outlook, outlook web access and an email address that you will can use to forward existing mail to. ( sorry only way to get emails to you )

Going to open this up for a couple or more people mainly to get it working properly. ( so far no problems for myself )

If I do open it up for more a donation would be nice to help pay for the outlay of equipment and for the increase in my electric bill to keep it going.

So if anyone is interested feel free to PM me.

[rthomas]

What do you have it running on? Looking at doing the same myself.

[ninja12innotts]

Just a bog standard computer, nothing special

An old MSI K8 Neo motherboard with an Athlon 64 3000 2 Gig ram

Dual 250 gig discs in raid mirror for data
and a 120gig for operating system

Windows 2003 small buisness server with R2 technologies

it was also an excuse to upgrade by desktop as well.

well chuffed with how seamlessly it works with the syncing.

[cubist]

do you have microsoft direct push enabled on that exchange server? I would like to do that myself, don't know if it's possible

[ninja12innotts]

Yes got it set up.

They call it direct push but i think it goes more along the lines of your phone keeping a link open to the exchange server then as soon as an email is recieved it gets pushed across.

From what ive seen so far i'm sure the battery life is longer now than having the phone looking at a set time period for new mail.

Easy to set up as well, especially the phone side.

[cubist]

thanks, is the direct push functionality included in exchange server. Is it on the install cd's? I'd like to install it for my own domain, don't want to spend lots of money on blackberry server or services.
2.edge is enabled all the time on your phone, just as with blackberry? Does your phone send data at an interval, or is it the server that sends?

[ninja12innotts]

You need to make sure you have SP1 or R2 Technologies version for direct push with the server software

you have to set up a user profile that has permission to you the mobile services.

Also if your on a dynamic ip address its handy to have an external service set up to keep track of any changes there. And to get the full use of the server a domain name.

on the phone side you go to activesyn, and in the menu is configure server option. configure the server and thats it done.

The phone does seem to have a data connection all the time.

While i'm at work today i will write out the steps i had to do to get it working fully.

at work now so here we go :-

1) Get a domain name www.
2) If on broadband and on a dynamic IP use the services of someone like zoneedit for redirection.


(for remote access) vpn.yourdomainname to your broadband ip address
(for mail ) mail.yourdomainname to your broadband ip address
(for web ) www.yourdomainname to either your ip address if hosting it on your server or to the ip address of your web host.
(for ftp access ) ftp.yourdomainname to either your ip address if hosting it on your server or to the ip address of your web host.

follow the other instructions on zoneedit to forward the dns server addresses to your domain name admistrator.

3) Get Windows SBS or Server 2003 SP1 With R2 Technologies
4) Load onto a PC
5) Make sure all service patches and updates are loaded.
6) Download a program for updating any changes of dynamic IP address such as DirectUpdate and set up a couple of updates to the vpn mail and ftp.yourdomainname. ( easy enough follow the instructions )
7) Go through the todo list and set up wizards on the server.
a) make sure when setting up email and internet that in the creation of a certificate you put in vpn.yourdomainname
b) also make sure when setting up user access they have privilages for mobile access
8) go into internet explorer, content menu and find the certificate you have created and export it.
9) connect your phone via activesync to a computer connected to the server network and copy over the certificate.
10) run the certifcate on the phone to install it.
11) go to activesync on the phone ( can disconnect for this bit ) and set up exchange server using the vpn.yourdomainname
12) after that it should sync

I may have missed a couple of steps in that or have done something wrong but it is all the steps i can remember and it worked for me.