XCON: MTA NDRs Messages with Loop Detection After Upgrading Bridgehead to 5.0SP2 or 5.5

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.0 Service Pack 2
• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5

SYMPTOMS

After you upgrade a bridgehead to Exchange Server 5.0 Service Pack 2 or Exchange Server 5.5 and the rest of the site remains with an earlier version of Exchange Server, the message transfer agent (MTA) may generate a non-delivery report (NDR) with loop detection. The following NDR may be received by the client who sent the message:

   From: System Administrator
   Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 1998 1:25 PM
   Subject: Undeliverable: Subject Line for Loop Detect
   Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.
   Subject: FW: Monday attendance
   Sent: 04/14/1998 1:25:26 PM
   The following recipient(s) could not be reached:
   USER, Test on 04/14/1998 1:25:28 PM
   The recipient was detected looping within the message transfer service. 

CAUSE

This problem has specific conditions under which the NDR can occur. The problem occurs when a user sends mail to another user on the same server and uses the MSMail Proxy or SMTP Proxy of the user. The proxy address can be selected from the personal address book, or typed in as a one-off address. If the user selects the recipient from the Global Address List, the NDR does not occur. Also, this only occurs when the sender is using the Exchange 4.0 client. This does not occur when the sender is running the Exchange 5.0 client, Outlook 97, or Outlook 98. The final condition that must be met is that the bridgeheads are a later version of Exchange Server than the user servers. For example, if all of the computers running Exchange Server in the site are using version 5.0 Service Pack 1, this problem does not occur. When the bridgehead is upgraded to Exchange Server 5.0 Service Pack 2, or to Exchange Server 5.5, the NDR may appear.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Exchange Server version 5.0 Service Pack 2. A supported fix is now available, 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.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Exchange Server version 5.5. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5. For information about 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

Additional query words: XADM XCON Loop 290 NDR route routing upgrade bridgehead

Keywords : XCON
Version : winnt:5.0,5.5
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug