Orbits IT

TP-Link TD-W8960n & Hosted Exchange – Not happy bedfellows.

Just a quick post about a problem we have been investigating for a client who is on our Hosted Exchange system.

We received a report that mail was sticking in the Outbox of Outlook 2010 and new mail was taking a while to arrive (compared to OWA where it appeared quickly). We tried several things including:

  • Turning Cached mode off in Outlook
  • Disabling encryption between Outlook & Exchange (not to be recommended)
  • Upgrading their TP-Link TD-W8960N router firmware
  • Checking broadband line for errors etc

The broadband provider identified some sync issues so they scheduled a resync on the line which could take up to 24 hours. In the meantime we fitted a temporary Draytek Vigor 2830 router in place of the TP-Link, as we know these have excellent error handling etc.

Checked in with the client the next day and sure enough all was well. Spoke to the broadband provider and they confirmed the resync had completed.

We all know you shouldn’t assume, but we assumed the line sync had sorted it and today we swapped the Draytek out and replaced the original TP-Link TD-W8960N. Did speed tests and checked Outlook connection and all was fine.

Within the hour, however, the ‘sticky mail’ issue had reappeared.

Googling shows a few people with similar issues but unfortunately no fixes. The latest firmware seems to still have the issues and as it stands we have to state that the TP-Link TD-W8960N is unsuitable for Hosted Exchange. I believe the router is closing connections which Outlook requires to be open at all times. The mail ‘sticks’ whilst the connection is reestablished (up to 5 minutes).

Needless to say the Draytek is back in and all is good with the world.

Have mailed TP-Link to see if there is a fix planned and will up date the post in due course.

Additional details:

Router Make/Model: TP-Link TD-W8960N v3

Firmware version:  1.4.0 release 111108 & 1.4.0 release 110620

Outlook version: Outlook 2010

Exchange version: Exchange 2010

If you are having similar problems, please comment with the make and model of your router and we will compile a list of affected hardware.

 

TP Link TD W8960N v3 Router

TP-Link TD-W8960N v3 Router

 

 

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