Conference chefs::ms-exchange

922.0. "Exchange V5, POP3, and LDAP" by THEBAY::WIEGLEB (Voracious schools of lottery girls) Wed Mar 05 1997 21:11

    I have some questions on the Exchange V5 implementation of POP3 on
    their server.
    
    I have a set of remote users that we would like to have access their
    Exchange mailbox via AltaVista tunnel, and perhaps interact with it via
    POP3 for mail exchange, and promote use of LDAP for directory lookup. 
    We'd like to provide a service for the remote users, but are trying to
    avoid having them store mail on the Exchange server if possible.  We'd
    also like to use open Internet protocols for interaction with the
    mailbox and directory if possible.
    
    One of my questions regards "Check Name" functionality.  Can a POP3
    client user compose messages and use names like "John Smith",
    "Jane Jones", etc. for the recipients with the expectation that "Check
    Names" will occur at message submission?  Does anyone have any
    experience with how ambiguous and unknown names are dealt with at
    submission time?  (Since the address checking hierarchy is configurable 
    in the Exchange client, and that there is likely nothing in the POP3
    protocol itself to goven this, I'm assuming that there is probably no
    interactive "Check Names" during message submission with POP3.  I would
    expect that the names get resolved after submission, probably in the
    MTA. I'd be happy to be told otherwise...)
    
    Another question regards use of LDAP without an active mailbox 
    connection.  I'm not sure if there would be any problem with working
    offline for message creation, but using an active network connection
    for checking addresses via something like MAPI-ELF, since the client
    controls where address validation takes place.  (In this case we would
    be talking about using an Exchange client rather than say a Netscape
    client for the POP3 access.)  If using a Netscape POP3 client, I'm not
    sure what type of LDAP directory access is available.  Any information
    would be welcome. 
    
    Again, what I'm trying to accomplish is to boost the number of
    mailboxes that can be supported on a single server by getting rid of
    long-term message storage for the users, while still integrating these
    users into the Exchange and directory infrastructure from a management
    standpoint and for easy addressing access by other Exchange users.
    
    Thanks for any suggestions here.
    
    - Dave    

Until recently POP3 clients had no way to browse directories. Now that LDAP 
has stabilised and more vendors have implemented LDAP capable directories, 
the POP and IMAP client are starting to support LDAP also (eg the MS 
Internet Mail client) and the rest (Netscape, Eudora, Pegasus etc) will 
follow soon.

The 5.0 server does support read access via LDAP. Provided the LDAP client 
has implemented the same schema it should at least be able to get mail 
addresses from Exchange.

Regarding your problem, could you not just require the users to use a PST 
or work offline with periodic connections ?. This would be the simplest and 
best integrated solution and you would not loose other major benefits like 
uploading the address book, schedule+, PF's etc. 

Exchange Server v5.0 RC1 installed
Microsoft Internet Mail (configured for LDAP lookup to this server)

It all worked.

Ambiguous name resolution worked, offline address and send later worked.

For instance.  William Michael was the only name in the directory 
beginning with W, and all I needed to do was put w on the TO: line
and it matched up the name, completed it and transmitted it before
I could blink an eye.

You can download all of this software on Eval 120-day expire from
MS and install it at the customer side for proof of concept.

The Microsoft Internet mail client is capable of POPing mail down
and using LDAP, can become the prefered MAPI mailer, works with
Internet Explorer fine.... free.

Client access licenses still have to be purchased for each mailbox
in Exchange.

I even found a stand-alone LDAP tool for lookups outside the mail
app.

Tal.

[email protected]