XADM: Troubleshooting Setup Problems Joining an Existing Site

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0

SUMMARY

When running the Microsoft Exchange Server Setup program to join an existing Microsoft Exchange Site, the Setup process may fail. This article explains some troubleshooting steps when the two servers are communicating using the TCP/IP network protocol.

The following is a common error message during the replication phase of the Setup process:

   A connection could not be made to the remote directory service, possibly
   due to a network failure. Be sure both directory services are running
   and that your network is available and running and then try again.

   Microsoft Exchange Setup Error: c1030b11

MORE INFORMATION

During the replication phase of the Setup program, the protocols listed in the Server Binding Order are used to locate the existing Microsoft Exchange Server and complete replication.

By default, TCP/IP is the first protocol in the Server Binding Order.

TCP/IP resolves names in the following order:

   1. Using the local HOSTS file
   2. Using a DNS Server
   3. Looking at the NetBIOS Cache
   4. Using a WINS Server
   5. Broadcasting
   6. Looking at the local LMHOSTS file

To determine whether you are experiencing problems resolving the name of the computer running Microsoft Exchange Server:

1. From Server A, ping Server B (use the server name and not an IP address).

   If the ping succeeds, note the IP address returned back and compare it to the actual IP address of Server B. This is important because you may have incorrect entries in the HOSTS/LMHOSTS file or a DNS may have incorrect information.

   If the Ping fails, you need to make sure that one of the above name resolution methods is capable of resolving the server name. The easiest way to get the installation complete would be to add entries for the other server in the local HOSTS file, on Server A and Server B.

2. If the ping succeeds, then from Server B, ping Server A. If the ping succeeds, compare the IP address returned by the Ping program with the actual IP address of Server A. If this is not the same, it can cause the Microsoft Exchange Server Setup program to fail during the replication phase with the above error message.

1. Verify that you are logged on to Windows NT on Server A as a Domain Administrator.

2. Verify that the account logged on to Server A has the Permissions Admin privilege on the Organization, Site, and Configuration containers on the existing Exchange site. To do this, run Microsoft Exchange Administrator program against Server B and check the properties of the Organization, Site, and Configuration containers.

3. Use the Rpingc32.exe and Rpings.exe programs to verify remote call procedure (RPC) connectivity between Server A and Server B.

4. If RPING fails, use the Windows NT utility, Tracert.exe, to determine all the routers between Server A and Server B. Some routers may be configured to block access to certain ports. This will prevent access to the Microsoft Exchange directory on Server B.

   If you have routers configured to block access to ports above a certain number, you need to configure the Directory and Information Store on Server B to use predefined Ports and then configure the routers to allow access to these ports.

5. Determine the network topology between the two servers in question. The communication between two FDDI rings through an Ethernet segment may fail when you use TCP/IP and any FDDI network interface card (NIC). This can be resolved by setting the MTU size on the Windows NT Server's to the Ethernet segment's MTU size.

   This situation can be detected by looking at a network trace of the communication between the two servers. If any server is sending out packets larger than the Ethernet segment's MTU size, communication between the two servers will fail.

REFERENCE

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q148732
   TITLE     : XADM: Setting TCP/IP Port Numbers for Internet Firewalls