Understanding the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard

The Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard is designed to correctly configure settings for your network, firewall, secure Web site, and e-mail services that are used when connecting your computer running Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server 2003 to the Internet. Additionally, if the network configuration of your server becomes corrupted or changed in any way, you can restore the configuration simply by running the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard again.

Understanding the wizard components

Four components make up the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard: Networking, Firewall, Secure Web Site, and E-mail. Depending on your computer configuration, the components you see in the wizard may vary. For information about each of these components, see the following specific component sections.

Configure networking

When you start the wizard, you must first define the type of connection that your server will use to connect to the Internet. The wizard is designed to support multiple types of connections to the Internet using either a broadband device or a dial-up modem.

When you run the wizard, you will select whether to connect to the Internet using a broadband connection or a dial-up connection.

Broadband connection. This connection type requires a high-speed connection to the Internet. The broadband connection has three options for connecting to your Internet service provider (ISP):

  • A local router. Requires a router, such as a dial-on-demand router or ISDN router. An IP address is supplied by your ISP for the external interface (the interface that connects to the Internet) of the router. For this connection type, your server can be configured with either one or two network adapters. If your computer uses one network adapter, the local router is the gateway and firewall to the Internet, as shown in Figure 1. As a result, the firewall provided by Windows Small Business Server 2003 cannot be used to secure your local network from unauthorized Internet access. To secure your local network, you must use a firewall device. If the firewall device supports the UPnP framework, you can still use the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard to configure firewall settings on the device. If the device does not support the UPnP framework, you must manually configure the settings. For more information about the settings, see Configuration Settings for an Existing Firewall Device in Appendix C, "Network Configuration Settings," of Getting Started (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=46897). Figure 1 - Router connection and one network adapter Note
    • If your broadband connection to the Internet uses a router device and a PPPoE connection, you must configure the PPPoE settings on your router, even if the device supports the UPnP framework. If your computer has two network adapters, it is the default gateway to the Internet, as shown in Figure 2. In this configuration you can use the firewall provided by Windows Small Business Server 2003 to secure your local network. However, if you already have a device on the network that provides firewall services, you will have to either disable the service or manually configure the necessary firewall settings on the device. Figure 2 - Router connection and two network adapters
  • A broadband connection that requires a user name and password. Also known as Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE). Requires authentication information and uses a networking device, such as a cable modem or DSL modem. Two network adapters are required for this broadband connection, as shown in Figure 3. One network adapter is used to connect your computer to the Internet and the other is used to connect your computer to the local network (and client computers). If your broadband connection uses authentication information, but your connection uses a router, you must use the router option as your broadband connection type. In this configuration, your computer becomes a gateway to the Internet so the firewall provided by Windows Small Business Server 2003 can be used to secure the local network from unauthorized Internet access. Figure 3 - PPPoE connection
  • A direct broadband connection. Requires a network device, such as a cable modem or DSL modem. An IP address is not assigned to the actual Internet connection device. Additionally, two network adapters are required, as shown in Figure 4. One network adapter is used to connect your computer to the Internet and the other is used to connect your computer to the local network (and client computers). Figure 4 - Direct broadband connection In this configuration, your server is the gateway to the Internet. To protect your local network from unauthorized Internet access, it is highly recommended that you also enable the firewall provided by Windows Small Business Server 2003.

Dial-up connection. This connection type requires a dial-up connection to the Internet using either a modem or terminal adapter, as shown in Figure 5. You can enable the firewall to protect your local network from unauthorized Internet access.

Figure 5 - Dial-up connection

Configure firewall

You have the option to configure the firewall for your local network using the wizard if one of the following criteria is met:

  • You are using the dial-up connection option to the Internet.
  • You are using the direct broadband connection to the Internet. (This option requires that your server has two network adapters.)
  • You are using the direct broadband connection that requires a user name and password (also known as PPPoE).
  • You are using a local router on your network that supports the UPnP framework.

Important

  • If your configuration for connecting to the Internet does not meet the criteria for using the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard to configure your firewall settings, you must manually configure a firewall device on your network to secure your local network from unauthorized Internet access. For more information about configuring these settings, see Configuration Settings for an Existing Firewall Device in Appendix C, "Network Configuration Settings," of Getting Started (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=46897).

If you are using the firewall provided by Windows Small Business Server 2003, when you enable the firewall in the wizard, Routing and Remote Access is configured as the firewall unless Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000 is detected. If ISA Server 2000 is detected, then it is configured by the wizard as your firewall.

Note

  • If you select to enable the Virtual Private Network (VPN) service through the firewall, you must also configure VPN access on your server by using the Remote Access Wizard. For more information, see Using the Remote Access Wizard.

Configure secure Web site

Use the wizard to allow access to specific Web services or to your entire Web site for authorized users on the Internet. The specific Web services for which you can allow access include: Outlook Web Access, Outlook Mobile Access, server performance and usage reports, Remote Web Workplace, and the Windows SharePoint Services internal Web site.

When you allow access to a Web service, the service is automatically configured to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to secure communications between your server and a Web browser. For more information about allowing access to Web services from the Internet, see "Predefined options for Web services" in Firewall Settings for your network.

Important

  • If you create sites within the https://companyweb site in Windows SharePoint Services, the sites will also be accessible to the Internet when you allow access to the internal Web site.

Configure e-mail

If Exchange server is installed on your server, you can use this wizard to specify how you will send and receive Internet e-mail. Based on the information specified in the wizard, a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) connector necessary for your Exchange server is automatically configured. You can also configure the Microsoft Connector for POP3 Mailboxes to download mail from POP3 mailboxes at an ISP. For more information about the POP3 connector, see Understanding the Microsoft Connector for POP3 Mailboxes.

When you enable Internet e-mail, you can also enable the option to remove specific types of e-mail attachments from incoming Internet e-mail.

Wizard requirements

Running the wizard requires that you enter specific information about your connection to the Internet. You can use the Required Information for Connecting to the Internet form to record this information.

Additionally, consider the following specific requirements for running the wizard:

  • The local network adapter must be assigned a static IP address.
  • If you are using a second network adapter to connect to the Internet, the adapter must be connected to the Internet connection device.
  • You must be logged on as a member of the Domain Admins security group.

Running the wizard

The Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard can be accessed from either Server Management or the To Do List.

  • To access the wizard from Server Management, click Start, and then click Server Management. In the console tree, click Internet and E-mail. In the details pane, click Connect to the Internet. For more information, see Connect to the Internet.
  • To access the wizard from the To Do List, click the Connect to the Internet To Do List task. For more information about the To Do List, see Complete the To Do List.

Notes

  • If you need to reconfigure settings for your network, firewall, secure Web site, or e-mail, you can rerun the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard. If you do not want to modify settings defined in the last run of the wizard for a specific component, select the option to not make changes for that component. You can then bypass the associated pages for that component.
  • Running the wizard does not require your computer to restart. However, several services are restarted by the wizard, which may result in a temporary loss of Internet connectivity.
  • On the last page of the wizard, you can print, save, or e-mail the settings configured by the wizard. The settings are not configured until you click Finish on the last page of the wizard.

Running the wizard using the script

You can also run the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard by using a Visual Basic® script that is automatically generated by the wizard each time the wizard is run. This file can then be used for the following purposes:

  • To restore the configuration of the computer from which the script was generated.
  • To reconfigure the computer from which the script was generated by modifying the settings in the script.
  • To configure another computer running Windows Small Business Server 2003 by modifying the settings in the script.

For more information about the script file, see Understanding the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard script.