XCON: DeferredDeliveryTime Echoed Within DeliveryReportEnvelope

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 4.0 and 5.0

SYMPTOMS

On constructing a delivery report (DR) for a message that originally contained the DeferredDeliveryTime field, Microsoft Exchange Server does not conform to the CCITT' s 1984 X series of recommendations. This only applies to connections using a 1984 X.400 Connector.

CAUSE

Microsoft Exchange Server echoes the DeferredDeliveryTime value of the original message within the DR' s DeliveryReportEnvelope.

WORKAROUND

If the foreign messaging system allows it, configure it in a way that it does not need to use the DeferredDeliveryTime within the X.400 P1 (Message Transfer Protocol) fields.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0. A supported fix to this problem is in development, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Service Pack that contains this fix. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for more information on the availability of this fix.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange 5.0 Server 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

MORE INFORMATION

To achieve deferred delivery within an X.400 Message Handling System (MHS), the P1 field DeferredDeliveryTime as part of the UMPDUEnvelope (UMPDU: User Message Protocol Data Unit) can be used. On generating a DR to a message having this field included, this field might be included within the DR' s DeliveryReportContent in the Intermediate TraceInformation field. The DR' s envelope itself carries trace information about it' s own MPDU (MPDU: Message Protocol Data Unit) within the DR' s DeliveryReportEnvelope. The field used to carry this information is the TraceInformation field. Within the TraceInformation field's DomainSuppliedInfo exists an optional field:

   deferred

Recommendation X.411, § 3.4.3.1, p. 161, states:

    The TraceInformation records information about the passage of this MPDU
   (not the subject UMPDU) through the MTL [Message Transfer Layer](see §
   3.4.1.5).