XFOR: Exchange cc:Mail Connector Causes NFT Error on Clandata (179072)

SYMPTOMS

The Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail may stop. The cc:Mail executable Import.exe produces the log file NFTerror.log in the cc:Mail post office directory. The Windows NT Application log may include multiple occurrences of the following events:

   Event ID: 59
   Lotus cc:Mail IMPORT from file *.ccm returned result code 1.  Program
   did not complete successfully.

   Event ID: 62
   MSExchangeCCMC
   Lotus cc:Mail IMPORT from file %1 returned result code 4. The Lotus
   cc:Mail post office is locked by another process.  %2

   Event ID: 71
   MSExchangeCCMC
   Lotus cc:Mail EXPORT to file %1 returned result code 4. The Lotus
   cc:Mail Post Office is locked by another process  %2

   Event ID: 59
   Lotus cc:Mail IMPORT from file *.ccm returned result code 1. Program did
   not complete successfully.

   Event ID: 68
   Lotus cc:Mail EXPORT to file msg4987.ccm returned result code 1. Could
   not access the Lotus cc:Mail Post Office.

CAUSE

Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail is designed to redirect the Import/Export console messages to temporary files located in the Exchsrvr\Ccmcdata directory. However, the file handles used to control these temporary files may not be generated correctly. When a file handle for a temporary file incorrectly matches a file handle used for a message content, the Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail writes the screen output to the header of that message. This writing causes Clandata corruption.

WORKAROUND

If the post office is a hub post office (without any users), then perform the following steps to restore message flow quickly:

Restore the post office from a current backup, before the corruption.
If there is no reliable backup, then install a new post office. Be careful to match the naming and routing configuration of the production post office.

If the post office has users, then follow these steps:

Inform the users that there may be a long period of message outage.
Install a new post office and reconfigure the routing.
Move each user from the corrupt post office to the new post office.
After the new post office is ready, review the cc:Mail temporary directories for any corrupt messages.
Move the corrupt post office outside its original directory.
Move the new post office to the location of the production post office.
Restart the Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. For information on 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

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft 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 on 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

MORE INFORMATION

When Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail is used with DB6 (version 6.x), it is possible for it to mis-write the .Tmp and .Ccm files that are written for the import process. When Import uses the mis-written .Ccm file, it corrupts the post office index (Clandata). The next time Import or Export is cycled, it generates an NFT error in the Nfterror.log file. The corruption occurs only when the Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail spawns Import or Export that in turn spawns the temporary file in the Exchsrvr\Ccmcdata\ directory.

The problem with allocating these temporary files is two-fold:

The Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail may fail to generate a valid file handle for the temporary file (resulting in a zero byte temporary file).
The Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus cc:Mail may corrupt the Clandata file by creating a valid file handle for the temporary file that actually matches the file handle for Import.exe's temporary file used for the actual message (Exchsrvr\ccmcdata\import\*.tmp). When a new process uses the handles that are duplicated in the process, the handles won't be unique, so at random the redirected console messages are written to the cc:Mail post office files.

When this problem occurs, you will also see plain text information similar to the following in the corrupted file by using debug or VC++. You should not see any plain text information in the non-corrupted cc:Mail post office files.

   0AFA:3F00  0D 0A 0D 0A 45 78 70 6F-72 74 69 6E 67 20 6D 65
   ....Exporting
   me
   0AFA:3F10  73 73 61 67 65 73 20 69-6E 20 6D 61 69 6C 62 6F   ssages in
   mailbo
   0AFA:3F20  78 20 22 72 61 6E 64 79-79 65 68 5F 65 65 22 20   x
   "randyyeh_ee"
   0AFA:3F30  74 6F 20 66 69 6C 65 20-45 58 50 4F 52 54 5C 4D   to file
   EXPORT\M
   0AFA:3F40  53 47 34 41 32 37 2E 43-43 4D 0D 0A 41 FA 2B 16
   SG4A27.CCM..A.+.
   0AFA:3F50  58 64 44 6A 63 28 E9 7E-ED 83 D5 D0 54 7B DE 25
   XdDjc(.~....T{.%
   0AFA:3F60  89 94 34 11 33 CD E2 0C-82 8B 57 5E 34 D1 39 2A
   ..4.3.....W^4.9*
   0AFA:3F70  AF 38 B2 20 11 8E 85 4F-A6 77 7D 5A C9 F9 3C AB   .8.
   ...O.w}Z..<.