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Re: [LUG] OT: Alternative POP3 Connectors for Exchange 2007?

 

On 09/04/2009 17:32, Grant Sewell wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Yes, I know this is a Linux list but I don't know of any DCWUGs (and
> I'm sick of the Windows support forums full of people who reckon
> Windows is the best thing since best things were invented).
>
> Might have a major issue at work of emails that have gone missing,
> essentially due to Microsoft's wonderful product.
>
> SBS2008 with Exchange 2007.  Our MX records point to a 1&1 server.
> Exchange's POP3 connector downloads these emails every 5 minutes and
> stores them in Exchange.  Brilliantly there is no option (that I can
> find) to "keep messages on POP3 server" - they get annihilated.  This
> wouldn't be a problem except...
>
> An update failed (see the other topic for my rant about it).  This
> prevented the backup service from running, so 10pm last night was the
> most recent backup.  It did not, however, stop the POP3 Connector
> service from running, so /mail was still being pulled down throughout
> the night (bear in mind that this company deals with a lot of
> international customers who would have been emailing us during this
> time).
>
> So, there is a window between 10pm last night and 9am this morning
> (when I found the server in a very poorly state) where the emails were
> being retrieved, stored in Exchange, but not backed up.  (My backup
> schedule is for every 3 hours).
>
> To avoid this in the future, I'd like to use an alternative POP3
> connector (well, there are a lot of other things I'd prefer to use, but
> for some crazy reason (even after this massive cock-up) they still want
> to keep the Windows server) that does *not* delete mail from it's
> parent.
>
> Any (sensible) suggestions?
>
> Cheers all.
> A very frustrated Grant.
>
>    
There seems to be all sorts of non-free solutions which seem to cost a 
couple of hundred quid but I can't find anything directly relating to 
the Microsoft Exchange POP3 connector.  Maybe Microsoft left it out? 
(although I presume it would be a registry hack knowing Microsoft).  I 
wonder if a workaround would be to setup a Linux box on an old machine 
to download the mail using POP3 and then forwarding it on via SMTP to 
the Exchange server?  That way you can presumably either keep a local 
copy on the Linux box either until the disc starts to get full or for a 
specified amount of time (I'm guessing) or get it to leave the mail on 
the server.

Not an elegant solution but it might at least give you a bit of 
increased safety?

Would the company you work for let you have any Linux box, even say if 
it was using an old recycled PC?

Rob


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