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Q156729: XFOR: Malformed Dir-Sync Transactions Cause DXA to Stop

Article: Q156729
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbnetwork
Last Modified: 13-JAN-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

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

When the Directory Synchronization service (DXA) is processing incoming
directory synchronization (dir-sync) transactions and is acting as either a
Dir-Sync Server or Dir-Sync Requester, the DXA stops.

CAUSE
=====

This is due to malformed addresses in the incoming transaction file. X.400
addresses must use either a semicolon (;) or a forward slash mark (/) as
separators. For example:

A valid address:

  A Good, GuyX400:/c=US/admd=ATTMAIL/prmd=TEST/pn=Guy.Good

An invalid address:

  A Bad, OneX400:C=US'A=ATTMAIL;O=ATTMAIL;S=Bad

WORKAROUND
==========

When the DXA stops while processing incoming transactions the first
troubleshooting step should be to verify that incoming transactions are not
malformed and do not contain invalid characters. Cleaning up the illegal
addresses on the Microsoft Mail postoffices will correct this problem.

Microsoft now has a fix available that will prevent the DXA from stopping when it
encounters these malformed transactions in the dir-sync process. These addresses
are thrown away rather than processed.


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:

  " SERVPACK" (without the quotation marks)


Additional query words: DirSync DirSynch Dir-Synch

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

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