Hi There, We have Exchange 2003 SP2 on Windows 2003. I have added RPC over HTTP and then setup a new profile to Oulook 2003 ona windows XP SP2 desktop (which is not on the same network - server is in a data centre). I can setupan outlook profile (with the Mailcontrol panel)over http and have configured the proxy settings correctly with external FQDN of the server etc (msstd:etc...). I can now "Check Name", enter the username and password (username: NETWORK\UserName) andboth the Exchange Server and User Name are now underlined (and i can see a login/logout in the servers Event Log). But when i then open outlook, i get a message like "Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. The Microsoft Exchange Server computer is not available. Either their are network problems or the Microsoft Exchange Server computer is down for maintenance.", tryed several times putting in the password and also recreating the profile... now outlook just hangs when trying to connect.... Any ideas where to start with this one please? Thanks Simon

Well, first you can test your RPC over HTTPS settings from internal network, if you choosed the option where is says "on a fast network connect on HTTPS" from the exchange proxy settings. now, which type of authentication you choosed on exchange proxy settings ? it should be Basic Authentication not NTLM. another thing, Exchagne Server Name should be the exact Exchange Back End Server name, not the the public name that you created in your SSL Certificate. for outlook, it seems to be hanging specially when you open outlook for the first time from outside using RPC over HTTPS cause its trying to connect to your exchange server and build the Cache Mode for outlook profile, specially when you connectedfrom slow network, for example a dial up or a low speed DSL. when you open outlook from outside and when you provide a user name and password, just give your outlook a time to start the connectivity with your exchange and builds the cache mode.

Thanks for your help... i will try on the internal network soon. However - i have a new message now: After a long wait with Outlook, i have this alert: unable to open your default folders. You must connect to your Microsoft Exchnage Server computer with the current profile before you can synchronize your folders with your offline folder file. I have "On fast networks... " unchecked and "On slow networks..." checked and am using Basic Authentication. Thanks again, Simon Update on this: OK, Ive tested outlook connecting on the same network. I disabled the firewall on the server and then connected outlook, which worked fine. But checking on this, it was connected via TCP/IP, not HTTPS, so i closed down outlook, reenabled the firewall (TCP ports 25/80/443/3389 are open) - now it wont connect tho i can see the login attempts in the server log: Logon attempt by: MICROSOFT_AUTHENTICATION_PACKAGE_V1_0 Logon account: TestUser Source Workstation: TEST01 Error Code: 0x0 ------ Successful Network Logon: User Name: TestUser Domain: NEWMEDIANET Logon ID: (0x0,0x1141D2) Logon Type: 3 Logon Process: NtLmSsp Authentication Package: NTLM Workstation Name: TEST01 Logon GUID: - Caller User Name: - Caller Domain: - Caller Logon ID: - Caller Process ID: - Transited Services: - Source Network Address: 210.xx.xx.xxx Source Port: 0

is there a firewall between your client and your exchagne server ? if yes, can you make sure that port 443 which is used for SSL connectivity for RPC over HTTPS is opened. i want you to tell me the result of the outlook accessibility from internal using RPC over HTTPS to check if your RPC over HTTPS settings are correct or not. when you open outlook, hold the CTRL key and move your mouse to the outlook icon appears in the down right corner of your task par, and while keep holding the CTRL key, right click on that outlook icon, and choose connectivity status, and make sure that the screen shows HTTPS not TCP/IP under the "Conn" column. tell me more about your exchange server 2003 setup, do you have BackEnd and Front End ? or it is only Back End Server ? did you apply a valid SSL Certificate on your Exchange Server or not ? for RPC over HTTPS to work as per Microsoft Best Bractices you need to have Back End and Front End servers.

Alaa Alian Al-Ankar wrote: is there a firewall between your client and your exchagne server ? if yes, can you make sure that port 443 which is used for SSL connectivity for RPC over HTTPS is opened. i want you to tell me the result of the outlook accessibility from internal using RPC over HTTPS to check if your RPC over HTTPS settings are correct or not. when you open outlook, hold the CTRL key and move your mouse to the outlook icon appears in the down right corner of your task par, and while keep holding the CTRL key, right click on that outlook icon, and choose connectivity status, and make sure that the screen shows HTTPS not TCP/IP under the "Conn" column. tell me more about your exchange server 2003 setup, do you have BackEnd and Front End ? or it is only Back End Server ? did you apply a valid SSL Certificate on your Exchange Server or not ? for RPC over HTTPS to work as per Microsoft Best Bractices you need to have Back End and Front End servers. OK... using the build in server firewall for Windows Server 2003 as it is behind a hardware firewall... but yes i have enabled port 443 TCP. The outlookONLY connects if i have the firewall off (eg its connecting via TCP, not HTTP - even tho i have the settings for HTTP - i found this out with outlook.exe /rpcdiag). The SSL cert is correct and valid. There is just one server with Windows 2003 R2 installed and Exchange 2003 SP2 installed. I guess you call this a "Back End Server"?

Fixed it!!In the end i found the answer here: http://www.amset.info/exchange/rpc-http-server.asp When i installed RPD over HTTP for the server, the RpcProxy registry setting was set to "server:100-5000" and all of the documentation said to replace this with: "server:100-5000;server:6001-6002;server:6004;server.domain.local:6001-6002;server.domain.local:6004;mail.external.com:6001-6002;mail.external.com:6004;" But the problem was that i had to COMBINE the two settings as below (leaving "server:100-5000" at the start) to make it work. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc\RpcProxy]"ValidPorts"="server:100-5000;server:6001-6002;server:6004;server.domain.local:6001-6002;server.domain.local:6004;mail.external.com:6001-6002;mail.external.com:6004;" Thanks for the help anyways!!! Simon