XCON: MTA Generates 9301 Events on Incoming Connections

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5 SP1

SYMPTOMS

The Microsoft Exchange Server message transfer agent (MTA) generates Event ID 9301 when receiving an incoming connection from a multihomed server.

CAUSE

By default, the MTA allows the transport to make the selection of the virtual server IP address for an outgoing connection. The transport uses all available virtual server IP addresses. The Exchange Server MTA that is being contacted can only have one IP address or one server name defined on the Stack property page for each X.400 Connector object. Any incoming connections from an X.400 MTA with an IP address or server name that is not configured on the Stack property page for any locally installed connectors causes an Event ID 9301, and the connection will not work.

The Event ID 9301 occurs in the receiving server's event log approximately half of the time a connection is attempted from a multihomed server where two virtual server IP addresses are available.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server version 5.5. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q191014 XGEN: How to Obtain the Latest Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack

   File Name      Version
   -------------------------
   Dbserver.sch   5.5.2431.0
   Dcprods.cat    5.5.2431.0
   Ems_rid.dll    5.5.2431.0
   Emsmta.exe     5.5.2431.0
   Info4log.cfg   5.5.2431.0
   Infodlog.cfg   5.5.2431.0
   Infollog.cfg   5.5.2431.0
   Infotlog.cfg   5.5.2431.0
   Mtacheck.exe   5.5.2431.0
   Mtamsg.dll     5.5.2431.0
   P2.xv2         5.5.2431.0
   X400om.dll     5.5.2431.0
   X400omv1.dll   5.5.2431.0 

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 Service Pack 1. This problem was first corrected in Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 2.

MORE INFORMATION

Exchange Server 5.5 SP2 allows you to define which virtual IP address to use for outbound X.400 connections on multihomed servers. To implement this feature, perform the following procedures on the multihomed Exchange Server computers involved.

First, you must identify the X.400 Connector's Relative Distinguished Name (RDN) to implement the necessary registry modifications on the server:

WARNING: Using the raw mode of the Exchange Server Administrator program (admin /r) incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Microsoft Windows NT Server and/or Microsoft Exchange Server. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of raw mode can be solved. Use raw mode at your own risk.

1. Start the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program in raw mode by typing the following at a command prompt:




c:\exchsrvr\bin\admin /r

2. Double-click Site, double-click Configuration, double-click Connectors, and then in the right pane, click the X.400 Connector.



3. On the File menu, click Raw Properties to open the X.400 Connector raw properties.



4. In the Object Attribute column, click Obj-Dist-Name, and in the Attribute Value box, scroll to the right until you locate the last "\cn=" value. This is the RDN that you use to create the registry key name.
   
   For example, for an X.400 Connector object named "TCP to MTA B," the value displayed for the Obj-Dist-Name object attribute appears similar to the following:

   /o=Organization/ou=Site/cn=Configuration/cn=Connections/cn=TCP to MTA B

   In this example, the RDN value is "TCP to MTA B."


Using the above example of RDN is "TCP to MTA B," create a registry key name using the RDN of "TCP to MTA B" as follows:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).


1. Start Registry Editor.



2. Find the following registry key:




HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Parameters

3. On the Edit menu, click Add Key, and add the following registry key value with a class of REG_SZ:




TCP to MTA B

5. Under the new registry key name, on the Edit menu, click Add Key, and create a new key value with a class of REG_SZ called Stack IP Address Override. This must be configured under the registry key named after the Link RDN. Once again, continuing with the example RDN, this definition appears as:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Parameters\TCP to MTA B\Stack IP Address Override

   The string value (REG_SZ) of the defined key is the IP address that the MTA uses when it creates outgoing connections, and is configured in standard dot notation, for example: 1.23.45.67. This IP address is used as the From IP address when sending outbound connections, and therefore allows only one particular IP address on the multi-homed host to be used for the given connector.
   
   After these changes are made on the multihomed server, you must restart the Exchange MTA Service for the modifications to take effect.



6. You must then configure the connector receiving inbound connections from the multihomed server to use this address.

Q189345 XCON: MTA Logs Event 9301 Though X.400 Connector Is Identified

Q193380 XCON: Mail Does Not Flow over X.400 Connector; Event 9301 Logged

Q169113 XCON: Using an X.400 Connector with TCP/IP in a Cluster Environment

Q234962 XCON: Certain Builds of the MTA Do Not Generate 9301 Event ID

Additional query words:

Keywords : exc55sp2fix exc55sp1
Version : winnt:5.5 SP1
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug