Mac RSC: MM0741: Configuring the Remote Server Connection (99465)

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  Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File)
           MM0741: CONFIGURING THE REMOTE SERVER CONNECTION
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                                                   Revision Date: 4/93
                                                      No Disk Included

The following information applies to Microsoft Mail for Macintosh,
version 3.1.

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INTRODUCTION
============

This document describes how to configure the Microsoft Mail Remote
Server Connection to automatically connect and exchange information
between two servers. The Remote Server Connection requires
AppleTalk(R) Remote Access to establish communications through modems
and phone lines. At each specified connect time, the Remote Server
Connection initiates a remote connection between the two servers via
AppleTalk Remote Access. Once a connection is made, mail and other
server data are transferred between the servers based on the message
routing configuration. Therefore, to successfully use the Remote
Server Connection program, you must first configure AppleTalk Remote
Access and message routing.

PLANNING ROUTING
================

To configure the Remote Server Connection, you must first plan routing
and set site names. To create a bridge between two sites, you must
designate a bridge server at each site. Because the server you select
will carry additional network traffic and will have AppleTalk Remote
Access installed on it, you may want to choose a faster server or a
server with fewer mail users. You also need to determine which server
will be the "calling server" and which will act as the "answering
server". To configure the servers to dial each other, each server will
act as both a calling server and an answering server.

As an example, all the servers in Seattle could be in a distinct mail
site named "Seattle," while the servers in Minneapolis could be in a
site named "Minneapolis." Servers that share the same site name and
same site password will automatically exchange user lists, mail, and
general server messages. For two site names to communicate, message
routing must be configured between the two sites.

To place these servers in their logical site names, perform the
following steps:

1. From any Microsoft Mail workstation, sign in as the network manager
   to the server you are adding to a site.

2. Run the Mail Network Admin program.

3. From the Admin menu, choose Set Site Name. A dialog box will
   appear.

4. In the Site Name box, type the name for the site.

5. In the Password box, type the password to be used by all the
   servers in the site. This step is optional.

6. Choose the Update button.

7. Repeat steps 3-6 for each server you want to include in the site.

  Important: All servers in a particular site must have the same site
  name and password.

DESIGNATING BRIDGEHEAD AND COMMUNICATION SERVERS
================================================

When communicating between two mail sites, one server from each site
will be responsible for all modem communication and message routing.
This designated server is known as a "bridgehead" server and is
responsible for passing all messages from one site to another. You
should choose a server that has more processing power available or
fewer users defined to compensate for the additional processing the
server will need to do.

The server you select will be responsible for both message routing and
communications using the Remote Server Connection program. After you
configure message routing (as discussed in a later section), all other
servers will automatically be configured to send information to the
bridgehead for processing.

As an example, the MIS server can act as the bridgehead for the
Seattle site, and the Field Sales server can act as the bridgehead for
the Minneapolis site. These two mail servers will have AppleTalk
Remote Access and Remote Server Connection installed on them.

Because both the MIS server and the Field Sales server are
bridgeheads, they will pass any data from other servers in their
common site to the bridgehead at the other site. That is, both the
Corporate Marketing server and the R & D server will pass all
information destined for servers at the Minneapolis site to the MIS
server. The MIS server will then route all information over the
asynchronous connection to the Field Sales server. The Field Sales
will, in-turn, pass any information to the Field Marketing server.

Message routing configuration will be covered later in this document.
To correctly configure routing, the two servers must exchange some
basic information. The following section explains how to enable this
exchange to take place.

INSTALLING APPLETALK REMOTE ACCESS
==================================

The Remote Server Connection relies on AppleTalk Remote Access (ARA)
to establish a remote AppleTalk connection. Pages 4 and 5 of the
"AppleTalk Remote Access User's Guide" outline how to install ARA. You
must install the ARA software on both the calling server and the
answering server.

Setting Up Remote Access to Answer Calls (Answering Server)
-----------------------------------------------------------

Before your Macintosh can answer calls, you need to connect your
computer to an appropriate modem. For more information on modems, see
Appendix A of the "AppleTalk Remote Access User's Guide". Once you've
properly connected the modem and installed the Remote Access software,
configure the software to answer calls:

1. Run the Remote Access program.

2. From the Setup menu, choose Remote Access Setup. This opens the
   Remote Access Setup control panel.

3. From the Modem pop-up menu, choose your modem type.

4. From the Port pop-up menu, choose the port to which your modem is
   connected.

5. Select the Answer Calls check box.

6. The Remote Server Connection will only stay connected as long as is
   necessary to transfer mail and other information; therefore, you do
   not need to set a time in the Maximum Connection Time: Minutes box.

