XCON: Basic Site Connector Troubleshooting Checklist

ID: Q165324

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 5.5, 4.0, 5.0

SUMMARY

This article contains helpful information for troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Site Connector problems.


MORE INFORMATION

The following is a checklist of questions that you need to ask when confronted with a Site connector that isn't functioning properly.

  1. Is this a new installation or a connector that had been working for a while that broke?


  2. Are both Microsoft Exchange Servers in the same Organization? An exact match, including spelling and case, is required.


  3. Do both Microsoft Exchange Servers use the same Service Account?


  4. Are the two Microsoft Exchange Servers in trusted, untrusted, or the same NT domain?


  5. If the domains are untrusted, is at least one Microsoft Exchange Server a Domain Controller? This is required.


  6. If you are configuring a new Site Connector between untrusted domains have you followed the instructions in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base?
    Q154624 : XCON: Configuring the Site Connector Between Untrusted Domains
    If one of the servers is a Member Server, you must use the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program on the Member server to configure the Site Connector for both servers. You won't be able to correctly configure the Site Connector from the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program on the Domain Controller server.


  7. If the two Microsoft Exchange Servers are in Trusted Domains but each Server has a different Service Account, do both Servers use the other Server's service account on their connector's Override page?

    We recommended the use of the Microsoft Exchange service sccount on the override page even in trusted domains. That way, if something happens to the trust relationship between the two domains, the connector will still be able to function.

    If you elect not to use the override page in a trusted domain environment, make sure that the other domain's Microsoft Exchange service account is given Service Account Admin rights to both the Site and Configuration containers on the local Server.


Troubleshooting Network Connectivity for the Site Connector

  1. Is this a brand new installation or a working setup that stopped working?

    If this was working, check for what may have changed or broken; things such as service account changes, service account password changes, problems with the trust relationship between the domains, network problems, addition of network cards, additions or deletions or modifications of protocols, changes to the Server's RPC binding order, changes in the network configuration, changes made to DNS or WINS, and so forth.


  2. If using TCP/IP, can you PING the IP address of the other server? Can they PING you?


  3. If you PING -a the other server's IP address, does it resolve the hostname? Is the returned hostname the other server's Server Name? Can the other server do the same to you?


  4. What procedure is used to resolve hostnames, for example, DNS, WINS, Hosts file, and so forth?


  5. When troubleshooting WINS problems, check the system log for the following error: 
    
      There are no logon servers available to service the logon request.

    For more information about this error, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q139410 in the NT Database for more information. : Err Msg: There are Currently No Logon Servers Available...


  6. What protocols are installed on both computers?


  7. Was the latest Windows NT Service Pack reapplied after making changes to the system that may have copied older files to the server? This is especially important when changes or additions were made to protocols on the server.


  8. Can you connect from Server1 to Server2 using the following command?
    NET USE \\<server2>\IPC$ /USER:<domain2>\<service account 2>
    Can Server2 connect to Server1?


  9. After the connection is made, can you view the shares on the other server?
    NET VIEW <server2>
    Can the other server see your shares?


  10. After making the IPC$ connection, can you RPC Ping on all protocols in both directions with security? Which protocols work? Do some only work without security?


  11. By default, Microsoft Exchange will use RPC first over TCP, then over IPX, and finally over Vines. If you encounter problems with the Site Connector or Servers in the same Site working over TCP/IP, you can switch to using named pipes to verify there is a problem with TCP/IP.

    RPC Server Bindings are controlled by the following registry entry: 
    
       HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Exchange\Exchange Provider
                         \Rpc_Svr_Binding_Order.

    The default string is "ncacn_ip_tcp,ncacn_spx,ncacn_vns_spp".

    For testing purposes, you can set the Site Connector to work over Named Pipes or NetBEUI by adding either ncacn_np or ncacn_nb_nb to the beginning of the string.

    Neither NetBEUI or Named Pipes is used for Server to Server communications by default because they do not support full RPC functionality and open a potential security hole, respectively. They should only be used in a test mode when you want to bypass the default protocols during testing.


  12. Does either server have Dual NIC cards? We've seen several cases where this caused problems.


  13. Does either server have an FDDI card and was it just added? If so, make sure the MTU Size is configured correctly. The symptoms of the problems will be that mail won't move between two Servers in the same Site or over a Site connector. The Network Administrator should know how to configure the MTU Sizes for their FDDI Cards. For more information about this problem, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q138575 : Communication Fails Through Ethernet Segment Between FDDI Rings

    Q140375 : Devault MTU Size for Different Network Topology

    Did it work before the FDDI card was added?


  14. When troubleshooting network problems, check the Windows NT Event Viewer System log for error 3013.


  15. Verify that the Microsoft Exchange Server has the following 9 files in the server's system32 directory, RPC requires them to function correctly. If any of them are missing, protocol sequences can fail.
    Rpcltc1.dll, Rpcltc8.dll, Rpcltccm.dll, Rpclts1.dll, Rpclts8.dll, Rpcltscm.dll, Rpcns4.dll, Rpcrt4.dll, Rpcss.exe
    In particular, look for a missing Rpcltccm.dll. We've encountered some cases where this file is missing after upgrading from Windows NT 3.51 to 4.0. If this file is missing, RPC over TCP/IP will fail. However, RPC over Name Pipes will still work.

