POP3 connector keeps stopping

Hi There,

We can't get any mail down as the pop3 mail connector in Exchange services keeps stopping. It re-starts o.k. but after about 15 mins it had stopped again. The event viewer only reports that is has stopped and has tried to connect 3 times.

Any ideas anyone...???

Thanks in advance

 

Are you sure the POP3 server is functional? Could be an issue at that end.

 

How many clients are you trying to pull mail for?
What is your bandwidth?

If the mail is backed up it may be timing out on the ISP end.

 

Thanks for the replies...

Newt:- No problems with the POP3 server end the mail is still sitting there waiting to be downloaded.....? We know it works o.k. as we can down load it elsewhere.

ssmith10pn:- It is only a single pop3 address we are pulling mail in for...?


Exchange server works fine. It is just the POP3 connector element of it that stops for no reason after about 15 mins. However While it is up for that period it still won't download mail.

Hear's hopin'

 

Exchange's POP3 connector is to allow clients to download mail FROM it, not for it to pull mail TO it

The only exception to this is Exchange in Small Business (if you have this then pardon the interruption)

To pull mail into Exchange via POP3 you need something like POPWeasel

 

Andy,
You are correct about the full version of Exchange not having a POP3 connector. My exposure to that product has been limited. I assumed it was just like it’s little brother (Exchange for SBS) however it is not. I have been looking a POPweasel. Is it really a good way to pull mail from an ISP?
I don't feel secure letting an Exchange server in a small low budget operation sit exposed to the WAN and I really don't want for each desktop to go out and hit the pop server either because that will create problems with remote mail access.

Tell me your honest opinion about this product and if there is a better alternative

Thanks,
Scott.

 

First I should make a comment that my exposure to Exchange 2000 and beyond is limited. I did a lot of work with Exchange 5.5, and SBS prior to SBS2000.

My experience is that third party pop mail connectors are better than the inbuilt SBS software. One of the key problems with the SBS/Exchange tool, as you are finding, is debugging. It either works or it doesn't and trying to fix it can be a pain.

POPWeasel works OK.

However, my prefered options would be:

1. Use SMTP mail feed protected by a firewall into Exchange. You should always have a firewall protecting a network. NAT is not enough (IMHO). SMTP is by far the most reliable mail feed to use with Exchange. When I was installing networks we used to work on having to go back and "fix" a POP mail feed every few months. Install with an SMTP feed was an install and forget option.

2. Use a mail server that is design to work with POP (Exchange IS NOT). There are plenty out there. MDaemon is good, and so too is FTGate .

 

After a little more research I think I'm going to make this exchange server host the Internet E Mail.
Currently the ISP hosts the E Mail and Domain.
Any Ideas on the steps that need to be taken?

I know port 25 has to be forwarded to the Exchange Server.
I also know that The ISP will have to change there MX records and write a host file (Because they host the domain).
The internal Domain is a .local so what DNS issues do I have to deal with?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

The ISP may not have to change the MX records!

A lot of ISPs I've used have some system for relaying SMTP traffic to you. Some store it and require an ETRN or Finger call to trigger the downloads. I've even come across some that will monitor your connection and trigger SMTP feed when you are on line.

The advantage of this system is that e-mails aren't lost if your link or server goes down. Personally I'd prefer that set up on a dial-up or ADSL connection. If you have leased line of something similarly reliable then an MX record update would give you advantages.

So discuss the options with your ISP!

If they do continually feed or go the MX route you will need a static IP on your router's external interface (assuming you are using NAT). Then it is simply a case of forwarding port 25 to your mail server. By default your domain will be set to incoming in Exchange. The ISP need to know your External ISP (if they don't already - you may connect with a different ISP to the one hosing your e-mail), so they can point thier systems at it.

It should be as easy as that (famous last words)

 

Sorry - missed the .local comment in your e-mail.

I believe that as long as you have set your external domain as incoming in Exchange, there shouldn't be any DNS issues.

Are you intending to host your External DNS Domain too? That is look after the DNS side of things and host your pages on you internal systems? Do you need to?

Personally I wouldn't unless I had a very good reason to do so. If you want to host Internet Websites on your own servers they should be put into a DMZ and not be directly on your local network.

So if you have an external domain of company.com and an internal one of company.local, the local domain should be used inside your firewall and all the company.com services hosted on servers in the DMZ.

 

No, absolutly not.

Static IP with a T-1
Using a Dlink DFL-80 firewall Router (Not impressed with this POS so far)
Adtran T-1 Modem

ISP is Network Telephone www.networktel.net
They seem to have their shyt together on the WAN side.

 

That's sensible I believe.

You should just have to set the port forwarding on the router towards your server for port 25.

A good test to see if it is working is to telnet into port 25. In Win2k, at a command prompt type:

telnet <server address> 25

Note that there is a space between the addess and the 25. In NT4 and Win9x ou use a colon ( : ) rather than a space. The address can be the computer name, but IP address is easier.

When you connect via telnet you should get a line of text from the server. This includes the server's name. You should then be able to type:

HELO

enter a carriage return and get a response. (note that you may well not be able to see what you are typing, but you should get a response). Type quit to exit.

Do the telnet test from within your network to make sure Exhange is listening on port 25, then from outside the network to make sure your static IP address allocation has been set correctly, and that the port forwarding is working.

One thing I forgot to mention before is to check your user's postbox setting to ensure that each of them have an external e-mail address asociated with them.

 

Reggie, should the internet address be set as the primary.

Currently in the user account Exchange Tab there is a x400 address,
a username@domain.local address,
and a username@domain.com address.
I set the username@domain.com as the primary.

 

To be honest, I am not absolutely sure, but that looks right and if it is working for internal mail then I can see no reason to change it.

 

All looks to be fine - DO NOT dlete the X400 addresses as Exchange uses these internally to itself

I'll also make the point that ReggieB's explanation of Telnet on port 25 is excellent
BUT

may not be conclusive as most decent firewalls will reject a Telnet on port 25 as they can see that its Telnet traffic and not SMTP. Thus a failure of this test does not mean a failure of the setup necessarily

Andy