XFOR: Unable to Forward Schedule+ Messages

ID: Q161953

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0
Microsoft Mail for Windows, version 3.0
Microsoft Schedule+, version 1.0

SYMPTOMS

Assume that a user on a Microsoft Mail postoffice (PO1) sends a Schedule+ meeting request to a user on Microsoft Mail PO2 and another user on Microsoft Mail PO3. The user on PO2 is able to forward the message if he or she wants, but the user on PO3 is not able to forward the message, and may receive the following error:

The message could not be forwarded.

This problem occurs when you are using the following messaging architecture (the important link being that Microsoft Exchange Server is the backbone for the Microsoft Mail environment):


MSMail PO1 <-->
                Exchange Server1  <-->  Exchange Server2  <-->  MSMail PO3
MSMail PO2 <-->

CAUSE

A property of the Schedule+ message is not properly converted during the conversion from FIPS to MDBEF, and this property is dropped.

The message going from PO1 to PO2 does not have to traverse the Microsoft Mail Connector Interchange (MSMI), and therefore does not experience this problem.

The message going from PO1 to P03 must traverse the MSMI, and is therefore converted once it is on its way into Microsoft Exchange Server, and once again on its way out of Microsoft Exchange Server and back to Microsoft Mail.

When a message from Microsoft Mail is sent, it uses a FIPS message format. Microsoft Exchange Server uses a message format called MDBEF, and all messages coming from Microsoft Mail must be converted from FIPS to MDBEF by the MSMI. When a message is sent from Microsoft Exchange Server to Microsoft Mail, it is converted from DBEF format to FIPS format.

The property is not properly saved or converted from FIPS to MDBEF when coming into Microsoft Exchange Server through the MSMI; therefore, when it is converted back to FIPS when it leaves Microsoft Exchange Server through the MSMI, the property is not retained.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange 4.0 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

For more information on a related issue, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q161954 XFOR: When Field Not Printed

Keywords : kbinterop kbusage kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00.sp4 XFOR
Version : 4.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug