Events 12800, 4182, and 4102 may be logged, and Internet Mail Service may stop responding in Exchange Server 5.5 (870935)

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use the following methods in the order in which they are presented. Test to check whether the problem is resolved after you complete each method. If the problem continues to occur, go to the next method.

Note Some methods contain links to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) support professionals use to resolve Exchange issues.

Method 1: Apply the /3GB switch

By default, the Microsoft Windows operating system addresses a total of 4 gigabytes (GB) of virtual address space. By default, 2 GB of this virtual address space is reserved for the kernel, and 2 GB is reserved for User mode programs such as Exchange. By kernel, we mean the operating system.

When you use the /3GB switch, you reallocate the virtual address space distribution to give User mode programs 3 GB of space and to limit the kernel to 1 GB. The /3GB switch is required only on computers that contain mailbox stores or public folder stores. We do not recommend the use of this switch on computers that do not contain mailbox stores or public folder stores.

IMPORTANT

• Use the /3GB switch only with the following operating systems:
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server.
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server.
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Server.
• Do not use the /3GB switch with the following operating systems:
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server.
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server.

Windows 2000 Server and Windows NT 4.0 Server can only allocate 2 GB to user-mode programs. If you use the /3GB switch with Windows 2000 Server or with Windows NT 4.0 Server, you have 1 GB for the kernel and 2 GB for user-mode programs. Therefore, you lose 1 GB of address space.

The following example shows how to add the /3GB switch to the Boot.ini file:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="<OperatingSystemName>" /3GB

Note The Boot.ini file is in the root of the system partition. Before you modify the Boot.ini file, modify your folder options so that you can view hidden files, and then back up the Boot.ini file.

Method 2: Apply the information store hotfix

For more information about how to apply the information store hotfix, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Method 3: Run Performance Optimizer

To run Performance Optimizer to configure the Exchange Server 5.5 computer, the information store, and the directory services, follow these steps:

1. At a command prompt, switch to the Exchsrvr\Bin folder, type perfwiz -v, and then press ENTER to start Performance Optimizer in verbose mode.
2. In Performance Optimizer, click Next.
3. Under Memory Usage, make sure that the Limit memory usage to check box is not selected.
   
   Note If the Limit memory usage to check box is selected, Exchange Server memory usage will be restricted.
4. Click Next until you see the Parameters window that includes the # of information store buffers box and the # of directory buffers box.
   
   If the New Value for the # of information store buffers box and for the # of directory buffers box is less than the Prev. Value, you had previously allocated more than the required buffers for your server. If the value is less, it is probably 30 to 50 times less.
   
   Note If Exchange Server runs out of buffers, you may receive out-of-memory messages or similar error messages. Typically, for Exchange Server 5.5, you will see between 3,000 buffers and 4,000 buffers allocated on a computer with 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM. On a server with 128 MB of RAM, you will probably have about 14,000 buffers total. After the first 64 MB of RAM, buffers are typically allocated at a rate of about 1,000 buffers for every additional 7 MB of RAM. This rate may vary, especially if your server provides specialized functions. For example, you server may be a connector or a gateway server that has no users on it.
5. Click Next to accept the values that are suggested by Performance Optimizer.
6. Make sure that the # of information store gateway in threads box and the # of information store gateway out threads box under New Value are set according to the following guidelines, and then click Next:
   • If your Exchange Server 5.5 is running on a multiprocessor computer, make sure that the new value for the # of information store gateway in threads box and the new value for the # of information store gateway out threads box are both 8.
   • If your Exchange Server 5.5 is running on a single processor computer, make sure that the new value for the # of information store gateway in threads box and the new value for the # of information store gateway out threads box are both 4.
     
     Note Increasing the information store threads may help clear out gateway queues.
7. In the # of background threads box under New Value, increase the value by the total number of threads that you added in step 6. For example, if you increased each of the two information store gateway threads from 2 to 8, increase the # of background threads box by 12, and then click Next.
8. Click Next until you see the # of dispatcher threads box, and then type the following values in the appropriate boxes under New Value:
   
   # of dispatcher threads: 8
   # of transfer threads: 8
   # of kernel threads: 8
   # of RTS threads: 8
   
   Increasing these values creates a larger pipe between the message transfer agent (MTA) and the information store. This enables the message backlog to be cleared more efficiently under high-traffic conditions
9. Click Next three times, and then click Finish to save all parameters and to restart services.