OWA Issue accessing email internally via Internet IP address?
I have exchange 2003 with SP1 installed on server 2003.
Anyway OWA works fine when outside of the office http://internet ip/exchange
However when you are in the office the only way to access the OWA is via http://servername/exchange
If i type in http://internet ip/exchange I get a HTTP 501 (Not implemented error message).
Okay the reason why I want to do this is because I am hoping that this will fix the below problem.
We have a lot of sales reps who are always ringing up the office and asking secretaries to check there email.
At present, the only way I can get this to work is by getting the secretaries to logoff there current pc, then logon as the reps name then open up IE and type in http://servername/exchange. This is really troublesome and also if they then want to check another reps email, they have to logoff and then clear out all the cache in IE.
Surely there has to be a better way? My theory was that if I could access the OWA via the internet IP in the office network, then it would ask for login details and this is what I want. So then secretaries can simply enter a username/password and login as the rep on there own pc without having to logoff there current machine and logon as the new rep and then clear all IE cache out.
So if someone can answer this problem for me, that would be great :)
Anyway OWA works fine when outside of the office http://internet ip/exchange
However when you are in the office the only way to access the OWA is via http://servername/exchange
If i type in http://internet ip/exchange I get a HTTP 501 (Not implemented error message).
Okay the reason why I want to do this is because I am hoping that this will fix the below problem.
We have a lot of sales reps who are always ringing up the office and asking secretaries to check there email.
At present, the only way I can get this to work is by getting the secretaries to logoff there current pc, then logon as the reps name then open up IE and type in http://servername/exchange. This is really troublesome and also if they then want to check another reps email, they have to logoff and then clear out all the cache in IE.
Surely there has to be a better way? My theory was that if I could access the OWA via the internet IP in the office network, then it would ask for login details and this is what I want. So then secretaries can simply enter a username/password and login as the rep on there own pc without having to logoff there current machine and logon as the new rep and then clear all IE cache out.
So if someone can answer this problem for me, that would be great :)
ASKER
Thanks flyguybob, that first thing you said worked, where if i put the username after it then brings up the login details each time. But can you tell me how to change the setting in II's where sometimes when I get the login details, i get asked for:
username
password
domain
other times I just get
username
password
But when I get the 2nd instance with no domain, the username HAS to be domain\username else it wont work. I have been told you can change something in II's to fix this so you just enter the username everytime, do you know how to do this?
Thanks :)
PS we are investigating the user of blackberrys for all our reps, and this may be happening really soon as a huge promotion is going on atm with a local phone company giving away blackberrys plus the enterprise server if you sign up on 2 year contracts and get more than 5 which we would.
username
password
domain
other times I just get
username
password
But when I get the 2nd instance with no domain, the username HAS to be domain\username else it wont work. I have been told you can change something in II's to fix this so you just enter the username everytime, do you know how to do this?
Thanks :)
PS we are investigating the user of blackberrys for all our reps, and this may be happening really soon as a huge promotion is going on atm with a local phone company giving away blackberrys plus the enterprise server if you sign up on 2 year contracts and get more than 5 which we would.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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1) The secretaries can type in http://servername/exchange/<useralias>
Ex... I am Bob Christian and my alias is bchristian
http://servername/exchange/bchristian
1a) Note: You may want to talk to your ISP about entering the Internet IP into your external DNS. That way you could use webmail.company.com/exchan
2) If you have an SSL certificate setup for https:// take a look at enabling Forms Based Authentication. I could type a page or two on this, but someone has already provided information regarding this feature of Exchange. The nice thing is that you can turn it on and, if people protest, turn it off. Another nice feature is that it is more secure, gives some peace of mind to IT folks that have people that travel a lot, utilizes an expiring cookie, has some customizations for idle expiration times, etc.
http://www.pcquest.com/content/enterprise/2004/104080302.asp
2a) If you do not have an SSL certificate, you may want to look at Geotrust or EnTrust over some of the other, more expensive, certificate vendors.
2b) The article above also has a great section regarding URL redirection, so that your users do not have to type in the /exchange.
2c) The certificate discussion may be nullified if you have a ISA firewall or something else that is providing https: abilities and proxying the connection to the OWA server.
2.5) Talk to your firewall folks and have them allow connectivity from Inside, to Outside, to back inside. This is really not preferential.
65535) This one is just a Christmas wish:
You may want to discuss, with management, bringing in a solution such as BlackBerry Enterprise Server or utilizing the Exchange built-in Outlook Mobile Access and getting the Windows Pocket PC smart phones. Most of the salespeople I have met prefer the BlackBerry, but are warming up to the smart phones.
Note that some of the new BlackBerry phones (not provided by BlackBerry, but by the cell providers) can be configured to pickup and send mail through Outlook Web Access. It's not as fast as having a BlackBerry handheld and a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, but it might make your users happier. Granted, this is just one for the whish list.