Question : exchange, VPN, why and what impact...

server 2008 AD domain, win 7 & XP clients

I am in one country and the exchange server is in another, my users have been forced to only be able to use OWA to use their mailboxes, and i want to go to using Outlook.

The sys admin says that the only way to be safe is to connect via a VPN, and refuses to let us connect using anything else.

1 - is this true, is connecting 'normaly' to an exchange server unsecure - to the degree that we need to set up a VPN to do it?

2 - what is the impact of having 27 people on the network using VPN connections as far as overhead on the network and internet connection?

3 - is having a separate vpn client the best way, or is there a better way?

4 - what will the impact be as far as being able to use the LAN as normal when you have a VPN tunnel running on the workstation? will they notice it, or will it work smoothly?

I know this is 4-in-one question, but I am new to VPN's, thanks

Answer : exchange, VPN, why and what impact...

1.  This is untrue, connecting with RPC over HTTPS is just as secure as VPN

2.  Using a single site to site VPN would be more efficient than 27 single VPN connections.

3.  See #2

4.  If you use a site to site VPN, only the traffic destined for the remote side will be sent over the VPN.  Normal LAN traffic should not be affected at all in a proper VPN setup.

So the easiest solution is to have Outlook Anywhere enabled on the Exchange server and set the Outlook clients to use RPC over HTTPS in the connection setup.  

Failing that, a router to router VPN would allow continuous connectivity to the Exchange server from your LAN.