XCON: MTA Looping Between HP MTA and Exchange MTA (164838)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q164838 SYMPTOMS
When mail is received from an ADMD such as Pipex in the United Kingdom (who
act as an X.400 to SMTP gateway) and these messages are subsequently
relayed to Microsoft Exchange Server through a legacy system, there may be
instances where some messages cannot be rerouted to Microsoft Exchange
Server mailboxes.
These messages are then bounced back to the legacy system, which relays
them back to Microsoft Exchange Server.
At this point, the loop detection fails and the message goes into a back-
and-forth state. Eventually the maximum number of reroutes (512) is
reached.
Microsoft Exchange Server then detects invalid-GDI in the message (event ID
209); this is a bug in the Pipex system because the GDI in the first
element of TraceInformation should match the value in the MTSID.
However, event ID 209 is no longer treated as a nondelivery report (NDR) by
Microsoft Exchange Server (due to the proliferation of bad gateways that do
not follow the rules). So Microsoft Exchange Server overwrites a fatal
error (loop-detection) with a non-fatal error (mismatched GDI).
CAUSE
There are bugs in the Pipex system and some legacy systems that do not
detect loops correctly, and together cause the message to be no longer
treated as causing an NDR. Therefore, the Microsoft Exchange Server loop
detection procedures fail.
WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, obtain the hotfix mentioned below.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server
version 4.0.
This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange 4.0 U.S.
Service Pack. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the
following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):
| Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 4/28/2005 |
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| Keywords: | kbbug kbfix kbusage KB164838 |
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