Conference chefs::ms-exchange

Joe,

1.  I using a PPP on a DECSERVER and having no problem.  The only hint/kink 
that helped me was to make sure that the DNS and WINS IP addresses were set in 
the Dial-Up Networking connection icon rather than the Control 
Panel->Networking route.  The Exchange client requires both WINS and DNS to 
work properly.  Do you have WINS and DNS IP addresses assigned?

2. Assuming you are using Windows 95, a good reference for setting up 
your PC is:

	http://www-ccs.wro.dec.com/nt/RemoteAccess/W95Client.html

The above article will lead you through the setup.  If you have the Dial-Up 
Scripting tool or the ISDN Accellerator installed, I have written a script
that automates the dialog between dialing up and sending "C PPP" for a
DECSERVER.  If you would like a copy, let me know. 

3. I'm assuming from your symptom description (hang) that you are never 
getting an initial connection to your mailbox.  Again, WINS and DNS are 
usually the culprits, but you could also be having a domain controller 
connectivity problem caused by an improper setup/configuration.  If you 
modify your profile to NOT Use Network Security, you can sometimes get past 
that problem.  Assuming Windows 95, right click on the Inbox icon on the 
desktop and select Properties.  The default profile properties will be 
shown.  Microsoft Exchange Server should be highlighted, click on 
Properties.  When the Exchange Server properties window shows, click on the 
Advanced tab.  De-select Use Network Security During Logon.

Regards,

Dave
[email protected]

    .1 is a good description of the most common problems. I just want to
    add that for myself I find that DECserver 700 PPP connections are far
    more reliable and troublefree than RAS connections. CCS has been unable
    to find any problems with my RAS setup; but two out of every three times
    I try RAS my system hangs and has to be rebooted. This never happens
    with the PPP connections. And I know I'm not the only one with this
    problem. So keep working on your PPP connections. 

    Does anyone know how to get a list of all 28.8 and faster PPP numbers,
    simliar to the CCS posting of RAS numbers? If it wasn't for the busy
    signals I get on the DECservers I would probably never try RASing in
    again.

    - Bob

    I never have problems with RAS (which, I remind you, is PPP) or DECserver
    700 PPP with either Windows 95 or Windows NT Workstation.  (Using
    different PCs.)  I never get dropped unless I disconnect myself and my
    systems never "hang".  I do, however, get better performance from RAS
    since it supports software based compression (which is more efficient
    than the modem compression and doesn't tax serial ports on either side).
    
    If your PC is hanging, I'd seriously doubt there is something wrong
    with the RAS dial-ins.  With symtoms like you're having, it wouldn't be
    easy to find a problem with your RAS setup.  A misconfigured dialog box
    won't cause your PC to hang.  :-)  It could be hardware... it could be
    software... happy hunting.
    
    As we're moving toward RAS and moving away from DECservers for internal
    dial-ins, you'll need to get this working some day.
    
    --Ron

    Of course I reported the problem in .2 to CCS but I've also continued
    to try different things myself while waiting for more help. The problem
    is getting better.

    I've never used a windows password on my home system and I'd been told
    one was not necessary for RAS logon. In theory maybe not; but, I've
    added a password and RAS logons are now succeeding regularly. 

    Note that DECserver 700 dial-ins with network logon do not require the
    windows password for reliable logons, but RAS logons do. Does anyone
    have an explanation for the different behavior?

    - Bob

PPP just supplies you with a TCP/IP stack, I believe
that RAS also logs you in as a member of your Digitalx
domain.

Is it possible that the hangs you get with RAS are 
because your system is trying to locate/connect to
some NT domain resources (e.g. network drives, remote 
printers)?  That's something that might not happen
when using PPP.  I've found that some of the MS
networking does take over the machine.  

    re .5

    "Is it possible that the hangs you get with RAS are  because your system
    is trying to locate/connect to some NT domain resources (e.g. network
    drives, remote  printers)? "

    No, I do not make any such automatic resource connections. The process
    and set-up for DECserver and RAS dial-ins are indentical except that
    with a DECserver line I bring up a terminal window after connection to
    enter the lat password and issue the CONNECT PPP command. Both 
    DECserver 700 and RAS numbers are set to auto login to the Digital1 NT
    domain.

    - Bob

	I am still having problems. Can someone post the results
of a show port, sho port ppp ipcp, & a show port ppp lcp from a 
DECserver that works with PPP & exchange?

Thanks,
Joe

    If PPP is working correctly, all Winsock TCP/IP applications should
    work... including Exchange.  Anyway, here is a dump locally... where
    it has always worked.  Nothing special.
    
    --Ron
    
    TSM> SHOW PORT 1 PPP IPCP
    
    Port  1: RSV                           Server: WROPPP1
    
    IPCP Characteristics:
    
    IPCP:                               Enabled
    Passive Open:                      Disabled
    Restart Timer:                            3 seconds
    Max Configure:                           10 transmissions
    Max Terminate:                            2 transmissions
    Max Failure:                             10 transmissions
    
    IPCP Options:                Local:
    
    Negotiate Address:          Enabled
    Remote IP Address:     16.60.80.201
    Compress Header:            Enabled
    Compress States:                 16
    
    TSM> SHOW PORT 1 PPP LCP
    
    Port  1: RSV                           Server: WROPPP1
    
    LCP Characteristics:
    
    LCP:                                Enabled
    Passive Open:                      Disabled
    Restart Timer:                            3 seconds
    Max Configure:                           10 transmissions
    Max Terminate:                            2 transmissions
    Max Failure:                             10 transmissions
    
    LCP Options:               Local:
    
    MRU:                         1500
    Character Map:               A000
    Authentication:          Disabled
    Link Quality:            Disabled
    Magic Number:            Disabled
    PF  Compress:             Enabled
    ACF Compress:             Enabled
    FCS Size:                  16 Bit
    

Although I never assoicated this with PPP connections I did have a problem 
with the Exchange client that caused my system to hang. The cure was to delete 
the c:\windows\<userid>.pwl file. This will cause you to re-enter your 
password but just about everytime I have a strange Exchange problem this cures 
it.