7. In the Allow Access To field, select This Macintosh Only. This is
   the recommended setting.

Setting Up Remote Access to Make Calls (Calling Server)
-------------------------------------------------------

Before you can make a call with Remote Access, you need to do the
following:

1. Install the Remote Access software. Follow the installation
   procedures in the "Introduction" section of the "AppleTalk Remote
   Access User's Guide".

2. Connect a modem to your Macintosh and configure ARA for your
   machine. Refer to steps 1-4 in the "Setting Up Remote Access to
   Answer Calls" section above.

3. The Macintosh you are calling must have your name and password
   configured in order to answer your call. Ensure that an account was
   set correctly by the computer's owner and that you enter matching
   information when you call. To answer your call, the Macintosh you
   are calling does not need the Remote Access program open; however,
   the other Macintosh and its modem must be turned on.

4. Obtain the telephone number of the modem connected to the Macintosh
   you want to call.

5. Create a connection document, following the instructions in the
   "Creating a Connection Document" section below.

Creating a Connection Document
------------------------------

The information ARA and the Remote Server Connection need to access
another Macintosh is stored in a "connection document".

1. Run the Remote Server Connection program. After the program has
   loaded, choose Quit from the File menu. This step creates a default
   folder that will be used later.

2. Run the Remote Access program. A new untitled connection document
   appears. You can also create a new untitled connection document by
   choosing New from the File menu if the program is running already.

3. Under Connect As, select the Registered User option.

4. Type in the name and password of a user who has been defined on the
   answering server. (To register a user on the answering server,
   choose Users & Groups from the Remote Access Setup menu.)

5. Type the phone number of the answering server. A comma designates a
   pause. You can use dashes for readability, but the program doesn't
   require them.

6. Select the Save My Password check box.

7. From the File menu, choose Save to save the connection document.

    Important: The name of your connection document must be identical
    to the Mail site you are calling, NOT the Mail server you are
    connecting to.

8. Save the connection document in System Folder:Preferences:MS Mail
   Remote Sites.

ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PAIR OF SERVERS
======================================================

Once you have created and saved your connection document, select the
Connect button to establish communication between the two servers.
Depending on the size of the two networks, it may take at least
fifteen minutes before the two servers "discover" each other. Once the
servers are communicating, create a routing bridge so the servers can
exchange information.

CONFIGURING MESSAGE ROUTING
===========================

For servers in different sites to communicate, it is necessary to
configure routing. A routing bridge is bi-directional: a bridge does
not exist until each site has configured a Mail server as a bridge
server to a Mail server at the other site. To configure routing
between the two remote servers, perform the following steps:

  1. From any Microsoft Mail workstation, sign in as the network
     manager to the server you are adding the bridge to.

  2. Run the Mail Network Admin program.

  3. From the Admin menu, choose Configure Routing. The Site-To-
     Site Routing dialog box appears.

     The From field displays the name of the server you are signed in to
     and its site name.

     The To list contains the names of the sites the server can be
     bridged to. The list includes all the sites it has detected
     directly and all the sites it can bridge to indirectly through
     another site. If the remote site and server name do not appear in
     this list, leave the remote connection up for a few more minutes
     for the site to be "discovered."

  4. From the To list, select the name of the site you want to
     bridge the server to.

  5. Choose the Bridged To Server pop-up menu to display a list of
     servers in the site you have selected.

  6. From the Bridged To Server list, choose the server at the
     other site that your server will bridge to.

  7. Select the desired options for importing and exporting user
     lists.

  8. Choose the Update button.

  9. To complete the bridge, the network manager for the other
     site should follow these steps to establish routing to your site.
     If you know the network manager's name and password, you can sign
     in to the remote server while ARA is still connected.

 10. Return to the ARA program and disconnect from the remote site.

RUNNING THE REMOTE SERVER CONNECTION
====================================

After you use ARA to configure the remote connection and you establish
a routing bridge, use the Remote Server Connection software to
schedule and automate the connection times.

With the Remote Server Connection program, you can choose what hours
and days of the week to connect, or you can choose to connect whenever
there is urgent or outgoing mail. You can also temporarily disable the
connection settings without erasing any of the previously scheduled
times and days.

