Firewall Ports Keep Changing for Exchange

Hello -

We have an Exchange 2003 Server running on a GSX Virtual Server. Each night
the virtual server is stopped for backup and restarted. When the users come
in each morning, their Outlook desktop client is found to be blocked by the
firewall on the Exchange Server. It seems we're having to open a different
1400 port each time and afterwards their Outlook desktop clients can connect.
We're using Windows Server 2003's firewall. The store.exe seems to be the
process that is using the 1400 ports. It is a privileged application on the
firewall. Any ideas as to how the firewall/client might be reconfigured so
the needed ports are opened and we do not have to open new ports all the
time? Can store.exe, or the Outlook desktop client, be forced to use a
specified port?

Thanks,
Lynnette

Karl
Thu Aug 04 18:21:02 CDT 2005

There is a KB article at www.microsoft.com/support on how to configure
Exchange to use static RPC ports so it can go through firewalls. It
involves editing a registry value. With RPC, applications usually make an
initial connection to the port mapper port, in this case TCP 135, in order
to find out what other port or ports are listening for that application.
See below:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;270836
www.google.com/search?q=site%3Amicrosoft.com+static+port+exchange+registry+f
irewall



"Lynnette" <Lynnette@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:79A0C1AF-DA73-406C-A9CA-6224F6D09A6A@microsoft.com...
> Hello -
>
> We have an Exchange 2003 Server running on a GSX Virtual Server. Each
night
> the virtual server is stopped for backup and restarted. When the users
come
> in each morning, their Outlook desktop client is found to be blocked by
the
> firewall on the Exchange Server. It seems we're having to open a
different
> 1400 port each time and afterwards their Outlook desktop clients can
connect.
> We're using Windows Server 2003's firewall. The store.exe seems to be
the
> process that is using the 1400 ports. It is a privileged application on
the
> firewall. Any ideas as to how the firewall/client might be reconfigured
so
> the needed ports are opened and we do not have to open new ports all the
> time? Can store.exe, or the Outlook desktop client, be forced to use a
> specified port?
>
> Thanks,
> Lynnette

Paul
Thu Aug 04 19:21:02 CDT 2005

You pretty much should only have to do this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/298369/

"Lynnette" wrote:

> Hello -
>
> We have an Exchange 2003 Server running on a GSX Virtual Server. Each night
> the virtual server is stopped for backup and restarted. When the users come
> in each morning, their Outlook desktop client is found to be blocked by the
> firewall on the Exchange Server. It seems we're having to open a different
> 1400 port each time and afterwards their Outlook desktop clients can connect.
> We're using Windows Server 2003's firewall. The store.exe seems to be the
> process that is using the 1400 ports. It is a privileged application on the
> firewall. Any ideas as to how the firewall/client might be reconfigured so
> the needed ports are opened and we do not have to open new ports all the
> time? Can store.exe, or the Outlook desktop client, be forced to use a
> specified port?
>
> Thanks,
> Lynnette

Lanwench
Sun Aug 07 10:11:03 CDT 2005



In news:79A0C1AF-DA73-406C-A9CA-6224F6D09A6A@microsoft.com,
Lynnette <Lynnette@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
> Hello -
>
> We have an Exchange 2003 Server running on a GSX Virtual Server.
> Each night the virtual server is stopped for backup and restarted.
> When the users come in each morning, their Outlook desktop client is
> found to be blocked by the firewall on the Exchange Server. It seems
> we're having to open a different 1400 port each time and afterwards
> their Outlook desktop clients can connect. We're using Windows Server
> 2003's firewall. The store.exe seems to be the process that is using
> the 1400 ports. It is a privileged application on the firewall. Any
> ideas as to how the firewall/client might be reconfigured so the
> needed ports are opened and we do not have to open new ports all the
> time? Can store.exe, or the Outlook desktop client, be forced to use
> a specified port?
>
> Thanks,
> Lynnette

OT, but you should be doing online backups of Exchange, which do not require
stopping services or dismounting stores. Also, I don't know that I'd want to
run my production Exchange server in a virtual server, but that's just
me....what is it that makes you need to restart the virtual server anyway?