Re: To POP3 Connector or not to POP3 Connector - that is the quest

Aus,

Thanks for the thorough response. It sounds overall like you think SMTP is
the way to go. I'm just nervous, never having ran Exchange before, I want to
be as sure as possible that things are working properly.

Thanks,

Mike


"aus" wrote:

Mike wrote:
Hi folks,

Looking for advice and opinions from those running Exchange on SBS2003. I
called my ISP yesterday to discuss what was needed on their end for me moving
to Exchange instead of having our ISP host our e-mail. We want features like
shared calendaring, and the ability for users to get to outlook from anywhere
so they can get all of their e-mail. The ISP's webmail will only let users
see a limited amount of mail stored on the ISP's server.
Anyway the fellow I talked to seemed knowledgable enough about what I was
trying to do, and he suggested that the easiest method was not to completely
host my own e-mail, but use the SBS2003 POP3 connector that comes with
SBS2003. They have many clients doing that with no issues, and the advantage
of that would be that if my SBS/Exchange server was down for some reason (and
it's already 3 years old), users could still use their webmail program
temporarily when we get our box back up and running. I asked if we would
lose any functionality by doing that as opposed to not using the POP3
connection, and he said no.

I know everyone has an opinion on this, and have read on this forum those
who think it's fine, and those who say not to use it. Can I get some
pros/cons and advice? It really doesn't matter to me, I just want to be able
to use Exchange, and it's features.

Thanks,

Mike

Hi, you'll often get a load of rhetoric not based in any fact when you
ask about POP3 - many people are a little entrenched.

I use both methods across a few sites. SMTP is nicer though more
problematic when things fail, but that is rarely.


So quick pros and cons:


1. POP3 collection is easy to use - any email program can be set to
receive email if Exchange goes off-line; keeping Outlook Express
pre-configured as a backup is a nice fall-back on POP3 sites.

2. BCC issues - BCCs (blind copies) are not handled with the POP
connector from MS - advice is to use a decent 3rd party POP connector.

[http://support.microsoft.com/kb/265739]


3. Efficient spam filtering is harder with POP collection - depending on
how you do it. SMTP is more efficient as filtering can drop a connection
before a download starts. If the spam control is on the client PC itself
(e.g. using the spam filter in Outlook 2003/07 or Spambayes etc.) then
its not an issue, otherwise you can get a POP connector with integrated
spam control.

Its easier to setup a wider range of 3rd party spam filters for SMTP but
some - like GFI - have POP connectors in them.


4. You control the downloading of mail with POP so the server cant be
blasted by spam attacks that probe the server for open relay or
directory harvesting - pop3 collection is safer in this respect as SMTP
allows anyone to connect to you at any time and 'test' you [ever looked
at a mail server being connected to in real time? - you'll see multiple
apparently random connects/disconnects]

5. A little more admin overhead with POP3 connectors - you have to
specify and enter a extra details per user - not a real issue unless you
have many users.

6. POP mail is collected at a specified interval whereas SMTP you get
mail as soon as its sent. The POP collection interval is selectable, but
you need a registry setting to get it to more frequently than 15 mins on
the MS connector. The MS connector is also poor in that it messes up if
its still downloading when the next cycle starts - advise is to use a
3rd party connector if you want to check mail every couple of minutes or so.

7. SMTP needs a static IP (recommended anyway) or a managed dynamic IP -
so that your mail is always directed correctly to you - this is a bit
more admin.


As far as Exchange features there is no difference in what the end user
will see as their mailboxes are always in Exchange anyway - so no
difference in functionality there.

I prefer SMTP, as most do, as its a cleaner more scalable solution - but
there isn't anything actually 'wrong' with POP3 collection and it
actually has a some advantages as well as disadvantages.



.

Relevant Pages

  • RE: 550 Authentication turned on in your email client
    ... If you use POP3 connector to download emails from ISP, ... How to troubleshoot the POP3 Connector in Windows Small Business Server 2003 ... In the Exchange System Manager, ... Expand the "SMTP" container. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: SMTP Outbound thru specific NIC card (on server with 2 NICs)
    ... would createing an SMTP connector work? ... One reason why dual-homing Exchange ... I changed the Configuration of the Default Virtual SMTP Virtual Server ... bridgehead on each Connector, and assign appropriate cost. ...
    (microsoft.public.exchange.connectivity)
  • RE: SBS2003 Email forwarding issue
    ... or the Exchange account with companyA.com which you would like to forward ... For Exchange Server 2003, a distribution list can be configured to ... using an unauthenticated SMTP session are rejected. ... To check the properties for the SmallBusiness SMTP Connector, ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: SMTP Connector continually failing
    ... Is this the POP3 connector or the SMTP connector?? ... I have exchange installed on an SBS 2003 server, ...
    (microsoft.public.exchange.admin)
  • Re: Smart Host Setup -- Problems
    ... So I want to create an SMTP Connector on each Exchange box? ... We recently put in a new spam appliance and that's also working fine. ...
    (microsoft.public.exchange.admin)
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