Hi, Would anyone know if there's a way to set the SITE attribute so the Ex07server will always belong to a single site? I've had it happen that Exchange stops delivering email and also stops accepting OWA connections. The problem's always that either the CAS/Hub Transport role holder, or the Mailbox server thinks it belongs to another AD site. get-exchangeserver displays the SITE attrinute. This is always the site of the logonserver when you key in SET at the cmd prompt, or the DC shown in nltest /sc_query Sometimes I am able to fix thisusing nltest /sc_reset to point back to a DC in the correct site. Frequently this does not work. (a combination of failing over, rebooting and restarting the cluster service comes into play) I've tried setting static domain controllers and Global Catalogs with set-exchangeserver, but this does not affect the SITE attribute. Possibly it just ensures dsaccesshappens againstnominated DC/GCs only. Would anyone know if there's a way to set the SITE attribute so the Ex07server will always belong to a single site? cheers, soon

Hi, I don't think that there is a way (and it really should not be necessary). When you configure AD sites and add the appropiate subnets to these sites The Exchange servers should discover these settings. Leif

Very true except that the underlying network infrastructure is ummh, sub-optimal. AD is properly configured but eccentric connectivity means the nearest DC does not always respond in time.Apart from traffic and sometimes slow logons, there are no big problems for most machines and apps to authenticate outside of their AD sites. But an issue does arises when one of the Ex07 servers decides it's in a different site.Anyway to force Ex07 to to recalculate its site after an sc_reset? Maybe restart the services - I'll try this the next time.Probably not a good idea on the CCR but maybe on the CAS/Hub servers.soon

Has anybody tried hard coding the the site on an Ex07 server at the OS level using the sitename value?i.e.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters\SiteNameI know there's a technet article "SiteName is hard-coded" that warns against doing this in EX03; but KB article 322834 recommends using this value for a particular Ex2000 issue.Would anybody know if there are issues or gotchas associated with using this value on Ex07?cheers,soon

Hi, In Exchange 2007, the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service is responsible for updating the site attribute of the Exchange server object. Active Directory clients assume site membership by matching their assigned IP address to a subnet that is defined in Active Directory Sites and Services and associated with an Active Directory site. The Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service checks the site membership attribute on the Exchange server object when the server starts. If the site attribute has to be updated, the Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology stamps the attribute with the new value. The Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service verifies the site attribute value every 15 minutes and updates the value if site membership has changed. The Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology service uses the Net Logon service to obtain current site membership. The Net Logon service updates site membership every five minutes. This means that up to a 20-minute latency period may pass between the time that site membership changes and the new value is stamped on the site attribute. Regarding the Hard-Code method, I think that it will not affect the current Exchange 2007 configuration. Nevertheless, I think that it is not a recommended methods to work around the issue. Therefore, I suggest that you check the Subsets setting of AD Sites and Services as Active Directory Topology service determines the site membership according to the Subnets. Please also check whether any AD Replication issue exists. For further reference: Planning to Use Active Directory Sites for Routing Mail http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996299(EXCHG.80).aspx Mike

Great post, answers many questions that have been bouncing around in my head. Sadly it is not AD but a rather unstable network that is causing the problems. The cure is therefore out of my hands and the best I can do is to put in a workaround until someone fixes the rest cheers, soon

Logged a call with MS. Apparently using this setting with EX07 is supported and has been used to resolve mailflow issues. I've doen this and will post again if there are gotchas cheers, soon