XCON: Large Number of Messages with Receipts Can Stay in MTA

ID: Q146397

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 4.0, 5.0

SYMPTOMS

You may find that a large number of messages with Read receipts and Delivery receipts destined to go out the Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0 Internet Mail Connector (IMC), or Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0 Internet Mail Service (IMS), slow down or halt the Microsoft Exchange Server Message Transfer Agent (MTA).

If you stop and restart the MTA and IMC (or IMS), a few messages will be delivered. From that point onward, delivery may be very slow or halted outright. Symptoms can also include messages placed in the BAD queue.

CAUSE

This is caused by a corrupted application protocol data unit (APDU) received from the MTA.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange versions 4.0 and 5.0.

For Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0, this has been fixed in MTA build 996.25. Please contact Microsoft Technical Support for information on the availability of this fix.

This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 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 install the fix for Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0:

Get the appropriate file from Microsoft Technical Support and unzip it. There is no password on these files.

Install the new MTA by running the following command on the Microsoft Exchange Server computer:
hotfix /i

The retail symbols (BDB files, but renamed to DBG) are included. You will need to install these manually into your Symbols directory.

Please note that this is also a problem on other platforms and localized versions. If you need an Alpha version of the MTA (or a different localized version), please contact Microsoft Technical Support.

How to find the MTA build number from the Event Logs:

The MTA automatically logs its build number in the NT Application Event Log when the service is started. This information is written to Event ID 9298 and looks similar to the following:

Event ID:    9298
Source:      MSExchangeMTA
Type:        Information
Category:    X.400 Service
Description:
Microsoft Exchange Server MTA Service startup complete, version 4 (build
995.54).
[BASE IL MAIN BASE 46 490] (14)

This entry corresponds to the Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0 Service Pack 4 MTA.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbbug4.00 kbbug5.00
Version : winnt:4.0,5.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug