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Q155695: XCON: Replication Over X.400 Backbone Might Fail

Article: Q155695
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbusage
Last Modified: 03-APR-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When a Microsoft Exchange X.400 Connector is used to connect two or more
Microsoft Exchange Sites over a corporate X.400 backbone, replication might
fail.

CAUSE
=====

This can happen because initial replication places the name of the other
Microsoft Exchange Server's Directory in the X.400 P1 recipient name. When the
name of the Microsoft Exchange Site or Organization contains characters that are
not printable in the Microsoft Exchange Server computer's character set, the
address becomes invalid in X.400 terms. A Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer
Agent (MTA) in a backbone which acts as a hub between two or more Microsoft
Exchange Servers might refuse the message. This is true even if the Site
Addressing is changed to a correct value.

MORE INFORMATION
================

An example of an invalid address is:

  C=US;A=TELECOM;P=COMPANY;O=ABC;DDA.TYPE=MSXCHNGE;DDA.VALUE=ABC_XYZ

where the underscore in the DDA.VALUE is not printable in the Microsoft Exchange
Server computer's character set.

WORKAROUND
==========

This only happens when you use characters that are not in the printable- string
character set in Microsoft Exchange Organization and Site names and when an
X.400 backbone refuses the message. It is not an issue when connecting to
Microsoft Exchange Servers directly.

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 Service
Pack. 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


Additional query words: conformance

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Keywords          : kbusage 
Technology        : kbExchangeSearch kbExchange400 kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : winnt:4.0

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