XFOR: Microsoft Mail Users Cannot Send to Users in Remote Exchange Server Sites

• Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 4.0, 5.0, 5.5

SYMPTOMS

After you configure directory synchronization (dirsync) between Microsoft Mail (MS Mail) and a Microsoft Exchange Server organization with multiple sites, Exchange Server user names from all the sites appear in the global address list for MS Mail users. Mail flows from the Exchange Server sites to MS Mail, but the MS Mail users cannot send mail to the users in the remote Exchange Server sites (sites that are not directly connected to MS Mail). Mail disappears, and no error message or non-delivery report (NDR) is displayed.

For example, if an MS Mail postoffice (PO1) is communicating with an Exchange Server computer that is also the dirsync server in a site (SITE1), users in a remote Exchange Server site (SITE2) can send mail to users on PO1. But if a user on PO1 composes a new mail message and selects a user in SITE2 from the global address list, the message disappears, without any error messages or NDRs.

This article assumes that the Directory Replication Connector is established between the Exchange Server sites.

CAUSE

The configuration of the MS Mail postoffice for the different Exchange Server sites is not complete.

RESOLUTION

To complete configuration of an MS Mail postoffice:

1. Start the MS Mail Admininstrator program, click External Admin, and then click Create.



2. Define the remote Exchange Server site (in the example above, SITE2) as an indirect postoffice by means of the shadow postoffice in the Exchange Server site that is directly connected to the MS Mail postoffice (SITE1).



3. Press the ESC key, and exit the MS Mail Administrator program to save the changes.



4. Send a message from the MS Mail postoffice (PO1) to a user in the remote Exchange Server site (SITE2), and then confirm that the message is received successfully.



5. If there are other remote Exchange Server sites, repeat steps 1 through 4 for the other Exchange Server sites.

MORE INFORMATION

The steps in the "Resolution" section send all mail addressed to any remote Exchange Server sites to the shadow postoffice in the Exchange Server site that is directly connected to the MS Mail postoffice. When the mail reaches the shadow postoffice, the Microsoft Mail Interchange service retrieves the mail and sends it to the Exchange Server message transfer agent (MTA) for routing.

If directory replication is involved in assigning address spaces to the connectors, the Exchange Server MTA is better able to route the mail. Each Exchange Server site can resolve the address and map the correct route for the mail message.

For additional information about configuring the routing between MS Mail and two Exchange Server sites, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q148389 XFOR: How to Backbone MSMail 3.x over Exchange

Additional query words:

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