There are a couple of Technet articals on problems that a corrupt password 
file will cause.

Thanks,
Steve

    I am a telecommuter and dial in daily to a DECserver700
    (BL10-40...whatever that means..). Until about three months ago I was
    running W95 on a Celebris GL5133. I was getting Exchange hangups but
    had no idea why. I moved to WNT about three months ago and again
    started to see hangups on Exchange. One of the tools in the WNT bag is
    the Dial-Up Networking Monitor. It gives you the ability to see a
    variety of device errors if they occur. I noticed that when I got a CRC
    error while using Exchange, it would freeze. The only way to get it to
    come back was to hangup and redial, or use Ctrl-Alt-Del and end the
    Exchange task and restart it. With a 5 minute Exchage start up this
    became a pain in the ******. So I have played with tracking the ports
    on the DECserver that give me the most CRC errors and keep trying
    during the day to use one that is less error prone. I also use my ISP
    when the errors get so bad I want to pull my hair out. There errors
    have little-to-no effect on my use of Netscape and KEA (my terminal
    emulator). I wish I could find some setting that would eliminate this
    problem but for the time being I'm living with it. It certainly
    contributes to a non-productive environment. CCS has not been able to
    help......
    
    Any input would be welcome.....

    Yesterday morning I dialed in from home to check mail. I store my
    personal address book and personal folders on an NT file share.

    I dialed into one RAS service, invoked exchange and my system froze up.
    So I rebooted, dialed a different RAS number and again my system froze
    up. The third time I dialed into a DECserver, connected PPP and invoked
    Exchange. I was notified that my personal address book could not be
    accessed and asked if I wanted to proceed. Said yes and I proceeded to
    read new mail.

    Why the different behaviour using the DECserver?

    - Bob

    
    	The Exchange server might have "fixed" itself between the second
    	and third attempts, when you just happened to change connection
    	options.
    
    	Might just be a coincidence.
    

perhaps you couldn't get to the address book because
you hadn't logged into the domain (which I think gets
done automatically when you use RAS).

    re .12

>    	The Exchange server might have "fixed" itself between the second
>    	and third attempts, when you just happened to change connection
>    	options.

    Are you suggesting that there were also problems with the Exchange
    server for the first two connect attempts? Maybe I'm giving the
    infrastructure too much "credit" and it is even more fragile than than I
    thought. On the DECserver dial-in I was obviously able to reach the
    Exchange server and I am assuming there never was a problem with it.
    And, regardless of the problem, my PC locked up and that's a problem
    regardless.

    - Bob

    re .13

>    perhaps you couldn't get to the address book because you hadn't logged
>    into the domain (which I think gets done automatically when you use
>    RAS).

    The DECserver dial-in is also set to automatically log into the NT 
    domain. In normal operation I see no difference between DECserver and
    RAS dial-ins except a short stop at the lat prompt to issue the connect
    PPP command.

    - Bob

However, lately I am noticing that the PC-clock synchronization is noo longer
done when you comein via DECserver dial-in on the ZK3 boxes.

- Vikas

    
    	Yeah, I changed to DNS/WINS last week and was getting an NT logon
    	script when I connected via RAS [and would reconnect two network
    	drives ... one for .PST/.PAB files and the other for my area on
    	the NT server] but I haven't seen that all week.  But the drives
    	do get reconnected.
    
    	This is at MRO, connecting to a Shrewsbury MA number, in case it
    	matters.

    Remember, RAS sets your primary/secondary DNS and WINS automatically...
    you don't set anything.  DECserver PPP doesn't... and you need to specify
    them in the properties for the specific dial-out.  (DECserver PPP also
    doesn't support the advanced software based compression that RAS has...
    but that is behind the scenes stuff.)
    
    --Ron

    So are we saying that we do get the MS-Exchange client lockup on
    dialing in thru DS700's and we don't using RAS? Is anyone using RAS
    experiencing this lockup symptom? Is anyone using dial-up thru DS700's
    getting a rock solid MS-Exchange client performance with no lock-up's?
    
    Can we get some stats from the dial-up user community?
    
    Gil
    

    re .19

>    So are we saying that we do get the MS-Exchange client lockup on
>    dialing in thru DS700's and we don't using RAS? Is anyone using RAS
>    experiencing this lockup symptom? Is anyone using dial-up thru DS700's
>    getting a rock solid MS-Exchange client performance with no lock-up's?
    
    My note describes the opposite behaviour. On the DECserver connection I
    am gracefully told that the file share is not available (that my PAB
    cannot be accessed) and then I can proceeed to use the exchange server.
    On the RAS connection, Exchange appears to take over my PC and I have
    to reboot.

    - Bob

    re .18

>                                                       (DECserver PPP also
>    doesn't support the advanced software based compression that RAS has...
>    but that is behind the scenes stuff.)

    I wouldn't know about this but are you implying that RAS performance
    should be better than DECserver 700 connections? Is this theory or fact?
    It is certainly not my experience. What other factors affect relative
    performance?

    - Bob