How Outlook Web Access Works

To access the logon page for the Microsoft Exchange Server computer, users start their Web browser and connect to the Internet, specifying the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of their Active Server. The Web browser then displays an introductory Web page that prompts users to log on using their mailbox name. Users must type their Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox alias and press ENTER. The Enter Network Password dialog box appears, prompting users for their user name and password. Users must type their domain name and Windows NT user account alias in the User name box in the format: domain\Windows NT user account alias, followed by their Windows NT user account password in the Password box.

Note   The user's Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox name and Windows NT user account alias can be different. This is because the Windows NT user management utilities and the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program allow separate setup of the Windows NT user account and the Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox.

After typing the complete logon information, users can access their private mailbox and public folder data. Microsoft Exchange Server Messaging Application Program Interface (MAPI) data, Active Server scripts (.Asp files), and RPC data are translated to HTML on the Active Server and transmitted to the browser using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).