need to access my eschange server from lan and wan

For inside the office, just use the name of the machine. \\servername\exchange

I know in other sites with 2K I removed the \exchange, but haven't looked at it in 2003

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;319878
That will make Outlook Web Access the default web page

For the IP addressing issue, I assume you have and use a static IP for the Exchange server (you are using it for public in/out email afterall).  In your DNS server responsible for your domain, there is an MX record pointing to your Exchange server's host (A) record.  Whatever this MX record uses, that's the same URL the users should use for Outlook Web Access (plus the /exchange if you haven't done what I suggested above yet).

Can someone elaborate on how to use the MX reccord on the DNS server to make it possible for desktops to access the exchange server?

What I meant was, whatever the MX record is for your mail server, that would be the same thing users would put in the address field of the browser to access Outlook Web Access.  To find out what that value is, go to the Start -> and type in nslookup and press OK.  That will open a DOS window running the nslookup tool stating your default DNS server, its address, and leaves you at the > prompt.  

First thing you need to do is tell it to query for your MX record by typing in "set type=mx" (no quotes) and press Enter.  Then type in "yourdomain.com" (subsitiuting your actual domain name as seen by the outside world) and press enter and it will tell you what the Mail eXchanger record is for your domain.  That value will be the host (or A record) of your mail server, such as mail.yourdomain.com.  

If you then type in "set type=A" and enter the name you got back from your MX query (mail.yourdomain.com in this example), you should get the IP address you have been using to connect up from outside.

The second sentence I just posted should start with "To find out what that value is, go to Start -> Run and type in..."

thanks,, I will try that

is there something in the DNS reccord I need to set up on my first server so the users would point to the exchange server when they type "mail.exchange.com"  ?
I had someone that made it work before, but he did something on the main server, I just cannot remember.

this thing is still not working

Gabriel

You may have to configure your router/firewall to forward port 80 to your exchange server (or port 443 if you're using https).  Without more information about your network topology, it's tough to say where the breakdown is occurring.

When external to your network, you have been using the IP address to get to Outlook Web Access, right?  Who hosts your DNS records?  If you do it internally you can just add a new record using that IP address and whatever name you want.

guys
I have 2 domain controlers
I use one for office operation and another as exchange.
if I type the exchange IP address I can access itw/o a problem
its just when I type the "mail.exchange.com" from within my office it does not take.
I can access my exchange from outside the office (e.g home) but if I am in the office I have to use the IP address.
I need a solution for this because basic employees do not underatand to type an IP address

thanks

In your internal DNS server, setup an alias for mail.exchange.com. That way inside, your DNS server will put them on the mail server with the same line they use when outside the local network.