Link to home
Create AccountLog in
Avatar of BenyG
BenyG

asked on

Exchange POP3 not working

Dear all,

I have an issue with Exchange 2003 SP2 where POP3 is not working. Essentially users cannot connect to it - when telnetting to it on port 110 the banner is not displayed but it does connect - it looks like it is waiting for a response from the client; however as soon as I start to type anything the server breaks the connection. When telnetting from Linux it breaks the connection straight away.

Nothing is on the logs - apart from the service being successfully restarted which does not fix the problem. I tried changing around all the POP3 settings, still not luck.

I have ruled out network issues - issue occurs when telnetting to 127.0.0.1 as well.

Please let me know if you require further information. Does anyone have any info on what this could be?

Thanks,

Benjamin
Avatar of drequinox
drequinox

check if port 110 is being used by some other proggy
you might actualy try to use tcpview from sysinternals.
check that first.. .and check under pop3 properties in exchange, there is an option to change the port number, try to change that and then see if that works.
Can you check if SSL has been enabled for POP3?
Any Software Firewall ruinning on the Windows 2003 Server??
Avatar of BenyG

ASKER

drequinox: Tried changing to port 111 - same issue

ach_patil: SSL is not enabled on the server although the Certificate button is not ghosted in Pop3 virtual server properties  - I'm pretty sure this just means that certificate services is installed. I have also tried connecting via SSL on port 110 and 995 and Outlook states the SSL is not enabled/cannot connect.

I have the same issue when connecting locally to 127.0.0.1 so this cannot be a network issue and I have checked the POP3 is listening to all interfaces.

Any more help greatly appreciated.
Can you try recreating a POP3 Virtual Server again to rule out any configuration/installation errors.

Make sure the Service is set to Start Type is set to Automatic.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of Nuno Martins
Nuno Martins
Flag of Portugal image

Link to home
membership
Create a free account to see this answer
Signing up is free and takes 30 seconds. No credit card required.
See answer
Avatar of Jeffrey Kane - TechSoEasy
To troubleshoot this problem you should enable diagnostic logging for the POP3SVC.  For instructions on how to do that, please see the "Troubleshooting Virtual Servers" section in http://www.tech-faq.com/troubleshooting-exchange-server-2003.shtml

I would point out though, that enabling POP3 SVC on your Exchange Server is generally not a good idea (for security, backup and performance reasons).  Since Exchange offers both Outlook Web Access and Outlook Anywhere (RPC over HTTPS) there is usually no need to allow POP3 access.

Jeff
TechSoEasy
Avatar of BenyG

ASKER

Thank you for your help.

There would appear to be a big on our Exchange server - I cannot replicate the issue on another Exchange server:

It would appear that our connection control properties list-option was set to 'Only the list below' and the list was empty. Pertaining to this logic this could mean that NOTHING could connect to the virtual server. There is code of course that presents this from happening however for some reason there would appear to be a bug where the connection control options stated actually resulted in nothing being able to connect to the server. - Once I ammended the setting to the other optio the issue disappeared.

I have written up the informarion here: "http://www.rogerrabbit.net/wiki/POP3_Connection_hangs_and_other_issues_%28Exchange%29"

Thanks for all your help.
Avatar of BenyG

ASKER

Thanks for your help
Greate, But just one question why you have rated my response to B????
NM
A request has been made to change the grade;  The expert feels the current grade does not fit the criteria of the intended guidelines.  Those guidelines can been seen here    If there is no response in 4 days, I will review this question and grade accordingly.

Thank you.

Lunchy
Friendly Neighbourhood Community Support Moderator
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/23757105/29-Sep-Automated-Request-for-Attention-Q-23640958.html
Avatar of BenyG

ASKER

nfmartins / TechSoEasy:

The link now works - I omitted the last ")" by the looks of it - I placed a redirect so both work.

I set the answer to a "B" as the issue discussed only occurs on this single install of Exchange - on my home setup setting the connection option to "only the list below" with nothing in the connection-list does not cause the fault to occur. It would appear to be a bug. (Spelt incorrectly as 'big' in my post.) As the potential of it being a bug was not discussed and how checking this particular setting is relatively obvious in a non-bug scenario I decided it should be a 'B'.  - Although I never realised setting a answer to anything apart from 'A' could stir up trouble.

I am new to EE and thought that an 'A' would refer to something outstanding  - as it does when studying for instance - and not a general 'perfectly fine' response. If this is in error then I apologise and I am happy to alter it accordingly; or an admin can change it.

I would like to thank nfmartins again for his help.

BenyG
Well, this is the week for links not working or being changed... EE changed the help file this week, so the actual link to explain how grading works here is:  https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hi403

Giving a B didn't stir up trouble, but it is often that new members aren't aware of how grading works and I just wanted to make sure you understood that it's different than grading in school.  Grades are important to Experts because they not only let the Expert know they provided enough information, but also the grades are a multiplier of points received (A = 4x pts, B = 3x pts).

To help clarify why your suggestion of it being a bug was not really addressed:
The default setting for any connector in Exchange is "All Except the List Below".  If your home setup had "Only the list below" and the list was blank then I would think you couldn't access that server via POP3 either.  If you could access it, then the "bug" (if one exists) would be on your home setup, not this one, and that setup wasn't what was being questioned here.

Overall, this further discussion is not intended to criticize or correct you, but instead to help clarify anything that may have been misunderstood above.  I hope you take it in the spirit in which it is offered.  :-)

Thanks.

Jeff
TechSoEasy