Exchange Server 2007 : Administrate Transport Settings - Manage Connectors (Send and Receive)

Problem : After Exchange is installed, you still need to configure how mail will be sent and received. This is done through Send and Receive connectors that seem to be in different locations in your console. How do you configure the connectors and where do you go to do so?

Solution : Although two default Receive connectors are automatically created on each Hub Transport server when you install Exchange, the Send connectors are not. Send connectors are needed to send messages from your organization either to your Edge Transport server or directly to the Internet.

Note

If an Edge Subscription is made with an Edge Transport server, a Send connector with an address space of “*” is configured automatically on the Hub Transport so that the Hub will send outgoing messages to the Edge Transport, which will send it to the Internet.

The Send connectors are configured at the Organization level, whereas the Receive connectors are configured on the Server level within the Navigation pane of your EMC. When you create these connectors, they are stored within the Active Directory.

Hub Transport servers can communicate between each other automatically because of implicit connectors that exist based upon the AD site topology. So, the primary focus of your Send and Receive connectors is to structure what happens when an email needs to come into your organization from an external source (either the Internet or an Edge Transport server) or when email needs to be sent out of your organization. When an email goes through a Hub Transport server and it sees that the SMTP address is not for any of the domains within the organization, it will route the message to a Send connector source server or servers (you can configure multiple source servers).

Note

One of the interesting aspects of the default Receive connectors is that although they exist, they are not configured to allow you to receive email from anonymous users. Persons who attempt to send you email will most likely receive the message NDR with the error “530 5.7.1 Client was not authenticated.” You must alter the configuration of the Receive connector to allow anonymous users.

To create a Send connector, perform the following:

1.	Open the EMC.
2.	From the Navigation Tree, expand the Organization Configuration work center, and click Hub Transport.
3.	Select the Send Connectors tab.
4.	From the Actions pane, select New Send Connector to open the wizard.
5.	On the Introduction screen, you have to provide a name for the connector and choose its intended use: Custom, Internal, Internet, or Partner. In the event you are configuring a Hub Transport without an Edge Transport, you might call it Internet and choose Internet for the intended use. Then click Next.
6.	On the Address Space tab, you need to configure the SMTP address space. In the event you are configuring all mail to be sent through this connector, you can use a “*”. Then click Next.
7.	Under Network Settings, you can use DNS MX records or smart hosts. Configure your options and choose Next.
8.	On the Source Server screen, you can associate the connector with one or more Hub Transport servers or with Edge Subscriptions. When complete, click Next.
9.	You are shown a Configuration Summary. When satisfied with your options, click New.
10.	After the connector is created, click Finish.

After the Send connector is created, you can go into the properties of the connector and make changes to any of the settings.

To create a Receive connector, perform the following:

1.	Open the EMC.
2.	From the Navigation Tree, expand the Server Configuration work center and click Hub Transport.
3.	Select the Receive Connectors tab.
4.	From the Actions pane, select New Receive Connector to open the wizard.
5.	On the Introduction screen, you have to provide a name for the connector and choose its intended use: Custom, Internal, Internet, Client, or Partner. For example, you might call it From Internet and choose Internet for the intended use. Then click Next.
6.	You are now faced with Local or Remote Internet Settings. Note that depending on the type of intended purpose you selected for your connector, you might be presented with local or remote Internet settings to configure (or both). This includes configuration of IP addresses for receiving mail and the ports to look for. After configuration, choose Next.
7.	Review your options on the Configuration Summary and choose New.
8.	When complete, click Finish.

Having mail come into your organization through a Receive connector allows you a modicum of control over the security involved and authentication allowed for that mail. After you have the Receive connector created, you can return to the Properties of the connector and make adjustments. Two tabs available to you that were not part of the creation process are the Authentication tab and the Permission Groups tab.

Under the Authentication tab, shown in Figure 1 , you can specify which security mechanisms are available for incoming connections, including the following:

Figure 1. The Authentication tab for Receive connector properties.

• Transport Layer Security (TLS)

• Enable Domain Security (Mutual Auth TLS)

• Basic Authentication

• Offer Basic Authentication Only After Starting TLS

• Exchange Server Authentication

• Integrated Windows Authentication

• Externally Secured (for example, with IPsec)

Permission Groups options include the following:

• Anonymous Users

• Exchange Users

• Exchange Servers

• Legacy Exchange Servers

• Partners