•   Introduction
•   Examples of Practical Application
  •   Sharing company mail
  •   Message board - discussion group
  •   Public resource booking
  •   Group schedule
  •   Boss's calendar
  •   Employee availability register
  •   Company contact base
  •   Global company address book
  •   Delegating tasks
  •   Project Management
  •   Share document libraries
•   Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  •   How to create a new public folder (Outlook 2003/2007)
  •   How to create a new public folder (Outlook 98/2000/XP)
  •   How to share my personal folder with other users
  •   How to open a folder shared by another user
  •   Creating a common company address book
  •   Creating a common inbox and sent items folder
  •   Using the CodeTwo internet demo server and data safety
  •   How to activate the synchronization of read/unread status of messages
  •   Resolving communication problems between client modules and the server
  •   Creating a backup copy and restoring data
  •   Restoring deleted individual data items
  •   Unblocking server module in the system firewall for Windows XP Service Pack 2
  •   Unblocking CodeTwo Public Folders in Norton Internet Security
  •   I have installed the client module but I cannot see the public folders
  •   How to check who created an appointment in a public calendar
  •   When is the data synchronized between the client modules?
  •   Can I have many trees of public folders?
•   Installation Walkthrough
  •   Server module installation
  •   Client module installation
•   Program Settings
  •   Server module settings
  •   C2PublicFolders system service configuration
  •   Client module settings
  •   Adding public folders to the Outlook profile
  •   Removing public folders from the Outlook profile
•   Sharing Public Folders
•   Sharing Personal Folders
  •   Sharing your personal folder with other users
  •   Managing access rights to personal folders
  •   Opening shared personal folders of other users
•   Access Rights Management
•   Offline Mode
•   CodeTwo Public Folders Toolbar
•   Advanced Topics
  •   Resolving Conflicts
  •   Limitations
•   Licensing
•   Comments
•   License Agreement

Resolving communication problems between client modules and the server

User's Manual Start Page

Most frequent communication problems between client modules and the server are caused by network problems, which make it impossible for the client to establish a TCP/IP connection with the server module of the program. For example, problems may be caused by a firewall or an antivirus program installed on the computer with the server module installed, which blocks TCP/IP ports used for communication. If a client cannot connect to the server when launching Outlook, it is automatically switched to the offline mode.

Most problems related to communication between the program modules can be solved by following the clues below:

1.	Make sure the "Folder List" view is on in Outlook
2.	Make sure the system service of CodeTwo Public Folders server is running
3.	Check if there is a network connection between computers
4.	In the settings of the client modules enter the IP address of the server instead of its name
5.	Check if the same TCP/IP ports are configured on the clients and on the server
6.	Check if TCP/IP ports are not blocked by a firewall and/or an antivirus program
7.	Change the numbers of TCP/IP ports if they are used by other programs

Make sure the "Folder List" view in Outlook is on

If you have created a public folder on one computer and it is not visible on another computer, make sure you use the Folder List view in the Navigation Pane of Outlook.

Click Show All Public Folders on the CodeTwo Public Folders toolbar:


or use Outlook main menu:

In Outlook 98/2000/2002 in the View menu choose the Folder List command.

In Outlook 2003/2007 choose Go from the menu and then select the Folder List option or press Ctrl+6 (Fig.1).

In Outlook 2003/2007 the Folder List view is very similar to the Mail view (Ctrl+1). In both of them the hierarchical folder structure is displayed, but in the Mail view only mail folders are displayed and you will not see other types of folders, such as calendar, contacts, tasks, etc.

More information can be found in the following articles:
How to create a new public folder in Outlook 2003/2007 ?
How to create a new public folder in Outlook 98/2000/XP ?

Fig.1. To display the full folder list, in the "Go" menu select the "Folder List" command.

Make sure the system service of CodeTwo Public Folders server is running

The CodeTwo Public Folders server module is implemented as a system service. To make the program work, the service must be running:

1.	On the computer with the program server module installed open the Services console. To do this, select Start | Programs | Administration Tools | Services.
2.	Find the C2PublicFolders service and make sure it is in the Started state (Fig.2). Otherwise, right-click on the service and choose Start from the menu. If the service cannot be launched and a logging error is displayed, click the right mouse button on the service, choose Properties from the popup menu, go to the Log on tab and check if the Local System account option is selected.
3.	Make sure that the startup type of the C2PublicFolders service is set to Automatic. Click the right mouse button on the service, select Properties and in the General tab set the Startup type for Automatic.

Fig.2. The "C2PublicFolders" system service must be started.

Check if there is a network connection between computers

In order to check whether there is a network connection between the computer with a client module of the CodeTwo Public Folders program and a computer with the server module of the program, use the "ping" command.

1.

In the Windows Start menu choose Run and enter the following command: cmd

2.

