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Removing a domain name from Exchange server

We have an Exchange 2003 email server running three email domain names, eg:

domain1.com
domain2.com
domain3.com

We have moved domain3.com to a new server (external/internet based now). However, when users on domain1.com or domain2.com try to send email to domain3.com, it bounced back saying the recipient is unknown, eg:

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.
Subject:  
Sent: 23/03/2006 07:59
The following recipient(s) could not be reached:
  user1@domain1.com on 23/03/2006 07:59
  The e-mail account does not exist at the organization this message was sent to. Check the e-mail address, or contact the recipient directly to find out the correct address.
  <mail.encams.local #5.1.1>

The email sent to domain3.com is not leaving the exchange server (we are monitoring at gateway level). How can we remove all traces of the domain3.com from our current exchange server, therefore forcing the email "out" of the gateway?

On Exchange 5.5, to remove a domain name, you simply go to site > configuration > site addressing > and remove the email domain name from there.

How would I remove domain3.com from my Exchange 2003 server?

Urgent, hence 500 points.

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rakeshmiglani
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how did you move domain3.com to a new server?
is the new server part of the same exchange ORG and Admin group?
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ASKER

Hi.

domain3.com is now not on our lan, our building, our network or anything, it is a completely separate entity which we have created externally (on the internet) and is hosted externally.

We "simply" need to remove traces of domain3.com from our existing AD/Exchange to enable email addressed to domain3.com to go "out" to the Internet, instead of it looking "locally" for it.

have you checked your recipient policies?
is the domain3.com email address configured there?
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ASKER

Hi.

We edited the recipient policy for domain3.com and simply changed the email address to domain3.com.old

Will this suffice?
if you are not using it then why not remove it from the policies.
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ASKER

What would happen if I were to delete that recipient policy completely?

It is currently # 1 in the policies list.

Would anything else be affected?
how many policies do you have?
are the other domain names also configured in this policy or do you have seperate policies for the other 2 domains
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ASKER

Hi.

Separate policies for each domain name, so only domain3.com is in the top one.

Safe to delete then!
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ASKER

Hi.

Policy deleted, tried sending an email to domain3.com and still get the same error:

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.
Subject: test to dom3
Sent: 23/03/2006 09:53
The following recipient(s) could not be reached:
  test.user@domain3.com on 23/03/2006 09:53
  The e-mail account does not exist at the organization this message was sent to. Check the e-mail address, or contact the recipient directly to find out the correct address.
  <mail.encams.local #5.1.1>


I have re-applied the remaining policies.
is this a mix mode setup (exchange 5.5 and exchange 200x)? or just pure exchange 200x

lower the priority of this policy so that the other two (domain1 and domain2) are set as priority 1 and 2 or priority 2 and 1.

make sure that you have not configured any thing else in the policy for domain3.com like FAX addresses or any custom address.

the delete the domain3.com policy

wait for replication or restart the exchange services
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ASKER

Hi.

Tricky to restart services during the day. Can I force replication now?

(no mixed mode by the way)

how many servers?

you can force the AD replication.
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ASKER

Just the one email server.

How can i force a replication please?
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rakeshmiglani
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ASKER

Thanks for your help, but alas, still no luck.

No change at all, same error.  It is as if it still has a record or a trace of domain3.com in there somewhere.

Anything else I can try or look for?


i would suggest a restart of all the exchange services to flush the old information.

you can also check the settings in your existing policies whether the domain3.com smtp address is present there

also has any configuration been done in the smtp virtual server settings or any smtp connector created or modified
How to configure the SMTP connector in Exchange 200x
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/265293/en-us

When to create SMTP connectors in Exchange 2000 and later
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294736/en-us

How to install and to configure SMTP Connectors in Exchange 2000 Server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314961/en-us
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Do you have internal MX records for domain3.com in DNS ?

Try this from a CMD box on your Exchange server:


ntslookup
set type=mx
domain3.com


It should show you where it wants to send the mail.
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ASKER

Hi Lee.

NS Lookup resolves correctly to the external ip of domain3.com

Could Exchange be caching dns lookups?

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ASKER

Hi again.

Our exchange server uses a local smarthost, it does not have direct internet access.

I can telnet out on port 25 to the smarthost and send a telnet email with no problems.

This is how I know the domain3.com email is not leaving the server, as we are not seeing an incomming connection on the smarthost server from the Exchange server when trying to email domain3.com

The plot thickens!
Is the smarthost entered into your Default Virtual Server, or an SMTP connector?  If it's an SMTP connector, you will need to add domain3.com to its list of namespaces, unless it already has * in the list.
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ASKER

Hi.

If I goto the properties of the Default SMTP Connector, in the General tab, the smarthost is listed in there. Under the Address Space tab of the same properties window, I simply have a * entry for SMTP.
OKay, so everything's going through that.  I think the next thing I would try is to do an NSLOOKUP from the smarthost, to see where that thinks mail for domain3.com should be going.
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ASKER

Hi.

The smarthost mx record lookup still looks to the internet on the correct ip, but as above, the smarthost is not seeing/getting a connection from the exchange server when sending email to domain3.com

It's as if the email refuses to leave the local exchange server as there are traces or something still prompting the exchange server to think that it still manages email for domain3.com !?

So, you definitely have no recipient policies containing this domain? Is the Default SMTP Virtual Server configured to use external DNS servers (Delivery/Advanced)?

Do you have Message Tracking enabled?
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ASKER

Definately no recip pols left containing domain3.com

Default SMTP Virtual Server uses the same smarthost, external dns servers part is empty. Worth me adding an internet-based dns server in there?

Bear in mind still, I don't think the email is getting this far (to the point of external/smtp delivery) ?

Alas, we have no message tracking in place.
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ASKER

Pulling (whats left) of my hair out on this one now.

Can I create a virtual "something" so if Exchange sees an email address to domain3.com it knows to send it out via the smarthost address?

I wouldn't add an external DNS server if the name is resolving correctly.  On the other hand, it would do no harm to try it for a few minutes, I guess.  I was just wondering if there was something already in there, it may be best to take it out, that's all.  I don't think you need the smarthost configured on the VS if it is also on the Connector, but this wouldn't give you a problem for just one domain.

I would try turning in message tracking, then you can see what happens to the message as it passes through various parts of the messaging path.
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ASKER

Ok, message tracking on.

I get:

store drive: message submitted from store
message submitted to advanced queing
message submitted to categorizer
message categorized and queued for routing
non-delivered report (ndr) generated


Can I break that down further still?
No.  But that is exactly what you'd get for a badly-addressed internal mail.  So, it is definitely not leaving the server.

Is there anything interesting in the Event Logs on the Exchange server?
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ASKER

Not a thing, eventwvr all looking healthy and normal, no traces of anything out of place.

Any workarounds or anything?
I think it's time for a restart of the Exchange services, I'm afraid.  You might try adding domain3.com back into you Default Recipient Policy, and then removing it again, in case it got confused last time you removed it, or something.  But I wouldn't expect anything miraculous to happen.

You have no trace of domain3.com in Active Directory Domains and Trusts?  Or in DNS Manager?
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ASKER

Thanks for your help Lee, will reboot at 7AM (empty office!) and keep you posted.
Did the reboot fix it?  Was it as simple as that?