cached Exchange mode versus offline files ??

[Emby]

Most of the time I am in the office and I rarely have network connectivity
issues. I have a rich set of folders in my personal email box, and I have
access to many public folders. On occasion I must travel for a week or two,
and while away:
(a) I must have access to all my personal folders and all public folders
(b) I must be able to send and receive email
(c) upon return, I must get changes made to my personal and public folders
synchronized with Exchange.

In the past I have used offline files with Outlook 2000 and Exchange 2000,
and I have been able to do all 3 items above (the OST file was pretty big -
about 1 GB - but it worked ;-)

I am now using Outlook 2003 and Exchange 2003, and am about to take my first
trip. I see that I now have a choice between cached Exchange mode and
offline files. I've read a fair amount about cached mode, but I'm still not
sure what I should use.

It sounds like cached mode would be useful in an environment where you do a
lot of connecting and disconnecting (or connecting over various speeds),
where Outlook will automatically just deal with it.

Using offline files, in the past, I have used two profiles (one for in
office, another for traveling), and I only needed to update or even create
the OST file on the rare occasions when I traveled (3-4 times per year).

It sounds like cached mode is overkill for my needs, but it's hard to say.
I'd appreciate any feedback offered.

Thanks!

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

In

Most of the time I am in the office and I rarely have network
connectivity issues. I have a rich set of folders in my personal
email box, and I have access to many public folders. On occasion I
must travel for a week or two, and while away:
(a) I must have access to all my personal folders and all public
folders (b) I must be able to send and receive email
(c) upon return, I must get changes made to my personal and public
folders synchronized with Exchange.

In the past I have used offline files with Outlook 2000 and Exchange
2000, and I have been able to do all 3 items above (the OST file was
pretty big - about 1 GB - but it worked ;-)

I am now using Outlook 2003 and Exchange 2003, and am about to take
my first trip. I see that I now have a choice between cached Exchange
mode and offline files. I've read a fair amount about cached mode,
but I'm still not sure what I should use.

Use cached mode. Cached mode is a major improvement over the old offline
folders in previous versions (note that offline *files* is a Windows thing -
and isn't relevant here).

It sounds like cached mode would be useful in an environment where
you do a lot of connecting and disconnecting (or connecting over
various speeds), where Outlook will automatically just deal with it.
Yes.

Using offline files, in the past, I have used two profiles (one for in
office, another for traveling), and I only needed to update or even
create the OST file on the rare occasions when I traveled (3-4 times
per year).

You don't need two profiles. All you need is one, with cached mode, and it
will connect if it can, and work offline if it can't. This is another huge
improvement.
Note also that with E2003, you now have the option to connect to the
Exchange server remotely over the Internet, using RPC over HTTP - this is
much nicer (and more reliable) than VPN.

It sounds like cached mode is overkill for my needs, but it's hard to
say. I'd appreciate any feedback offered.

Not sure why you've posted this to m.p.exchange2000.general, as you're using
E2003 - note that E2003 questions are best posted in m.p.exchange.* - they
handle all versions. Just be sure to mention the version (&SP) you're using.