The synchronization of mailbox rules may be delayed when you move mailboxes from an Exchange 2000 Server server to an Exchange Server 2003 server (899328)

RESOLUTION

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

Because of file dependencies, this hotfix requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

836993 How to obtain the latest service packs for Exchange Server 2003

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this software update.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other software updates.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version         Size       File name
   ---------------------------------------------------------
   08-Jul-2005  01:55  6.5.7233.36     3,270,144  Mdbmsg.dll       
   04-Jun-2005  01:56                      3,304  Redir.asp
   08-Jul-2005  02:29  6.5.7233.36     5,177,856  Store.exe

MORE INFORMATION

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

When you move the mailboxes from an Exchange 2000 Server server to an Exchange Server 2003 server, the rules are moved in a server-independent format. Eventually, the rules are converted to rule messages that appropriate for the new target server.

The synchronization of the rules occurs in a background process that fires periodically. A single mailbox is synchronized every time that the background process fires. This behavior occurs even if the following conditions are true:

There are several mailboxes that have successfully completed the move.
There are mailboxes that are ready to be synchronized.

After you install this hotfix, the synchronization of the rules for all mailboxes that have completed a move is faster.

By default, mailbox rules are synchronized every hour after you install this hotfix. However, you can modify the following registry subkey to change the synchronization time:

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIs\<name of server>\<private store GUID>\Rules Sync Retry Frequency

Value Type	DWORD
Minimum	60
Maximum	2592000
Default	3600

The value for this registry subkey is in seconds. The minimum value that you can use is 60 seconds (1 minute). The maximum value that you can use is 2,592,000 seconds (30 days).

Warning If you set the value to 1 minute to try to achieve the fastest possible synchronization time, you may actually cause the synchronization process to take longer. This behavior occurs because the average sized mailbox takes 2 to 3 minutes to move. Additionally, only those mailboxes that have completed the move can be synchronized.

If you find that the synchronization process is too aggressive after you install this hotfix, you can limit the number of mailboxes that are synchronized at a time. You can modify the following registry subkey to set a limit for the number of mailboxes that are synchronized at a time:

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIs\<name of server>\<private store GUID>\Rules Sync Batch Limit

Value Type	DWORD
Minimum	1
Maximum	0xFFFFFFFF
Default	All the mailboxes ready to be synched.

The values of this registry subkey are based on the number of mailboxes that you want to synchronize at a time. For example, the value of 1 means that you want one mailbox synchronized every time that the synchronization process occurs. Additionally, the value of 0xFFFFFFFF is a special value that means that you want all the mailboxes synchronized during the synchronization process.

If the synchronization process does not work, you can modify the following registry subkey to set the number of times that the synchronization process is retried for a mailbox:

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIs\<name of server>\<private store GUID>\Rules Sync Retry Limit

Value Type	DWORD
Minimum	0
Maximum	250
Default	24

If the synchronization process does not work, the following event is logged if the diagnostic level for rules is set to medium or to maximum. However, this behavior only occurs if the reason for synchronization not working is that the mailbox move is still in progress.

Event ID: 1151 
Source: MSExchangeIS Mailbox 
Description: A rule synchronization error (1144) has occurred on Mailbox Store "database name". 
The mailbox folder is Top of Information Store\Inbox. 
The distinguished name of the owning mailbox is /O=organization/OU=organizational unit/CN=Recipients/CN=s140605. 
There are 24 of 24 retries remaining.

If the synchronization is successful, you receive the following Information event when you set diagnostic level for rules to maximum:

Event ID: 1154 
Source: MSExchangeIS Mailbox 
Description: Rule synchronization has successfully completed. 
The mailbox folder is Top of Information Store\Inbox on database "database name". 
The distinguished name of the owning mailbox is /O=organization/OU=organizational unit/CN=Recipients/CN=s140605.

Note This hotfix resolution is only for the Exchange Server 2003. Therefore, you can only use this hotfix for migration scenarios where the target or destination server is an Exchange Server 2003 server.