The console of a command prompt launch. Enter the command: ping <server_name> where <server_name> is the name of a computer with a server module installed, - the same as in the dialog window of the client module configuration. For example, if the computer with a server module installed has been named ALPHA and you want to check whether you can connect to it from another local computer, enter the following command: ping ALPHA If you don't have problems establishing a connection with the ALPHA computer, the response should look as in Fig.3. Otherwise, you will receive an error message, e.g. "Request timed out" or "Ping request could not find host ALPHA. Please check the name and try again" or another error message. Fig.3. Checking connection with a remote computer using the "ping" command. If you cannot establish a connection with the computer, where the server module of CodeTwo Public Folders is installed with the "ping" command, you have to configure your network correctly and then start the CodeTwo Public Folders client.

You also can test the network connection from Public Folders menu, by choosing Options. In the Server tab click Test (Fig.4).

Fig.4 In the Server tab you can test the connection with the server.

If there is a successful connection between the client module and the computer equipped with a server module, a message is displayed (Fig.5). If there is no connection, a different message will display (Fig.6).

Fig.5 Message indicating successful connection with the server.

Fig.6 Message indicating no connection with the server.

If you have failed to establish a connection with a computer equipped with a CodeTwo Public Folders server module, you first need to configure the network correctly and then restart CodeTwo Public Folders.


In the client module settings enter the IP address of the server instead of its name

In the client module settings provide the IP address of the server instead of its name. Details on the configuration of a client module can be found in the document: Configuration of a client module.

To get the IP address of the server, on the server follow the instructions below:

1.	In Control Panel choose Network Connections.
2.	Click the right mouse button on Local Area Connection and choose Properties.
3.	Choose the Internet protocol (TCP/IP) item and click the Properties button.
4.	When the Properties page appears, read the IP address of the computer from the IP address field (Fig.7).

Fig.7. Getting the IP address of the computer, on which the server module of CodeTwo Public Folders has been installed.

Check if the same TCP/IP ports are configured on the clients and on the server

Communication between the client modules and the server is done via TCP/IP protocol with the use of port number defined in the server module and in the client modules (the default port number is 5002). Make sure that the port number specified in all client modules is the same as on the server.

Details on configuration of TCP ports in the client modules and in the server module are covered in the articles:
Configuration of a client module
Configuration of a server module


Check if TCP/IP ports are not blocked by a firewall and/or an antivirus software

If an antivirus software and/or a firewall (e.g. Norton Internet Security) is installed on a computer with the CodeTwo Public Folders server, check if it doesn't block the TCP port used by the server (the default port is 5002). In order to check that, try switching off your antivirus software and/or a firewall for some time.

If Norton Internet Security is installed on any computer with CodeTwo Public Folders and there are problems in communication between the program modules, see:
Unblocking CodeTwo Public Folders in Norton Internet Security

Windows XP Operating System with Service Pack 2 (SP2) has a built-in firewall, which may block the server module of CodeTwo Public Folders. Even though the server module is automatically unblocked by the Windows firewall, if problems with a connection between the program modules occur, , check the firewall configuration. For more information, please refer to:

Unblocking a server module in Windows XP Service Pack 2 firewall

If on the machine with a client module of CodeTwo Public Folders automatic synchronization of data with the server module does not start immediately when Outlook is opened and starts after some time (about 1-2 minutes), TCP ports no. 135 and 137 must be unblocked on that computer.

1.	On the computer with a client module of CodeTwo Public Folders, where the problem occurs, run the configuration program of the firewall. To do this, from the Start menu choose Settings | Control Panel | Windows Firewall and go to the Exceptions tab.
2.	Click the Add Port button.
3.	In the Name field enter "135 TCP". In the Port number field enter 135 and choose the TCP option. Click OK.
4.	Again click the Add Port button.
5.	In the Name field enter "137 TCP". In the Port number field enter 137 and choose the TCP option. Click OK.
6.	Confirm all entered changes, close the configuration program of the firewall and restart the computer.

Now after you run the Outlook client, data should be immediately synchronized with the server module of CodeTwo Public Folders.


Change the numbers of TCP/IP ports if they are used by other programs

If the following error appears in the log of the CodeTwo Public Folders server (the problem does not appear on the client computer):

"Only one usage of each socket address (protocol/network address/port) is normally permitted (0x2740)"

it means that TCP port used by CodeTwo Public Folders for communication (the default port number is 5002) is being used by another program on the same computer. In that case, the number of communication port used by the program need to be changed.

If the port number is changed, it should be changed in all client modules of the program and in the server module as the same port number must be defined on each module. See section:
Check if the same TCP/IP ports are configured on the clients and on the server

Server log files are located in the "Logs" directory, which is a sub-directory of an installation folder of the program, usually:
"C:\Program Files\CodeTwo\C2PublicFoldersServer\Logs\".