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cannot access via URL - 22.Sep.2003 5:07:00 PM

Rac42one

Posts: 10
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Toronto
Status: offline

I cannot login to OWA when I use the registerd url. I get to the login page, which tells me the DNS registration is fine, but when I enter my credentials the next page cannot be displayed. If I try this using the Server's IP address, in stead of the url, it works fine.

Any help would be great...

Post #: 1

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RE: cannot access via URL - 22.Sep.2003 8:08:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

Try using http://yourservernamedns/exchange

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 2

RE: cannot access via URL - 22.Sep.2003 9:23:00 PM

Rac42one

Posts: 10
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Toronto
Status: offline

I just tried by server name and that did not work either... but again IP address works...

I can ping the server by name and URL, from other machines and the server itself....

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 3

RE: cannot access via URL - 22.Sep.2003 10:51:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

OK thats cute

Try this:

from a command line ping the ip of the box with the switch -a.

ping -a xx.xxx.xx.xxx

You should get the FQDN like
COMPUTERNAM.DOMAIN.XXX
(xxx may exist, depends on your domain setup)

Anyway, after you get the FQDN in your browser type http://COMPUTERNAME.DOMAIN.XXX/exchange

and login

[Wink]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 4

RE: cannot access via URL - 22.Sep.2003 10:56:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

Im sorry I forgot this if this doesnt work after you connect, then you need a MX record in dns which points to that ip we discussed

[Wink]

[ September 23, 2003, 06:38 PM: Message edited by: bobbycdukes ]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 5

RE: cannot access via URL - 22.Sep.2003 11:06:00 PM

marc2003

Posts: 82
Joined: 25.May2003
From: england
Status: offline

from what i can see, it seems dns is not configured correctly on the client.

at this point mx records are not the answer

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 6

RE: cannot access via URL - 22.Sep.2003 11:40:00 PM

ltaylorwarren

Posts: 2
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Reno, Nevada
Status: offline

Does a ping of servername return the same ip address you are using when it works? If not, you certainly have a DNS configuration issue.

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 7

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 1:57:00 AM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

Marc,

I believe we all know that its dns, 100% of our suggestions specify that....

And an MX record is needed to configure OWS correctly for internet connections, and by the way you create a MX record when you are in DNS.

so offer some solutions and don't try to pick .01% percent of someone elses solution as being in error...

And lets see how he does with that [Cool]

[ September 23, 2003, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: bobbycdukes ]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 8

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 2:28:00 AM

marc2003

Posts: 82
Joined: 25.May2003
From: england
Status: offline

bob, you do not need an mx record for owa or even exchange to work. my knowledge of exchange hardly scratches the surface but i know enough to make it work. i host my own exchange server on my intranet and on the internet and i can access it from anywhere in the world, send and receive external mail without an mx record.

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 9

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 4:36:00 AM

Rac42one

Posts: 10
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Toronto
Status: offline

Send/receive of mail is fine so MX record does not apply. This is strictly a OWA connection issue. I ping the URL, and Domain name and I get a reply from my network, and from a completely seperate Internet connection.

I enter the URL in a browser...and I receive the login page, thus DNS is resolving my address fine. I enter my credentials domain\username, password...

The next page I get I receive

"HTTP Error 404 - File or directory not found"

If I do the exact same thing, strictly using the Static IP address, it works fine, both internal and external of my network.

It is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen, I am not limiting this to Exchange 2003, this could be an IIS, or DNS issue... any help would be FANTASTIC.....

Thanks

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 10

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 10:35:00 AM

marc2003

Posts: 82
Joined: 25.May2003
From: england
Status: offline

has it ever worked in the past?

from your post i assume you are using form based authentication? does it work without?

the only thing that i've seen with the page missing error is when i have created a second virtual http server in esm. then you have to edit an .asp to point at http://server when you logon instead of http://server/exchange

seeing as though yours works via ip address this is probably not the issue.

it might be worth looking at what is in the address bar when you get the error and checking that it exists on your website.

clutching at straws now - try adding the domain name of the server to the hosts file on the client pc. goto start run type

notepad %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

then after the localhost entry, enter your exchange server eg

123.123.123.123 marc2003.com

save the file, try again. if it works definitely dns issue. (but again you get login page [Confused]

)

v. strange

[ September 23, 2003, 11:08 AM: Message edited by: marc2003 ]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 11

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 1:14:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

Did you try FQDN??? [Confused]

Still want to talk about MX records right..

Well now we all know what some of your problem will be especially after you set up additional INTERNET Mail Servers...

Look at the post installation instructions for setting up MS Exchange 2003 OWA. One of the steps in the instructions is to create a MX record, but that wasnt my focus entirely, but lets look at that since we all want to talk about MX records...

Goto www.network-tools.com and query any company's url. www.whatever.com. In the box where you see your ip paste in a URL... when you get the results you will see every single company has an MX(Mail Exchanger Record) which points to their mail server, if they wish external clients to be able to communicate with it.

Mail Exchange Records Creates a mail route for a domain name. A domain name can have multiple mail routes, each assigned a priority number.
The mail route with the lowest number identifies the server responsible for
the domain. Other mail servers listed usually are backups...

But Sounds like you didnt even try my initial suggestion. ping -a xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx then copy/paste the FQDN results in the the url prifixed with http://

Do not try http://www.yourserver.com/exchange.
try http://computername.domainname.com/exchange
or http://yourserver.com/exchange

by default OWA is setup in your root web http//:
unless you put it somewhere else, then you have to give way more info...

