Chris Dalby

We've been getting good results while trying out a POP3 connector called PopCon. Although the visual design is less than innovative, it really does do a great job. You can also see the emails being physically moved to differenent mailboxes. I must say, when setting up, and tracking message flow, this is the best one I've used. Plus it seems to do exactly what it says on the tin. All this without having to read a manual, because set-up is quick.This is a great connector if you need to retrieve POP3 email. Whether one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many. It's easy to use and to get you head around, you can very quickly start using this connector.Plus it's got all the features you would expect to distribute email to multiple mailboxes within an Exchange organisation.Get it here ::http://www.christensen-software.com/popcon.htmPrice: There is a cost, please check for up-to-date pricing.Company ::Christensen SoftwareURL ::www.christensen-software.comEmail ::[email protected] Del.icio.us : POP3 Connector Exchange Application

OK, I was hoping to have posted the first release of the window app I've put together – Email Generator.But we got a bit carried away and tried to buld in a few extra features. Angel has been working on this project too and has made great progress, so we should see this available for download at some point next week. Del.icio.us : email, exchange, test, tools

I recently did a job to upgrade Windows Small Business Server 2000 to Windows Small Business Server 2003. This server was running on a network of around 30 PCs (XP and 98), 30 users, with numerous different types of printers. The server ran Pervasive and SQL databases and Exchange 2000.We did a huge amount of research for this upgrade. Microsoft Pre-sales Technical Support offered two routes for doing the upgrade:"If you have an existing server in your network, you can upgrade it to Windows Small Business Server 2003. There are two options for completing an upgrade:• Upgrade the existing server to Windows Small Business Server 2003• Install Windows Small Business Server 2003 on a new server and then migrate the existing server's data and settings"We decided to do the inplace upgrade, as the customer had an existing installation and was not likely to buy a new server box. We tested the upgrade in a test lab, mirroring the same environment as near as possible. The test upgrade went through without any problems. In fact, the documentation we found regarding this upgrade all pointed to be a straight forward upgrade, with no significant problems. Exchange included.However, this was not a straight forward upgrade. When dealing with SBS, you have to be careful not to annoy it, because it starts stamping its foot and wanting to be in-charge. The main draw back with SBS is that the SBS server needs to be the root Domain Controller in the forest. You can't have more than one SBS server in a forest at any one time. Disobey these rules at your peril.Needless to say, the upgrade didn't

I have started writing an admin application. Its quite simple in function, but I have designed it to make my life easier when doing mundane tasks. I've called it Email Generator v0.1. It allows you to quickly test out connections to exchange servers and populate mailboxes with bulk amounts of email.The idea was borne out last weekend when I was doing some configuration testing. I needed to create a test environment and populate mailboxes with some data. So I initially designed the tool to send however many emails I wanted to whatever mailboxes on any servers. I got through this quickly and decided to start building in extra functionality to connect via POP3 and get a list of the email headers in the mailbox.As is always the case, one thing led to another and I kinda got carried away. Now I've got a .NET 2.0 windows app designed in Visual Studio 2005 with a great bunch of features. .NET 2.0 has exposed some great features. Specifically the System.Net.Mail namespace, amongst ohers. This means quite complex tasks can be initiated realtively quickly when you know how.I'll be rounding out the app this week and I'll be posting the app free for download by the start of next week. Morfe on Email Generator v0.1 soon……. Del.icio.us : tool exchange

I've steered clear of POP3 connectors since usng Exchange 2003. I've never had the need to use them. Afterall, I route all my mail through our Exchange Servers. In fact it never occurred to me that you could use this way to get your mail until I saw a couple of our SBS clients using POP3 connectors to collect their mail.The Microsoft Pop3 connector in SBS 2003 Exhange is very clunky. You've got a two choices for routing mail to mailboxes.One to one – one pop3 account delivers to one mailboxOne to many – one pop3 account delivers to many mailoxes in the exchange organisationHaving experimented with the One to many type system on SBS 2003, I would recommend using a third party Pop3 connector. That way, you get email downloaded from the pop3 mailboxes and forwarded using the exchange smtp server onto the appropriate mailboxes. We used one from www.quantumsoftware.com.auSearch the pages on msexchange.org for a range of POP3 connectors. Technorati : POP3 Del.icio.us : POP3 Exchange

I was alarmed to read on the MSExchange Team Blog that there has been a spate of people putting E12 into a production environment. Please stop! Dont't do it! Step away from the server.Its very tempting to do this. In fact it crossed my mind about trying to get some kind of "Live Test". But seriously, it seems that putting E12 int a production environment is not a good thing to do. Sounds like a few people had a few major problems.E12 extends the Active Direcory schema. Because E12 is a beta, some of the schema might not make it into the final release. So who nows what damage could be done. Del.icio.us : e12

There is a known issue when installing E12. E12 requires MMC 3.0 and .NET Framework version 2. Even with MMC 3.0 installed, installation fails:"Exchange Server '12' requires Microsoft Management Console 3.0."There is a workaround for this problem. Open the registry and navigate to the following:HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Add a new key:MMC30CoreWorks first time with this key. Checkout the Exchange Team blog for more details. Technorati : bug, e12

I have installed E12 and will start testing and using over the coming days. For anyone that is trying out E12, the best source of information is the Exchange Team blog.The installation seems relatively straight forward and certainly alot easier than previous versions. The wizard basically does the job for you, as a wizard should.There are a few elements needed prior to installation:MMC 3.0 (known bug, see fix in previous post).NET Framework Version 2.0Windows 2003 Native DomainApart from that, point and click and the whole thing magically installs. er, at least thats what I'm hoping!The architecture of E12 has changed, in that there is no longer a Front and Back End server configuration. This has now been broken further down into 5 different server roles. I'll be posting further articles on E12, so watch this space. Del.icio.us : e12, exchange

Welcome to my first blog on Exchanging Messages. I hope you find the stuff here of some interest and feel free to post comments. I'll certainly get back to you. Del.icio.us : exchange

Hi and welcome! Within the Exchanging Messages section of my blog I will focus on the interaction and integration of Microsoft Exchange Server within Windows and mixed networks.

This blog includes tips and tweaks for Exchange Server within Small Business Server, both SBS 2000 and SBS 2003. It includes information on mobile messaging features and also reviews various Exchange tools and utilities, scripts and code for managing an Exchange enterprise. Latest news and culture is also discussed.