Any Microsoft Exchange Administrators out there?

[schick79]

(Note: I have tried searching for this, and was unable to find anything. Apologies in advance if I completely missed something relevant.)

My employer uses Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, and as of right now they are not allowing anyone to use a cell phone to connect. I've got a few questions that I would really appreciate some input on.

Just to set the stage for my level of knowledge in general, and for my knowledge of my employer's system, let me state the following:

* I am an MCSE+I on Windows Server NT, and I had a little bit of hands-on experience with Small Business Server 2003. (JUUUUUST a bit outdated... LOL) So, I should have a good foundation for how things work, but would not be familiar with newer stuff.

* I do not have ANY access to my employer's server, and most likely won't be granted any access personally. However, I can pass along instructions to the IT manager.

The IT manager is very competent, and I have a good rapport with her, so I'm assuming that if I present a simple set of instructions and overcome any security concerns, I have a great shot of getting her to implement this. Here are my question:

1) Does Exchange 2007 support Windows Mobile devices "out of the box"? It won't work right now. I'm not sure if it needs to be enabled and hasn't, comes enabled but was specifically disabled, or whatever.

2) In general (if that's even possible), what needs to be done to allow me to connect to my Exchange server with my phone? (from the server side - I have found many threads about what to configure on the phone)

3) This is a CPA firm, so security is obviously a great concern. I have found some information on this, such as being able to disable and enable mobile access on a per-user basis, and it looks like certificates can be utilized to further enhance security. Is that true? Can the server create a certificate that I can install on my phone to really enhance security? How/where (in the server) would this be donw? What else - if anything - can be done to help lock down the setup and make it secure?

In case it matters, I'm running a Verizon TP2, the 2.32.00WU radio, and using Energy's latest Cookie ROM.

ANY help would be great appreciated, whether it's a response, a guide to read, a link to another resource, or anything.

Cheers!

[boredandtattooed]

cant help you with the exchange issues.. but did wanna let you know your extremely paranoid about your emails...

your talking super hardcore hacking skills here... theres little to no known ways to remote PPC someones phone... meaning its almost impossible for me to view into your phone, whether from a pc or another PPC..

someone could duplicate your sever settings.. but then itd either be someone from your work who has the info available, or someone physically had your device at some point to view and steal your settings..

in all likelyhood, its never gonna happen... is it impossible to do, no.. but unless your CPA firm represents the Mafia or something, someone has little to no reason to wanna hack your emails..

ok yes the phone supports exchange right out the box.. what you admin needs to do is bring up you profile in AD(active directory) and enable EAS(exchange active sync) in order for your device to connect. your device will use you Outlook web access url as the server address. Your admin can set the correct policies as need for the for the phone.. hope this helps if so hit me with a thanks

[schick79]

Sweet, thanks (given as well)! Are there any issues involving the firewall? Would any ports need to be opened up or anything like that? They do have Outlook Web Access being utilized, so I know that works fine.

What policies would she need to set? I'm not even sure she would know which ones to set as this has never been used there before.

Bored... we don't represent the mob (to my knowledge LOL), but being a CPA firm they are extremely security conscious. They don't even have a wireless network due to various stories being told at CPA conferences.

In general, I just don't know if security is an issue or not, or if nobody has ever wanted to do this before. Just wanted to solve any problems before I experience them. =)

no ports would have to be changed. now as far as policies I have posted a like below which would give more information on the policies that can be inforced on your device.

http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/20...23/439541.aspx

[schick79]

Thanks again!

[DarkGemini1979]

If OWA is already set up to work at your firm, then you should be good to go with just the enabling of OMA (Outlook Mobile Access) in Active Directory.

That said, your Exchange Administrator would do well to follow best practices in setting up ActiveSync/ OMA if it hasn't been done prior to now, rather than just making it work.

[niteriderxp]

As others have stated, Exchange 2007 works with Activesync without additional licenses or software. However, there is some configuration required.

The server must have port 443 (HTTPS) open to the outside on the firewall, some companies also open port 80 (HTTP). We only have HTTPS open on our firewall as we want to ensure that SSL encryption is always used. We require TLS transport between us and some business partners, so it does us no good if email access is unencrypted.

Your Exchange server should have a "Unified Communications" SSL Certificate. The certificate should have your publicly accessible domain name e.g. yourdomain.com in the Subject and any additional names required by the server in the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) e.g. yourservername (netbios name), yourservername.yourdomain.com (FQDN), autodiscover.yourdomain.com (autodiscover url). These domains then have to be configured into Exchange.

The certificate can be issued by your domain's Certification Authority (CA) or a public CA. If it is issued by a Public CA it does not have to be installed on each computer or phone client. If it is self-signed, then the CA's certificate has to be installed on each client.

When everything has been setup, Exchange Activesync has to be enabled on the server and on the individual account using Exchange Management Console.

Then configure Activesync on your phone using the certificate's subject name.

[schick79]

Awesome, thanks so much, everyone!

[Brooklyncat]

Originally Posted by schick79

Awesome, thanks so much, everyone!

Oh I see it has been answer. So your good now later...