Exchange Server 2007 Client Access and Web Services Questions and Answers (10-26-07)

On Friday, October 26th, I delivered a TechNet Webcast on Exchange Server 2007 Client Access and Web Services.  Unfortunately, I did not have anyone helping to answer Questions on the back end, but I have had a chance to go through all the questions afterwards and answer them.  I am posting the Q&A Log from that webcast here.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Harold Wong
harold.wong@microsoft.com


Question: What level of functionality will I get with OWA on platforms other than MS? On a Mac is Entourage a lot more powerfull than a built in mail client or OWA?

Answer: You will get the OWA Light capability. The Exchange team blog has a video that covers this. From my experience, the Entourage client for the MAC is not as full featured as the full Outlook client for the Windows platform.


Question: In some CAS documentation is suggest that CAS server role is not supported a DMZ network, what does not supported really mean?

Answer: Due to the nature of the communications that take place between the CAS role and AD DC / GCs as well as Mailbox Server quite a few ports need to be opened on the firewall to permit traffic flow. For this reason, it is not a secure method of deploying the CAS role so we do not support this configuration. If you run the Exchange BPA, it would identify this as an issue. If you call support, this is what we call a “non supported” configuration.


Question: In outlook the auto complete gets stored in *.NK2. Where does it store for OWA ?

Answer: The Auto Complete cache is stored as part of the user’s profile on the Exchange Server.


Question: Now that OWA can open file shares, are there plans for some future Service Pack to add the greatly needed ability to open PST files?

Answer: Not that I’m aware of.


Question: Can a Small Business get access to a Combi Exchange/Cummuicator Server in Feature Richness with a SBS or a HostingService?

Answer: Currently, SBS 2003 does not include Exchange Server 2007. Also, we don’t incorporate OCS into SBS either. If the company has SBS 2003 deployed, they could deploy additional servers to run Exchange 2007 and OCS 2007 to achieve this functionality. In terms of a hosting service, I know Exchange 2007 functionality is available (Full Outlook), but am not sure about OCS hosted functionality.


Question: Can I migrate my Exchange 2003 user John J. Conferenceroom to be a resource? I have a few different resources that exist as users.

Answer: Assuming this user is no longer going to use his mailbox but it will be transitioned to a resource mailbox, you can use the following steps: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb232195.aspx.


Question: Are SOAP requests just forwared to each site's CAS. Why not replicating FreeBusy-data, as we used to do in Exc2003 ?

Answer: The CAS will issue a new SOAP request to other CAS roles in different AD sites. Replicating Free / Busy data requires that we store that somewhere like a Public Folder and also means that the data can be out of date. If a user chooses not to publish their Free / Busy by turning that feature off in Outlook, then no one will have access to the user’s Free / Busy. With the new Availability Web Service, we can get a real time view of the user’s status. Not sure why you would want to continue to stay in this mode (replication of information)?


Question: What happened to the AutoAccept Agent for booking resources ?

Answer: The room resource mailbox in Exchange 2007 is much more advanced than in 2003. Here is a document that details moving a resource mailbox from 2003 to 2007 when the auto accept is on: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb232130.aspx.


Question: CAS are located in the internal LAN. OWA2007 is a great client. Do we really still need Outlook-client ?

Answer: It all depends on what your needs are. Although the OWA 2007 client is very close to the full Outlook client, it is not provide 100% parity. Just as an example - If your users need to access their email in an offline mode, then Outlook is still required.


Question: Does Unified Messaging work with a traditional phone system or we need VOIP?

Answer: It can work with a traditional phone system. You need to deploy a media gateway (3rd party) for the integration to work.


Question: Have You got any Tips! on Handling Webcasts and Seminairs as a easy to Calendar them in, with Inconsistant Scheduling of Alerts to attend....What "My Events" should of been in the 1st Place! with Chornological Order of Time and Date? that works all under 1 roof on the Internet with a 24/7 access anywhere where I maybe?

Answer: Unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer for you on this. When I schedule a webcast, I take advantage of the option to add it to my calendar so that I have it right then and there.


Question: What kind of hardware is necessary to set up Exchange as a FAX server? Can outbound FAXes be sent also?

Answer: There is no special hardware required on the Exchange Server for inbound fax receiving. The “special” hardware is the media gateway. We do not support outbound faxing in Exchange 2007; only inbound.


Question: do I need any special hardware for play-on-phone feature on the exchange server?

Answer: No, you do not need any special hardware for this. The Exchange Unified Messaging Server role has the necessary software (Speech Server) to provide this capability. You just need to make sure the processor and RAM are adequate.


Question: How do I make it easy on myself to find hardware to impliment UM? What is used to demo this UM functionality?

Answer: For a list of different media gateways and tested PBX interoperability, see this link: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/telephony-advisor.mspx. I used my production account to demo during the webcast.


Question: Why is it often necessary to repeat one's voice command?

Answer: Since I had my laptop speaker turned up quite loud and it was feeding back into the laptop microphone, there was a lot of background noise that was causing confusion on the Autoattendant. When I dial in using my cell phone or turn down the laptop speakers to a “normal” level, the experience is much better.


Question: media gateway? Is it another computer box or just a card on the Exchange Server?

Answer: This is an additional piece of hardware.


Question: Is there any chekclist for selecting the appropriate VoiIP gateway ?

Answer: Please see this link: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/telephony-advisor.mspx.


Question: When/Where will a recording of this presentation be available?

Answer: You will be able to find a recording soon at www.microsoft.com/webcasts


Question: You might want to mention that you can use OWA to do a remote wipe... no more calling the help desk!

Answer: Yes, I mentioned this in the presentation.


Question: Any new functionalities to the ActiveSync Web Administration tool ?

Answer: Yes. In fact the tool is different. You now access the interface as associated with each recipient.


Question: why a promo code?

Answer: For the $100 discount off a TechNet Plus Subscription (in the US), you do need to use the promo code I provided. If you are interested in taking advantage of this promotion, please visit my blog entry for the details: https://blogs.technet.com/haroldwong/archive/2007/10/26/save-100-on-technet-plus-direct-subscription.aspx.


Question: A bit off topic: With ISA proxing request to back-end CAS servers what is the best way to configure this when I have multiple remote offices in other AD sites running the CAS role as well? Does ISA only proxy to the default Site cas servers and they then proxy down to the other CAS servers located in remote sites?

Answer: You can expose only one CAS with the ISA rule. The CAS will proxy to CAS in remote site.


Question: What was that Blog?

Answer: blogs.technet.com/haroldwong


Question: How to replicate FreeBusy from Exchange2003' PFolders to Exchange2007 ?

Answer: Using the same method as replicating between two Exchange 2003 servers. You need to make sure you have a Public Folder store on your Exchange 2007 server as well. Then just create a replica of the Free / Busy data on the 2007 server.


Question: After rooling out from Outlook2003 to Outlook2007, will clients move automatically using CAS for accessing FreeBusy ?

Answer: Yes.