    These files can be copied from a similar Windows NT Server with the same Service Pack(s) installed. They can also be expanded from the Windows NT 4.0 Server compact disk.

    1. Copy Expand.exe from the Windows NT Server compact disk to a directory on your hard disk drive. Any directory that is in your PATH will work.


    2. Insert the Windows NT Server compact disk where files will be found.


    3. At a command prompt, change to the directory where the files to be expanded are located. For example, type the following at the command prompt:
      EXPAND E:\i386\filename.dl_ c:\winnt\system32\filename.dll


    If you try to expand a file that is already expanded, you will receive the following message:
    Input file <filename> already in expanded format
    where <filename> is the name of the file you attempted to expand.


  16. Verify the registry values for RPC DLL files. We've encountered cases where these have been messed up. At least some cases were after an upgrade to Windows NT 4.0.

    The Windows NT 4.0 operating system normally has registry keys for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc\ServerProtocols and ClientProtocols that look like the following: 
    
       Key Name:        SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc\ServerProtocols

       ncacn_ip_tcp     REG_SZ :    RpcLtScm.Dll
       ncacn_nb_ipx     REG_SZ : RpcLtScm.Dll
       ncacn_nb_nb      REG_SZ : RpcLtScm.Dll
       ncacn_nb_tcp     REG_SZ : RpcLtScm.Dll
       ncacn_np         REG_SZ : rpclts1.dll
       ncacn_spx        REG_SZ : RpcLtScm.Dll
       ncadg_ip_udp     REG_SZ : RpcLtScm.Dll
       ncadg_ipx        REG_SZ : RpcLtScm.Dll
       ncalrpc          REG_SZ : ncalrpc

       Key Name:        SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc\ClientProtocols

       ncacn_ip_tcp     REG_SZ :    RpcLtCcm.Dll
       ncacn_nb_ipx     REG_SZ : RpcLtccm.Dll
       ncacn_nb_nb      REG_SZ : RpcLtccm.Dll
       ncacn_nb_tcp     REG_SZ : RpcLtccm.Dll
       ncacn_np         REG_SZ : rpcltc1.dll
       ncacn_spx        REG_SZ : RpcLtCcm.Dll
       ncadg_ip_udp     REG_SZ : RpcLtCcm.Dll
       ncadg_ipx        REG_SZ : RpcLtCcm.Dll
       ncalrpc          REG_SZ : ncalrpc

    If you see incorrect registry entries, removing and re-adding TCP/IP is the cleanest way to make sure the registry is updated correctly.


  17. Turn the MTA's diagnostic logging for the Operating System and Interface categories to maximum. Then inspect the Application log for any network problems?


Testing the Site Connector

  1. Create X.400 custom recipients

    Create a new Custom Recipient with an X.400 address type on your Server for one of the mailboxes on the other Microsoft Exchange Server. These two Custom Recipients (one on each of the Microsoft Exchange Servers) will be used to test the Connector.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not add a Directory Replication Connector until mail capabilities have been fully confirmed. If your Connector is not working the Directory Replication Connector will rapidly clog the queue and error logs.

    To create a correctly addressed Custom Recipient do the following:

    1. Start the MicrosoftExchange Administrator program on both Server1 and Server2.


    2. On Server1, select New Custom Recipient from the File menu.


    3. If prompted to select the correct container, click OK.


    4. Highlight X.400 Address and click OK.


    5. On Server2, highlight a local mailbox in either the Global Address List or the Recipients containers. Then select Properties from the File menu.


    6. Click the E-mail Addresses tab.


    7. Highlight the X.400 E-mail address and click the Edit button.


    8. On Server1, fill in each of the fields exactly (including case and any spaces) as they are displayed on Server2. In particular, watch for a space on the ADMD (a): field of Server2. If the ADMD field appears blank, it probably has a space in it. You can check by moving the cursor to the field and using the left and right arrows to move within the field. Server1's address must match Server2's mailbox exactly.


    9. When finished filling out all fields on Server1, click OK.


    10. You will then be presented with a set of Property pages that are similar to what you see when you create a new mailbox. You must fill in at least the Display and Alias fields. The display name and alias you choose at this point can be whatever you want. It can match the information from Server2, but does not have to. After you have filled in the fields, click OK


    You have now created a Custom Recipient on Server1 for a mailbox on Server2. To allow for testing in both directions, repeat steps a-j above, but switch Server1 and Server2 around.


  2. Send test messages in both directions to verify the connector works.


Additional query words:

Keywords : XCON exc4 exc5 exc55
Version : winnt:4.0,5.0,5.5
Platform : winnt
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: December 17, 1999
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