XWEB: OWA Server Connectivity over a Firewall or Proxy Which is Using Network Address Translation Between Public and Private Networks

• Microsoft Outlook Web Access, version 5.5 Service Packs 1, 2

SYMPTOMS

When Outlook Web Access (OWA) is installed on a separate server than the Exchange Server computer, and they are separated by a firewall or proxy that is performing Network Address Translation (NAT) between a public network and a private network, OWA may experience connectivity problems.

CAUSE

OWA creates a virtual MAPI client, which then communicates with the Exchange Server computer by means of remote procedure call (RPC) communications, in the same manner as an Outlook client.

When the IP packets containing the RPC information get edited during translation, you lose the RPC connectivity information, which causes the OWA virtual client not to connect to the Exchange Server computer. Additionally, the OWA server may have problems resolving the name of the Exchange Server computer behind the firewall or proxy server.

WORKAROUND

A work around for non-Windows NT-based firewalls or proxy servers is to perform a one-to-one translation between the two networks. This is also called opening a pipe or tunnel between the public and private networks. This translation basically takes all requests for a specific address on the public network and passes them directly to the private network. For additional information on configuring a one-to-one translation, please refer to your manufacturer's documentation.

A one-to-one translation or pipe does not work for Windows NT-based firewalls and proxy servers because the OWA server attempts to bind to the end-point mapper port (EPM), port 135, on the firewall when the virtual client is started. The firewall or proxy server does not return the correct Exchange Server connectivity information to the OWA server.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, please refer to the following Request for Comments:

RFC 1631 - The IP Network Address Translator (NAT)
RFC 1918 - Address Allocation for Private Internets

Additional query words:

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:5.5
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto