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Page 1 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients?

| Part 03#36

Who are the Exchange Autodiscover


clients? | Part 03#36

Throughout the current article series, the term Autodiscover client\s will be
mentioned dozens or even hundreds of times.
The obvious question could be who or what are these Autodiscover clients?

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 2 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

Autodiscover Client\server model versus server to


server model
Technically speaking, every Exchange client or other client that know how to
locate Exchange CAS server, how to request Autodiscover information and what to
do with the Autodiscover information could be considered as Autodiscover
client.
If we want to be more specific, in the Exchange based environment, the term
Autodiscover clients, relates to the following type of Exchange clients:

Outlook client (RPC/HTTP/S)


Mobile mail client (ActiveSync client)
Web-based client (HTTP/HTTPS)
Other Exchange servers

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 3 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

One way that we can use to classify the different type of Autodiscover clients is by
using the client to server or, server to a server classification.
1. Client to server
An example of a standard Exchange Autodiscover client could be:
Outlook client.
Outlook clients use the Autodiscover services for:
Locating the Exchange CAS server who will enable them to access their mailbox, for
creating a new Outlook mail profile, for getting information about different
Exchange services such as Offline address Book, Free\Busy time and more.
2. Server to Server model
Fewer know the perspective of the Autodiscover services, is a relationship that
could be described as: Server to Server.
In this scenario, the client is not a standard client such as Outlook but instead, the
client is an Exchange server who needs information from another Exchange server.
The ability of the client (the source Exchange server) to find or locate the
destination Exchange server that can provide him the required information, is
based on using the Autodiscover service.
An example for the Autodiscover Server to Server model could be
Mail migration in Office 365 environment | Exchange server as
Autodiscover client
In the Office 365 environment, migration such as Cutover migration, Stage
migration or Hybrid migration, is implemented by relying on the Exchange OnPremise Autodiscover service.
The migration batch that we create from the Office 365 admin center will use the
domain name suffix in the username credentials that we provide for locating the
Exchange on-Premises server.

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 4 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

Note later we will review in more details this Autodiscover mechanism in which
the client use the part of the domain name suffix for locating Autodiscover
Endpoint.
Office 365 Hybrid environment | Exchange server as Autodiscover client
The term Hybrid environment, is a term that describes a relationship between two
different Exchange organization (Exchange Online and Exchange on-Premises
server) that can operate as one entity and share between them different types of
information and services.
The ability to share information between the cloud infrastructure (Exchange Online)
and the Exchange On-Premise infrastructure such as Availability service
(Free/Busy time), is based on the Autodiscover infrastructure of each of the
environments (cloud and On-Premise).
When a user from the cloud needs to view Free/Busy time of On-Premise user, the
Exchange Online server will use the Autodiscover process for locating the Exchange
On-Premise server.

Who are the Exchange mail clients?


Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 5 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

Another term that will be used very often throughout the current article series is
the term Exchange client.
Exchange environment can serve many types of the different mail client.
The main charterer that difference one mail client from another is the protocol that
the client use.
Although all the mail protocol has the same purpose of enable a user to see the
content of his mailbox, each of the mail protocols to behaves differently, speaks
other language and interacts differently with Exchange infrastructure.

Exchange server supports four types of mail clients.

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 6 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

Outlook mail client Outlook mail client described sometimes as an MAPI


client because, this client uses a dedicated mail protocol named MAPI
(Mail application program interface).
The MAPI protocol is not a transport protocol and, for this reason, Outlook
mail client uses a combination of protocols. For example MAPI over RPC
(Remote Procedure Call) or another type of combination such as when using
the Outlook Anywhere settings that use the following combination MAPI
over RPC over HTTPS.
Exchange 2013 will support a new combination in which, the RPC protocol
will be taken out from the equation.
Webmail client mail web clients are clients that use the HTTP or the HTTPS
protocol for accessing the user mailbox.
Mobile mail clients the access protocol for a mobile client such as a
smartphone, tablets, etc., is the ActiveSync protocol.
Internet mail client the term internal mail client relates to the mail client
that uses the POP3 and IMAP4 protocol for retrieving mail from the user
mailbox and use the SMTP protocol for sending mail.

Besides of the different protocol this of this mail client use, there are more
categories that we can use for this mail client.
In the following diagram, we can see that the Exchange CAS server, provide his
services for a variety of mail clients, using a variety of mail protocols such as
Outlook mail client that uses RPC protocol, or RPC/HTTPS (Outlook Anywhere)
protocol, mobile devices that use the ActiveSync protocol and web-based mail
client such as OWA.
The Exchange CAS server know how to adapt himself to each of these different
protocols, that has different charters, communication methods, etc.

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 7 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

The Exchange Autodiscover mail clients


Versus the phrase All men are created equal, the Exchange clients are not
created equal and each of them has a specific charter and requirements.
Relating to our main subject the Exchange Autodiscover infrastructure, not all the
Exchange client need or consume the Exchange Autodiscover in the same way.

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 8 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

For example, Autodiscover protocol enables Exchange client to automatically locate


available Exchange CAS server but some of the Exchange client such as the OWA
client specifies manually the name of the Exchange server whom they access,
instead of using an automatic process that will reveal at the end the required
Exchange CAS server name.
The most prominent Exchange Autodiscover client is the Outlook. The Outlook
client is fully dependent on the Exchange Autodiscover infrastructure.
Another Exchange client such as mobile client (ActiveSync) and OWA (web client)
are partially dependent on the Exchange Autodiscover infrastructure.
For example, a mobile client (ActiveSync) can locate the required Exchange CAS
server using Autodiscover query or instead manually type the required Exchange
CAS server name.

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 9 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

The Exchange Autodiscover infrastructure serves for additional purposes such as:
providing the required information needed for creating a new mail profile (relevant,
mainly for Outlook mail client), information about available Exchange web services,
and information about the supported authentication protocol from the Exchange
CAS server and so on.
For the sake of full disclosure, I must admit that I know for sure the Exchange
Autodiscover is mandatory for Outlook client, but for the rest of the Exchange
clients mobile (ActiveSync) client and OWA (web client) its not so clear how does
this client interaction with the Exchange Autodiscover services.
For example, part of the Autodiscover information that is provided by the Exchange
server includes a specific section of authentication protocol requirements for the
Exchange web client (OWA mail client) but its not so clear how and if the OWA client
uses this information.
The dependency of the different Exchange client in the Exchange Autodiscover
services table

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 10 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

In the following table, we can see Level of use of the Autodiscover services, by
the different Exchange clients.

The different Exchange mail client and the process of


automatically locating the Exchange CAS server

By default, Outlook client doesnt know the name of the Exchange CAS server that
will serve him. The only way for Outlook client to locate and find their Exchange
CAS server is, by using the Autodiscover process.
These are some exceptions for this rule because technically, we can provide
Outlook client the Exchange CAS server name manually or, by using a local
configuration file, but this method is not recommended and additionally, there are
many other configuration settings that we will need to provide to the Outlook client
beside of the name of the Exchange CAS server.
Mobile (ActiveSync) clients will try to locate their Exchange CAS server by using the
Autodiscover process and, this is the recommended way.
In a scenario in which the Autodiscover process failed or the in some old mobile
devices the Mobile client (ActiveSync) doesnt support Autodiscover; we can

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 11 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

manually provide the name of the Public facing Exchange CAS server who will
accept the communication request of the Mobile (ActiveSync) client.
Regarding a webmail client such as OWA, the OWA mail client doesnt use the
Autodiscover protocol for locating the element that will lead him to his mailbox
because, when using a webmail client, the basic assumption is that the user will
have to know in advance the name of the Exchange mail server that will enable him
to access his mailbox.
Get information about available Exchange web services
The only way for informing Outlook client about the availability Exchange web
services is via the Autodiscover process, in which the Exchange CAS server sends
the Outlook client the URL address of the existing Exchange web services.
Regarding the other Exchange clients mobile (ActiveSync) client and OWA (web
client), its not so clear, how does this client get the information about available
Exchange web services.
As far as I know, a client such as OWA, doesnt need to know about available
Exchange web services, the OWA client just needs to apply for information and the
Exchange server is responsible for locating the required resources (Exchange web
services) and fetching the required information for the OWA client.
And again, Im not sure that this theory accurate in 100%.
Get the information required for the creation of a new mail profile.
Outlook client must be configured with a mail profile that serves as a logical
container for all the communication settings that will be required for the
communication channel between the Outlook client and Exchange CAS server.
The only optional way for Outlook mail client to get the required configuration
setting for the mail profile is by using the Autodiscover services.
The Exchange CAS server will accept the Outlook client Autodiscover request for
information and based on specific characters of the Exchange client such as the
Exchange Mailbox server who hosts the recipient mailbox, the geographic location
of the client and more, provide a custom answer.
Other

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 12 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

In the other section, we can relate to any type of configuration settings or services
that can be provided as part of the Autodiscover process to Exchange client.
For example, as mention, part of the Autodiscover information that is provided by
Exchange includes a specific section that relates to the OWA mail client.
Because Im not sure how this information does is used by OWA mail client, I will
classify this information in the other section.

Autodiscover one-time procedure or ongoing


communication channel?
In the former section, we have to review the nature of the relationships that exists
between the Exchange clients and their Exchange CAS server and the way that the
Autodiscover infrastructure help client to find their destination Exchange CAS
server and help the Exchange CAS server to provide the necessary information for
his client.
The question that could appear now is Does the Autodiscover can be considered
as a one-time event? Or does the Autodiscover is an ongoing communication
channel between the Exchange CAS server and his clients?

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 13 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

The answer to these questions is that the Autodiscover process is not a static
process!

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 14 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

The Autodiscover process is not a one-time time process.


We can classify the scenarios of Autodiscover relationships between the Exchange
clients and their Exchange CAS server into two major categories:
1. First-time Autodiscover process
2. Ongoing Autodiscover process
The Autodiscover process between the client and the server starts with a first
handshake between the Autodiscover client and the Autodiscover Endpoint.
In this preliminary process, the Autodiscover Endpoint provides the information to
his client, but this doesnt mean that starting from today onwards, the Autodiscover
client will use this information forever!

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 15 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

The more suitable term for the Autodiscover relationships that exists between the
Autodiscover client and the Autodiscover Endpoint is a dialog.
For example, Exchange clients, such as Outlook, are accessing the Autodiscover
Endpoint, on an hourly basis to check for new information or updates relating to
the Exchange infrastructure.
Another example could be each time that the mail client such as Outlook is
restarted, the client will try to access the Autodiscover Endpoint, looking for a new
information or verifying that he has the required information.

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

Page 16 of 16 | Who are the Exchange Autodiscover clients? | Part 03#36

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright 2012-2015

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