XGEN: Disabling Protocols in Exchange 2000 (291330)

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, you can easily disable the POP3, IMAP4, NNTP, and HTTP protocols for an entire server by clicking to clear the appropriate check box in the Exchange Server 5.5 Administrator program, under the Protocols object at either the Site or Server level. Exchange 2000 uses Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) for these protocols, so there is a different procedure for disabling these protocols, as explained in the "More Information" section.

NOTE: You can still disable protocols on a per-user basis in Active Directory Users and Computers by clicking Advanced on the View menu.

MORE INFORMATION

You can stop the Microsoft Exchange POP3 and Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 services and set them to manual, or you can stop their respective virtual servers. You will lose these protocols, but everything else will functioning properly.

However, if you disable the World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC) and Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) service, there may be problems because some basic functionality requires these services. In addition to servicing Outlook Web Access (OWA) using the HTTP protocol, the W3SVC is required to administer public folders. SMTP also is required to deliver mail internal to Exchange 2000, as well as servicing Internet mail. The Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) is only needed to install Exchange 2000. When Setup has completed, the service can be safely turned off. In the case of the other protocols, you must not stop the services.

The following list provides alternatives to stopping the services:

HTTP. You can disable access on a per-user basis. To do so, in Active Directory Users and Computers, open the user's properties, click the Exchange Advanced tab, and then click the Protocol Settings button.
SMTP. Every e-mail message needs to go through the SMTP stack. If you want to restrict users from being able to send or receive Internet mail, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
247121 XFOR: Incoming Internet Mail Cannot Be Regulated on a Per-User Basis
265293 XFOR: How to Configure the SMTP Connector in Exchange 2000
IIS services (or individual virtual servers). You can also pause all IIS services or individual virtual servers, which allows them to continue to service clients that are already connected but does not allow new clients to connect. In the case of SMTP, this will allow you to flush queues.