RPC Causes Exchange Server to Hang All Connected Clients

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.51
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.51
• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

All Microsoft Exchange clients connected to a Microsoft Exchange server periodically hang for several minutes. If the clients are left alone, then they will all resume normal operation without loss of data.

This symptom occurs sporadically.

CAUSE

The Microsoft Exchange server received only part of the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) data sent by a Microsoft Exchange client and is waiting for the remaining part.

If a busy Microsoft Exchange server receives RPC data from a Microsoft Exchange client, and it accepts a part of the RPC fragment but not the entire amount, then if the client is rebooted or powered off before the remainder of the fragment is sent, the server can stop processing all RPC requests until the network transport detects the client failure and terminates the connection. If you use a "patient" transport protocol such as TCP/IP, this may take up to five minutes.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem on Exchange Servers running on Windows NT 3.51 Server, obtain the fix mentioned below, install Windows NT service pack 5 for NT 3.51 or upgrade to Windows NT Server version 4.0.

STATUS

This problem was corrected in the latest Windows NT 3.51 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

   S E R V P A C K