Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE--November 17, 2003

Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE, November 17, 2003, —brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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1. Commentary

2. FAQs

Q. How can I determine what groups a user belongs to from the command line in Windows Server 2003?
Q. How can I install the SMTP service under Windows Server 2003?
Q. Why don't I see any options for using the SMTP service in the Microsoft IIS Manager?
Q. How can I install the POP3 service under Windows Server 2003?
Q. How can I configure the POP3 service under Windows Server 2003?
Q. How can I configure the POP3 service from the command line in Windows Server 2003?
Q. How can I configure my mail client to use the Windows Server 2003 POP3 and SMTP services?
Q. With Windows Server 2003's built-in mail capabilities, will I still need Microsoft Exchange Server 2003?

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1. Commentary
by John Savill, FAQ Editor, [email protected]

This week, I tell you how to use the command line to determine what groups a user belongs to in Windows Server 2003, how to install and troubleshoot the SMTP service in Windows 2003, and how to install the POP3 service in Windows 2003. I also explain how to configure the POP3 service from within Windows 2003 and from the command line, how to configure your mail client to use Windows 2003's POP3 and SMTP services, and why you'll still need an external mail server that goes beyond the basic mail capabilities built into Windows 2003.

Around the industry this week, Microsoft has posted the Longhorn preview on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) along with some documentation, so go get it. GFI Software has announced GFI LANguard Security Event Log Monitor (S.E.L.M.) 5, the latest version of its Windows event-log management product. GFI LANguard S.E.L.M. immediately notifies administrators of problems so that they can automatically monitor crucial servers in real time and take corrective action. The software scans for crucial Microsoft IIS, Exchange Server, SQL Server, and Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000 events, in addition to important security events.

Winternals Software has released Recovery Manager 1.2, an automated, remote recovery solution for Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4.0 systems. The software fills the gap in traditional backup and recovery systems by restoring computer OSs to a previously known good state without affecting data that resides on each system. The software gathers only essential system files and registry information from machines throughout the enterprise instead of collecting all data or the entire volume from each computer, which is the standard method that disk-to-disk backup and imaging solutions use.

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2. FAQs

Q. How can I determine what groups a user belongs to from the command line in Windows Server 2003?

A. To display groups that a user belongs to, use the Dsget command with the -memberof switch. For example, when I type

dsget user "CN=John K. Savill,CN=Users,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com" -memberof

my computer displays

"CN=sale2,OU=Sales,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"
"CN=Domain Admins,CN=Users,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"
"CN=Domain Users,CN=Users,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"

These results show that the user is a member of three direct groups: sale2, Domain Admins, and Domain Users. Because the direct groups that the user belongs to might be members of other groups, which makes the user a member of those other groups as well, you can add the -expand switch to view implicit group memberships. For example, if I type

dsget user "CN=John K. Savill,CN=Users,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com" -memberof -expand

my computer displays

"CN=sale2,OU=Sales,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"
"CN=Domain Admins,CN=Users,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"
"CN=Domain Users,CN=Users,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"
"CN=sale1,OU=Sales,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"
"CN=Administrators,CN=Builtin,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"
"CN=Users,CN=Builtin,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"

Because I've expanded the list of groups, notice that groups sale1, Administrators, and Users appear in the list. In this example, sale2 is a member of sale1, Domains Admins is a member of Administrators, and Domain Users is a member of Users.

Q. How can I install the SMTP service under Windows Server 2003?

A. The version of Microsoft IIS that ships with Windows 2003 contains a service that you can use to deliver mail using SMTP. To install this SMTP service, perform the following steps:

Start the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet.
Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
After the Windows Components Wizard appears, select Applications Server and click Details.
Select Internet Information Services (IIS), then click Details.
Select SMTP Service, then click OK as this figure shows.
Continue to click OK to close all other dialog boxes until you're back at the Windows Components Wizard page, then click Next.

