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Questions regarding UIU system and Firewall, open ports, OS's, and Browsers?

 
  This page is to be used by those students / IT professionals that need to set up the UIU learning environment in a protected, commercial, environment.

This document is a rather technical one, and is directed to the "IT" person(s) in your company. This person needs the presented information to help you get connected to the UIU systems.

Networking environment regarding UIU Online Learning Systems:
  1. The server environment is Microsoft Exchange 2003 Enterprise servers.
  2. The individual protocols we are using include:
    1. HTTP for web-site access
    2. POP3 for mail reception
    3. SMTP for mail transmission
    4. NNTP for class postings


  1. No certificates are being used for normal class work (postings, e-mail)
  2. The primary (i.e. supported) software for class-work includes:
    1. Microsoft Outlook Express, version 6.0, using NNTP and POP3/SMTP protocol
    2. Microsoft "Outlook Web Access" 2003, HTTP protocol
    3. Plain FTP software if downloads are required, i.e. OXM...


  1. Most often used OS's include:
    1. Windows 98, Second Edition, release SR2; (assure that Winsocket 2.0 is installed, as well as all other IP security updates). In general, lately, the track-record in using Windows-98 is checkered at best.
    2. Windows ME. Not recommended.
    3. Windows NT, release 3.5 is not supported at all, while 4.0 is not recommended.
    4. Windows 2000, Standard, Professional, Advanced; all releases are ok
    5. Windows 2003; all releases are ok
    6. Windows XP; all releases are ok
    7. Apple OS 9.x; Entourage is recommended, but not supported by us, Netscape Navigator 7.0 and higher is supported
    8. Apple OS 10.x and later; Entourage is recommended, but not supported by us, Netscape Navigator 7.0 and higher is supported
    9. Sun Microsystems Solaris HP/UX; Netscape Navigator 7.0


  1. Supported Internet Browsers
    1. Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2, should be working, but is not supported by us
    2. Internet Explorer 6.x, SP1 is supported by us
    3. MSN version 8 and later is supported by us
    4. Netscape Navigator 4.8 to 6.x is not supported by us
    5. Netscape Navigator 7.x and higher is supported by us


In some cases, when a firewall prevents access from inside an Intranet to our system using Internet Explorer, using Netscape Navigator seems to be working

In no case will the AOL interface work. A user can connect to the Internet via AOL, but must than minimize the AOL interface, and start Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator to connect to the UIU system (via Outlook Web Access).

  1. Security protocols:
Microsoft Outlook Express as used for UIU activities does not use any "embedded" security protocol. Aside from "open ports" (see below) no special security procedures exist.

Outlook Web Access must verify User-Signon on your computer via a 3-step procedure, including:
      1. full IPSec verification; should step 1 fail,
      2. is a full SSL verification, and if step 2 fail,
      3. will verify via "Integrated Windows Authentication". If step 3 fails, the UIU signon will fail.
        1. IPSec requirements will have to be co-coordinated between you and us.
        2. SSL verification needs open ports as per table below.


Posting Size limitation: Currently, we restrict a single posting (as well as each individual attachment) to 5MB, and a session to 25MB.

SMTP mail checking: We do not allow mail-forwarding / mail-relays. Any incoming e-mail is being spam-checked against spam-databases and other criteria's.

E-mail senders are checked via reverse-DNS lookup.

Rejected e-mail senders will not be notified. Session Timeout: An Outlook Express session will time out after 10 minutes of no-activities, while an Outlook Web Access session will time out after 15 minutes.

A set of three failed signon attempts in Outlook Web Access will terminate the session. You must back out of the error page, and start over again.

  1. Ports being used by UIU Exchange servers
Depending on the type of traffic, one or more of these ports must be "open". Minimum-case scenario for a firewall configuration would be port 25, 80, 88, 119, 443 and 563 open for TCP in both directions.


 		 


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