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Very slow performance of OWA with SSL

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Very slow performance of OWA with SSL - 24.Oct.2003 3:14:00 PM

Hornet.NL

Posts: 5
Joined: 14.Oct.2003
From: The Netherlands
Status: offline

Hi,

I'm not sure wether this is an OWA or an IIS problem but I'm hoping someone here can help me.

Recently I installed a Windows 2003 server (Standard edition) and Exchange 2003. I then configured IIS and Exchange so that I could use OWA. This I installed easely (better then OWA2K). The 'problems' started when I issued a certificate to myself (1025bits at first, later due to the performance problems, I issued a new 512bits certificate). I then configured the IIS so that 128bits encryption was in enforced on al sites (I only use OWA anyway, so it doesn't matter that I won't be able to use port 80 access to the rest of the website).
I have to be fair: it does work..............but veeerrryyy slowly. It takes several minutes for the certificate screen to pop up. When I click yes it takes another couple of minutes to get the (form based) login screen to appear. With these hurdles taken everything works very nice and fast.

Does anybody have a clou on what might be causing this very slow initial performance? I've already checked memory and cpu load, these are all normal. It doesn't matter if I acces OWA over the internet or over my LAN, the response times are the same (Allthough I haven't timed them with a watch). I've tried this way before on a Win2K and a Exch2K server and that worked like a charm.

Any help and or tips would be greatly appriciated,

Rgds,

Chris

Some info: the server is a AMD Duron 1Ghz, 512Mb DDR and a 40Gb Maxtor 7200Rpm disk, 100mb LAN, internet connection is 4096kb down- & 512 upstream.

Post #: 1

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RE: Very slow performance of OWA with SSL - 24.Oct.2003 4:02:00 PM

JasonJ

Posts: 11
Joined: 8.Sep.2003
From: UK
Status: offline

Chris,

You shouldn't get the certificate prompt if you imported the certificate onto your client.

This is why its verrrrrry slow.

This doc has everything you need to import the certificate:

http://www.tacteam.net/isaserverorg/exchangekit/importrootca/importrootca.htm

HTH

Jas

[ October 24, 2003, 04:03 PM: Message edited by: Jason Jarvis ]

(in reply to Hornet.NL)

Post #: 2

RE: Very slow performance of OWA with SSL - 24.Oct.2003 9:28:00 PM

Hornet.NL

Posts: 5
Joined: 14.Oct.2003
From: The Netherlands
Status: offline

Jason,

Many thnx for your fast reply. Much appriciated.
I will try your solution ASAP. Just one other question.
Would I need to enable the 'Accept Client Certificates' check box to make this work? (The location of this option would be: IIS manager\Default website\properties\directory security\Secure Communications\Edit)

Thnx again,

Chris

(in reply to Hornet.NL)

Post #: 3

RE: Very slow performance of OWA with SSL - 24.Oct.2003 11:11:00 PM

JasonJ

Posts: 11
Joined: 8.Sep.2003
From: UK
Status: offline

Chris,

No as this is something a little different.

Server certificates identify the website to the client so that the client knows that the website is who it claims to be - the Client trusts the website.

Client certificates identify the client to the website so that the website knows that the client is who they say they are - the website trusts the client.

HTH

Jas

(in reply to Hornet.NL)

Post #: 4

RE: Very slow performance of OWA with SSL - 27.Oct.2003 10:13:00 AM

Hornet.NL

Posts: 5
Joined: 14.Oct.2003
From: The Netherlands
Status: offline

Jason (or any other readers),

I've tried to follow you suggestion as mentioned above. It tried to download (and execute) some ActiveX control wich I wasn't allowed to do due to lack of user rights on this (corporate) computer. Of course I could change these rights, but I want to mimmick a real user. So I was hoping that there is some other way (Or that this solution isn't the solution to this performance problem)

+ What still strikes me as strange is that I have made a same setup with Win2K and Exch2K in the same way as I have done now with Win2K3 and Exch2K3 and that did not have this performance problems. What has changed between these versions that causes this???

Still hoping on a brilliant brainwave of someone,

Rgds,

Chris

[ October 27, 2003, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: Hornet.NL ]

(in reply to Hornet.NL)

Post #: 5

RE: Very slow performance of OWA with SSL - 10.Nov.2003 10:22:00 PM

Guest

Just an FYI. I'm sitting in a training course right now and talked with the instructor about the SSL and OWA 2003 problem. She says the intial slowness is due to the fact that it is a pricate CA. If you where using a public CA it would work fine. Maybe this will be fixed in the first SP.

(in reply to Hornet.NL)

Post #: 6

RE: Very slow performance of OWA with SSL - 11.Nov.2003 1:04:00 PM

Henrik Walther

Posts: 6849
Joined: 21.Nov.2002
From: Copenhagen, Denmark
Status: offline

It could be related to some private CA configuration settings, but let's bear in mind, this slowness issue isn't general.

I for an instance use a private CA in my setup and OWA 2003 (via SSL) loads very fast (see 1-2 secs).

Note:
I don't use SSL accelerator cards or anything like that.

(in reply to Hornet.NL)

Post #: 7