Connecting to an Enterprise LAN

[zChris]

Hi,

Does anyone connect to an enterprise local area network? We are running a domain based network at work -- Active Directory, ISA, Exchange 2000. I was successfully able to connect to the network and even was able to sync my files on my PC to the Mac using a Mac app called Chronosync.

However, I am having problems connecting to Exchange using Entourage X. I enter the account ID, password, and domain but it seems that the domain and mail server cannot be contacted by Entourage. I next tried doing manual setup but cannot seem to connect to the exchange server even after placing both the server's name and IP address on the relevant field. I assume that WebDAV is running on the same exchange server as well so I put in the same server name/IP address but have no luck whatsoever.

Any insights, anyone?

Thanks,

Chris

[gonz]

Originally posted by zChris
Any insights, anyone?

Hello zChris -- you need to update your copy of Entourage X to v.10.1.4 for Entourage X to act as a client for Exchange Server.

Caveats to installing Microsoft Exchange Update for Entourage X (Office v. X 10.1.4 Update):

• Works only with Exchange Server 2000 with Service Pack 2 or later.
• Mac OS X 10.1 or later
• You must have Microsoft Office v. X 10.1.2 Update or later. (10.1.3 is not required.)
• In order to retain Palm connectivity after the update after the update, you need to install another update, the Microsoft Handheld Synchronization for Entourage X version 10.1.4.

More info here. Good luck!

[ginoledesma]

One thing to note is that MS Entourage is not a full-fledged MS Exchange client. The last MS Exchange client for Mac is MS Outlook 2001, which only works under Mac OS 9.x or Classic.

Refer to this flowchart of MS Exchange needs on the Mac:

Source: Microsoft Exchange Services for the Mac

I'd recommend having your systems/mail administrator setup Outlook Web Access if you want to utilize most, if not all, of the features of MS Exchange.

[Edited on 6-15-2004 by ginoledesma]

[zChris]

I got it running. Apparently, the first update took a really long time so I was actually syncing already without even knowing it, no progress bar or anything.

I stumbled upon it last night when I somehow got the standard MS calendar sound alert, which puzzled me because all I had turned on was the Mac.

Apparently, the calendar and contacts synced but the mail did not complete. I hooked it up this morning and everything synced properly. I had just put in the private IP address of the exchange server. I also put in the exchange server's private IP in the bypass proxy field on Entourage's proxy options page but I dunno if this was material in making it work.

I have yet to make directory services work as I cant seem to access the LDAP server and my sysad wont give me the IP address of the Active Directory.

In any case, it does work, keeping the data offline is working fine. Now I am just contemplating whether to buy PocketMac GoBetween to enable sync of Entourage to the Address Book and iCal via iSync.

Last step is is to get my VPN to the office running and my transformation to Mac is complete!

Thanks for the feedback gonz and gino. those resources you pointed to were actually among the key pages that drove my decision to switch to Mac as well.

Chris

[ginoledesma]

The VPN part is easy, regardless of whether your office implements L2TP or Microsoft's PPTP. Mac OS X supports either. You'll just need to get the IP/hostname of the server to connect to and your account. From there, you can run Internet Connect and configure the VPN session.

The Active Directory part may be harder. While Samba 3.0 (used by Mac OS 10.3.x) supports AD, I'm not familiar about the required config. Friends of mine have opted to using DAVE instead to simplify things.

[zChris]

Originally posted by ginoledesma
The VPN part is easy, regardless of whether your office implements L2TP or Microsoft's PPTP. Mac OS X supports either. You'll just need to get the IP/hostname of the server to connect to and your account. From there, you can run Internet Connect and configure the VPN session.

The Active Directory part may be harder. While Samba 3.0 (used by Mac OS 10.3.x) supports AD, I'm not familiar about the required config. Friends of mine have opted to using DAVE instead to simplify things.

I dont know a lot about VPNs. I do know that we are running IPSec on a Cisco VPN Concentrator. I dont know the back end as the company I work for offers managed VPN services and I think they connected it to our corporate network.

I tried accessing via L2TP and put in the correct IP/Hostname and my login creditials but I couldnt connect. I havent tried PPTP because I cant seem to remove my old L2TP config from the Mac. Perhaps I made the wrong choice and PPTP was the one I should have chosen.

Will try again when I get home. I may tryout Dave but I am pretty happy with what i've got now. I am all connected to the network and in general can surf, connect to exchange, and access network shares. The directory would make it perfect and especially the VPN so I can make use of free GlobeQuest WIZ.

[zChris]

I got it working! I tried PPTP and L2TP on the built in VPN clients and neither worked to connect to our Cisco VPN setup. I was able to find a Cisco VPN client on the internet, just put in the IP address and group loginid and password, and it worked! all I had to do was enter my login credentials.

I then started entourage and everything synced seamlessly.

I love my Mac

Thanks for the help gonz and gino.

[elbert]

Chris, I told you, you won't regret the switch Glad to hear that you got these things resolved. That's what PhilMUG is all about.

Are you the first and only Mac user in your organization?

[zChris]

Originally posted by elbertc
Chris, I told you, you won't regret the switch Glad to hear that you got these things resolved. That's what PhilMUG is all about.

Are you the first and only Mac user in your organization?

I understand that there is another Mac floating around in the other building somewhere but I dont know if it is connected to the network. Speaking to the IT group, i may be the only person at work with a connected Mac.

[hannibal]

i'm trying to configure my entourage 2004 to connect to our network but when i asked our sysad about webdav and ldap and whether it's activated or not, he told me they won't readily activate it for some reason.

is there any other way i can make this work without the webdav and ldap being activated? is there a workaround aside from virtualpc?