We are attempting to debug a problem our mail servers are having connecting to MS Exchange servers. The problem presently deals with IMAP and how Exchange is dealing with "IDLE" commands. Apparently, Exchange does not devulge its version number when a connection is made. I have been informed that Exchange 2010 apparently reveals its version not in greeting or capability, but when signing off after logout (even if you didn't log in in the first place). Exchange 2003 as provided by Alice DSL Germany greets me with "version 6.5.mumble" Is there a method of positively determining the MS Exchange version when connecting. Also, what is the relationship between the version displayed, if any, and the actual Exchange version in use? As shown above, "version 6.5.mumble" != "Exchange 2003". Thanks!

Maybe someone made a custom change to the default SMTP banner. You can open up the metabase to find out. I don't think this would cause any issues, it's just a "display" http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/change-POP3-IMAP4-SMTP-banner-Exchange-2003.htmlJames Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com

That doesn't help me any. Well designed mailservers, etc, should display their version nuymbers upon connection. Apparently MS Exchange is not doing this in a common and uniform manner. For instance, connecting to my mailserver causes this initial message to be displayed: telnet localhost 25 Trying 127.0.0.1... Connected to localhost. Escape character is '^]'. 220 scorpio.seibercom.net ESMTP Postfix (2.9-20110219) Exchange does not display a readily readable version number that would indicate what version it actually is.

RFC 5321 does not mandate or recommend that orgs publish their version number. It's entirely up to the org itself, many MTAs do no disclose version numbers for security reasons, some firewalls even garble them. You will find many reputable vendors other than MS that do this. "SMTP server implementations MAY include identification of their software and version information in the connection greeting reply after the 220 code, a practice that permits more efficient isolation and repair of any problems. Implementations MAY make provision for SMTP servers to disable the software and version announcement where it causes security concerns. While some systems also identify their contact point for mail problems, this is not a substitute for maintaining the required "postmaster" address (see Section 4)." http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5321.txt James Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com

On Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:57:07 +0000, Gerard Seibert wrote: >That doesn't help me any. Well designed mailservers, etc, should display their version nuymbers upon connection. Can you cite the sections in the appropriate RFCs that state that requirement? >Apparently MS Exchange is not doing this in a common and uniform manner. For instance, connecting to my mailserver causes this initial message to be displayed: > >telnet localhost 25 Trying 127.0.0.1... Connected to localhost. Escape character is '^]'. 220 scorpio.seibercom.net ESMTP Postfix (2.9-20110219) > >Exchange does not display a readily readable version number that would indicate what version it actually is. Are you asking about SMTP or about IMAP? And, really, why would you care unless you're trying to exploit some shortcoming in the way things work? --- Rich Matheisen MCSE+I, Exchange MVP --- Rich Matheisen MCSE+I, Exchange MVP

I am aware of the RFC requirements, something that Microsoft rarely pays any real attention to. Never-the-less, please name a major player; ie, mailserver or POP/IMAP server that deliberately hides its true identity. We are trying to develop software that can to some degree accurately determine the mail/pop/IMAP servers capability. Early versions of Exchange don't have a clue how to handle "IDLE". It is becoming apparent that even the last version is not doing it quite 100% in accordance with RFC standards either. Thanks for you help anyway.

As I previously stated, the various versions of Exchange work radically different. In this case, I am working on IMAP, although I have other goals also. Exchange 2010 handles "IDLE" differently than the 2007 and radically differently that the older versions of Exchange. Exchange has never been an RFC compliant product to begin with. If I can determine what version I am connecting to I can modify what actions I want to take. In this instance IMAP with IDLE. Presently, we have users experiencing network disconnects with exchange servers. Some of the older servers seem to have a 5 minute default setting for IDLE when it is RFC specified at 30 minutes. By knowing in advance that the servers are garbage, I can construct a work around for the problems.