Windows 2003 will copy the files required for the SMTP service (you might be prompted to insert the installation CD-ROM) and configure the service. You can also install the SMTP service through the E-mail Services tool, which is a POP3 component that automatically installs SMTP. Windows 2003 configures the SMTP service to use a default server, and you can use the IIS Manager to modify the server settings.

Q. Why don't I see any options for using the SMTP service in the Microsoft IIS Manager?

A. If after you add the SMTP service you don't see a default SMTP Virtual Server in IIS Manager or see any options to create virtual servers, the SMTP registration most likely failed. To correct the problem, perform the following steps:

Select Start, Run.

Enter

regsvr32 %systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\smtpsnap.dll

to register the Smtpsnap DLL.

Click OK.

The SMTP options will be available without rebooting.

Q. How can I install the POP3 service under Windows Server 2003?

A. Windows 2003 includes a POP3 service that lets users receive and store messages for later retrieval. Coupled with the SMTP service, you can create a basic mail system using only Windows 2003's built-in functionality. To install the POP3 service, which also automatically installs the SMTP service, perform the following steps:

Start the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet.
Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
After the Windows Components Wizard appears, select Applications Server and click Details.
Select E-mail Services, then click Next (you can also click Details to install the optional Web administration element).

Windows 2003 will copy the files required (you might be prompted to insert the installation CD-ROM) and configure the service.

Q. How can I configure the POP3 service under Windows Server 2003?

A. After you install the POP3 service in Windows 2003, click Start, select the Administrative Tools menu item, then select POP3 Service. You can use this shortcut to add new POP3 domains and create mailboxes by performing the following steps:

Right-click the machine name, then select New, Domain.
Enter the domain name (e.g., savilltech.com), then click OK.
Select the new domain and select Add Mailbox from the list on the left-hand side of the tool to open a dialog box that lets you enter a name for the mailbox and optionally create an associated user. If you don't select "Create associated user for this mailbox," as this figure shows, the specified user must already exist.
After you add the new mailbox, Windows 2003 will display a dialog box that provides the information (e.g., server name, username) that you must enter to configure your mail client.

The online Help files are helpful and detail all the scenarios that you might encounter.

Q. How can I configure the POP3 service from the command line in Windows Server 2003?

A. The POP3 service that ships with Windows 2003 comes with the Winpop command-line utility that can perform all the functions of the GUI tool. To see the various options, type

winpop

from the command line. To quickly add a new mailbox, type

winpop add @.com

When new users enter their logon information, they must use the appropriate version of their mailbox name. Specifically, if you're using clear-text authentication, users must enter their full email address (e.g., [email protected]) for the account name. If you're using Secure Password Authentication (SPA), users must enter only the first part of their email address (e.g., test) for the account name.

Q. How can I configure my mail client to use the Windows Server 2003 POP3 and SMTP services?

A. No special configuration is required to use Windows 2003's POP3 and SMTP services--you should configure your POP3 client as you typically would, then simply enter your POP3 username and domain account or local account password, depending on your configuration. Windows 2003 uses the machine address for the POP3 and SMTP server name, as this figure shows. So, if you configured the POP3 server for Microsoft Outlook Express to "Require Secure Password Authentication (SPA) for all client connections," you'd select the "Log on using Secure Password Authentication" check box (the wording for this option varies on different Microsoft email clients). Because POP3 authentication details are typically sent as clear text across the network, enabling SPA will encrypt these details across the network.

Q. With Windows Server 2003's built-in mail capabilities, will I still need Microsoft Exchange Server 2003?

A. Windows 2003's mail capabilities are very basic and best suited for situations in which only limited send and receive abilities are needed. Exchange 2003 is a superior solution that's scalable for the largest enterprise and offers improvements in every area, including

IMAP/Messaging API (MAPI) support
Web client support
Outlook client feature support
Mobile device access
Fast backup and restore options through multiple database
Single instance storage (i.e., Exchange stores just one copy of a message that's sent to multiple people)
Online and offline backups
Advanced administration tools
Administration for an entire organization
Integrated virus scanning
Antispam capabilities
Clustering

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