Teach my PC some PDA-cleverness...

April 21, 2007 1:52 PM

How does my Windows Mobile PDA communicate with our office Exchange Server successfully without using a VPN, when I have to use a VPN with Microsoft Outlook to get at it? (And then are there any PC-based programs that can use the same technique as the PDA?)
posted by blue_wardrobe to computers & internet (13 comments total)

^when on a PC, I have to use a VPN with Microsoft Outlook to get at it?
posted by blue_wardrobe at 1:54 PM on April 21, 2007

Your PDA is setup to communicate with a Wireless Sync (or similar) server that actually resides behind your companies corporate firewall. This server communicates with your Exchange Server.
posted by Octoparrot at 2:04 PM on April 21, 2007

Are you using ActiveSync on the phone?

If you have Outlook 2003, you can avoid the VPN requirement by setting it up to communicate with Exchange via RPC over HTTP.
posted by odinsdream at 2:12 PM on April 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

@octoparrot: I'm pretty sure it talks directly to Exchange. I set up the PDA myself, without any of the third-party apps.

@odinsdream: this did indeed used to work, but IT turned that off. Which is why I'm wondering how the PDA gets through. I had assumed originally that the same techniques were used. But evidently not?
posted by blue_wardrobe at 2:26 PM on April 21, 2007

And then are there any PC-based programs that can use the same technique as the PDA?

Why not just use webmail?
posted by mkultra at 2:28 PM on April 21, 2007

@mkultra: Ideally, I want to write VBA code that can manipulate the items.

I am typically receiving and need to manipulate large attachments, and I want to manipulate tasks / appointments in fiendish ways.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 3:43 PM on April 21, 2007

It's using OWA credentials applied against the Exchange-OMA virtual directory in the default website in IIS.

Essentially, it's dumbed down OWA. If OWA could get any dumber, that is.
posted by disclaimer at 4:36 PM on April 21, 2007

disclaimer has it -- it's using Outlook Web Access (webmail) behind the scenes. It's the same technique used by Entourage (Microsoft's answer to Outlook on the Mac).
posted by CrayDrygu at 9:48 PM on April 21, 2007

I think disclaimer and CrayDrygu are probably right.

Our stuff at work is set up the same way. Outlook requires the VPN, yet Entourage doesn't. Why not? Entourage uses OWA to communicate with the mail server and Outlook communicates directly with it over a different series of ports that ignore request from outside the network on which the server operates. The VPN makes machines part of that network. But OWA is specifically for communication with the Exchange server over the web, which you would be doing mainly from locations which would be kiosks, public workstations, etc.
posted by smallerdemon at 10:00 PM on April 21, 2007

Wow, really interesting guys. I've never thought to wonder this, despite the fact that my PDA syncs wirelessly with exchange.

Of course, this then prompts the question, is there a way to make Outlook 2003 use OWA as well? For me, this would mean I can use outlook to check my mail at home rather than stupid webmail.
posted by ranglin at 1:58 AM on April 22, 2007

Ranglin: Yes, sort of. Your thinking is clear, the route to the goal is a little less so. The problem is that Entourage and a PDA are completely happy with the "light" traffic represented by OWA - things like folder permissions, Active Directory and etc. aren't passed through OWA, but Outlook requires a more open connection to the server than OWA allows. Which explains why you can connect to an Exchange server via Entourage this way, but can't manipulate folder permissions using it.

Specifically, Microsoft calls this method "Outlook Anywhere" or "RPC over HTTP/S" and in order to make your dream real, a few overly complex things need to happen at your workplace. Once that's done, you configure your Outlook client to use slightly different credentials, and that's it.

But it's very doable, and it's extremely effective once it's set up - using a laptop, all I need is an Internet or network connection and the leash to the office just got a little tighter and a little longer. :)
posted by disclaimer at 5:22 AM on April 22, 2007

Or what Odinsdreams said.

I gotta learn to read everything in a thread before I post.
posted by disclaimer at 5:24 AM on April 22, 2007

Hey, I know I'm hijacking the thread a little, but I just wanted to say thanks to the posters here.

Based on the comments in this thread, I was able to set up Entourage on my Mac to talk to the work Exchange server, using the same settings as I had on my PDA.

So, I have achieved what I said upthread (no more stupid webmail and a real (sort of) e-mail client at home), all thanks to MeFi!
posted by ranglin at 5:25 PM on April 22, 2007