  Important: To communicate with another server, you must first run
  the Remote Server Connection program on the calling server. To make
  sure the Remote Server Connection is running every time you start
  the calling server, create an alias for the Remote Server Connection
  program and place it in the Start Up Items folder in the calling
  server's System Folder.

CONFIGURING THE REMOTE SERVER CONNECTION PROGRAM
================================================

1. Copy the Remote Server Connection program from the Microsoft Mail
   Extras disk to the server Macintosh.

2. On the server, run the Remote Server Connection program. Microsoft
   Mail displays the Remote Server Connection dialog box, which lists
   connection details and call status.

Next Connection Shows when and where the server will make its next
scheduled remote connection.

Current Connection Displays information about a remote connection
during the connection; when the remote connection is disconnected,
the information is cleared from this box.

Status Log Displays messages that record the activity of the remote
server connection. You can cut, copy, and paste messages from the
Status Log box into a document and view them in a word processor.

The status messages are also automatically copied and appended to
the MS Mail Call Log file in the MS Mail Remote Sites folder. This
log file can be opened and printed using any word processing
program.

To set Remote Server Connection times

1. On the calling server, log in as the network manager.

2. Run the Remote Server Connection program.

3. From the Administration menu, choose Connection Times.  You can
   also set connection times with the Network Administrator
   application, by choosing the Connection Times command from the
   Admin menu.

  Important: If the Connection Times menu option is unavailable, the
  account you are signed into is not the network manager's.

4. In the Connection Documents list, select the name of the Mail site
   you want to call.

5. Select the boxes and options that correspond to the times or
   conditions when you want to make the remote access connection:

   - Selecting "If There Is Urgent Mail" makes the connection if any
    outgoing mail marked as Urgent is received by the server.

   - Selecting "If There Is Outgoing Mail" makes the connection if any
    outgoing mail is received by the server.

6. Choose the Update button.

The Remote Server Connection has now been configured and your mail
servers will connect and exchange information at the times specified.

COMMON PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
=============================

The following describes specific problems, possible causes, and
their solutions.

 - "Time out value exceeded" error in Session Log.

       Possible Cause: ARA on the answering server has been configured
       to allow access to the entire network.

       Open the Remote Access Setup Control Panel and change the
       setting to Allow Access To This Macintosh Only. For more
       information, see the "Setting Up Remote Access to Answer Calls"
       section above.

 - "Can't find site <site name>" error in Session Log.

       Below is an example of the Session Log when this error occurs:

            Connected to zone ZONE A
            Scanning for site A
            Transferring data to site A
            Can't find site A
            Performing full zone scan
            ...

       Possible Cause: The ARA connection document has been named
       after the server you are calling. However, the document should
       correspond to the mail site.

       Rename the connection document in System Folder:Preferences:MS
       Mail Remote Sites. For more information, see the "Creating a
       Connection Document" section above.

       When the entry "Transferring data to site A" appears in the
       log, it means that the Remote Server Connection has told the
       local server to begin transferring mail to the other site. If
       the local server can't find the bridge server on the other
       site, it returns the "Can't find site A" error to the Remote
       Server Connection.

       Additional Possible Cause: The AppleTalk network is poorly
       terminated.

       Check both sides of the LocalTalk network for correct
       termination.

 - Mail servers connect but no mail or data is transferred, although
   the status window reflects that data was transferred.

       Possible Cause: You are using Microsoft Mail Server version
       3.1.

       There are some problems with the original Mail 3.1 release
       where remote servers connect but do not exchange any data. This
       problem is corrected in the 3.1a release of the Microsoft Mail
       Server. To obtain the latest version of the mail server,
       contact Microsoft Inside Sales at (800) 227-4679.

 - Mail server dials continuously.

       Possible Cause: Urgent mail has been sent and you are using
       Microsoft Mail Server version 3.1.

       There are some problems with the original Mail 3.1 release
       where remote servers attempt to process urgent mail and dial
       continuously. The servers connect, but the message is not
       transmitted due to the problem explained above. Mail therefore
       continues to attempt to send the message. This is corrected in
       the 3.1a release of the Microsoft Mail Server. To obtain the
       latest version of the mail server, contact Microsoft Inside
       Sales at (800) 227-4679.

 - There are no connection documents listed in the configuration
   dialog box of the Remote Server Connection (RSC).

       Possible Cause: The RSC program has not been quit from since
       the ARA document was saved to the MS Mail Remote sites folder.

       Quit the RSC program and re-open.