2000 domain
Exchange 2003 on Server 2003
Internet mail server
In our SMTP connecter we are forwarding all mail through our external mail server.. We have noticed that when mail comes in to an address that has been deleted and no longer exists it will bounce back and forth between exchange 2003 and the external mail server about 30 times. I have a feeling this is what causing the errors but do not know how to resolve.
Receiving a lot of errors in event viewer on Exchange 2003 server
Event Type: Error
Event Source: MSExchangeTransport
Event Category: NDR
Event ID: 3005
Date: 9/9/2004
Time: 2:23:34 PM
User: N/A
Computer: exchange2003
Description:
A non-delivery report with a status code of 4.4.6 was generated for recipient rfc822;johndoe@abc.NET (Message-ID <55310761-2-1-1094751042@xpedite.com>).
Cause: The maximum hop count was exceeded for this message. This non-delivery report can also be caused if a looping condition exists between sending and receiving servers that are not in the same Exchange organization. In this situation, the message bounces back and forth until the hop count is exceeded. A configuration error in the e-mail system can also cause the message to bounce between two servers or to be forwarded between two recipients.
Solution: The maximum hop count is a property set on each virtual server and you can manually override it. The default maximum hop count is 15. Also, check for any situations that might cause loops between servers.
Simon.