To check IIS setup: login as admin
Open IIS expand default websites and you will see your exchange virtuals.
You should be able to right click and select browse your Exchange Virtual and you will see OWA interface on the right.

That only tells you that the installation went ok.

I just waiting to see what happens when you try the FQDN

http://computername.domainname.com/exchange
or http://yourserver.com/exchange

[Cool]

Also

[ September 23, 2003, 03:13 PM: Message edited by: bobbycdukes ]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 12

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 2:54:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

I copied this from Exchange Online Help in the Exchange Management Console:

Set a Fully Qualified Domain Name
Setting a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) is important if your SMTP virtual server is on the Internet. An e-mail domain must be able to be resolved through Domain Name System (DNS). When sending e-mail directly to the Internet, there are two DNS records that are used to resolve an e-mail domain. One of the records, a mail exchange (MX) record, is set up to associate an e-mail domain with the FQDN of one or more SMTP virtual servers that serve that domain.

Note If your virtual server is not in the Internet, MX records are not necessary. Within an Exchange organization, connectors have multiple source and destination bridgeheads, which provide the same function as multiple MX records.

Each SMTP server referenced in the MX record must have an address (A) record. The A record maps a given FQDN to its IP address. It's possible to just have an A record set up for an e-mail domain, which is common within an organization's intranet. And in some cases the A record is used for other puposes, such as HTTP, while the MX record is generally used only for SMTP .

For example, the MX record allows one server to handle http://microsoft.com (HTTP clients use the A record) and another server to handle user@microsoft.com (SMTP clients use the MX record).

In Exchange there are two options for specifying an FQDN. You can use the name specified on the Network Identification tab of the System properties in Control Panel, or you can specify a unique FQDN for the SMTP virtual server you are configuring.

At startup, the name designated on the Network Identification tab is automatically used for the FQDN. If you change the name (either manually or by joining a Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 domain), the new name is automatically used for the FQDN the next time the computer is rebooted. No action is required to update the FQDN for the virtual server.

You can also override the automatic use of the computer and domain names on the Network Identification tab and set your own FQDN.

To set an FQDN:

Start System Manager: On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
Cannot Start the Application
You can manually start the application by following these instructions: On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
Navigate to the SMTP virtual server.
Servers
Server
Protocols
SMTP
SMTP virtual server
Right-click the SMTP virtual server, and then click Properties.
On the Delivery tab, click Advanced.
In Advanced Delivery, in Fully-qualified domain name, type the FQDN.
[Cool]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 13

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 4:35:00 PM

Rac42one

Posts: 10
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Toronto
Status: offline

Sorry I did try the https://FQDN/exchange and that does work, but only from within my Network external does not work. I followed the posting from microsoft and I already had it correctly setup.

OK a new peice to the puzzle... this issue is happening when I try to access OWA for mailboxes on my Ecxchange 2003 server, If I hit the same OWA server by URL to login to mailboxes on my Exchange 2000 server it works fine.... FYI my OWA server is a Front end server which connects to my original 2000 back end server, and my new 2003 back end server.

This is Spookie stuff kids!

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 14

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 5:27:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

Yes!

I told you! Yes! Thank you, Hello!
[Wink]

Now creat a MX record

[Cool]

[ September 23, 2003, 05:54 PM: Message edited by: bobbycdukes ]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 15

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 6:20:00 PM

Rac42one

Posts: 10
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Toronto
Status: offline

An MX record is used strictly for the delivery of mail, which is still going to my original exchange 2000 server, which happens to be working perfectly fine.... The MX record is not used for any DNS issues other then delivery of smtp mail to my domain... I am pretty positive that the MX record is not the issue, unless the use of MX records has changed in 2003...

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 16

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 6:32:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

We all know that a MX record is used for that,

And we all knew exactly what was wrong with you...
thank god you finally listened to the original post.

we are all up and running, trying to help you and make sure that you have everything in place.

Im done with helping you

good luck

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 17

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 7:11:00 PM

Rac42one

Posts: 10
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Toronto
Status: offline

bobby i apologize if I offended you, I was not aiming for that, I was just eliminating parts of the puzzle that are working for me... your effort was appreciated...

But my issue is still unresolved....

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 18

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 7:26:00 PM

bobbycdukes

Posts: 17
Joined: 19.Sep.2003
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

Rac42,

Your original post was:

I cannot login to OWA when I use the registerd url .

I get to the login page, which tells me the DNS registration is fine, but when I enter my credentials the next page cannot be displayed.

If I try this using the Server's IP address, in stead of the url, it works fine

Thats when I replied to help get things on the right track for you.. I've seen this dozens of times, and I knew the answer for you was to get you to type in the url http://FQDN/exchange

That part is now resolved...

now if you want to be able to have your users use it(email each other)over a WAN, well then there are additional things you must do. Hence I was just making sure you had necessary nuts and bolts in place before acessing the problem.

Have you had the problem that some users had with logging in OWA?

Many people experienced problems logging in OWA unless they had rights to log on to the server locally...

ewwww... [Eek!]

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 19

RE: cannot access via URL - 23.Sep.2003 7:34:00 PM

Rac42one

Posts: 10
Joined: 22.Sep.2003
From: Toronto
Status: offline

I was thinking it was a credential thing as well, until it worked with IP adress of the server. I have seen that issue with the local login permission resolving, but again it works with IP.. I am starting to think that it might be the IIS setup and nothing to do with the Exchange side....

(in reply to Rac42one)

Post #: 20