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Can't restart smtpsvc?

I'm experiencing the problem detailed in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950757 on my Exchange server. I read in another thread here on EE, that an alternative to installing the hotfix from Microsoft is to set up a scheduled task to manually stop and start the smtpsvc, with the idea being that NDRs will be generated for any messages still in the queue at that time.

I've set up a batch file, but when I try to run "net stop smtpsvc" I get:

The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service is stopping................
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service could not be stopped.

When I check the event log, I see this:

Cluster resource 'SMTP Virtual Server Instance 1 (EXCHANGE01)' in Resource Group 'Exchange Resources' failed.

I'm assuming MSCS doesn't like me manually restarting services. Is there any way I can get around this?

PC_Rob

Try using the IISRESET command instead. It also resets the SMTP service I believe.

Here is a detailed article of usage:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/202013

iisreset /restart usually does it for me when I can't get the service to stop from the services manager.

Regards,

Rob

FWeston

ASKER

That seems like it might work, but I'd really rather not take down IIS if I can help it, since that would kick people out of OWA and would temporarily break ActiveSync.

Mestha

Any reason you don't want to install the hotfix for the greylisting bug?
It takes about two minutes to get and then install.

Simon.

FWeston

ASKER

Yes - we only have one user who's mentioned this problem to us, and the amount of messages it affects is miniscule. MS recommends only installing the hotfix if the problem is seriously affecting you, so I'd rather avoid introducing any random elements into our Exchange setup if possible since that's probably the most critical service we provide. The SMTP restart seems like it should solve the problem without requiring us to install any software.

Mestha

I install the hotfix on to every server that I deploy, and haven't seen any problems with it. I actually asked Microsoft if they would push out on Automatic updates, but for some reason they declined to.

Restarting SMTP is fine, unless you happen to be receiving a message at the time.

Personally I would have no problems with deploying the patch, and I encourage everyone with Exchange 2003 to do so.

Simon.

FWeston

ASKER

If this were a new installation, I wouldn't have any problem installing a hotfix, but since it's established and is mission critical, I'd rather not do it unless absolutely necessary. Regarding the SMTP restart, if the message isn't completely received, I assume it would be treated as a failure and would be thrown in the retry queue.

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Mestha

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FWeston

ASKER

That makes sense, and is what I was thinking regarding the SMTP restart, but wasn't sure how to confirm it. I'll take your word for it, and we'll go ahead and install the hotfix.

FWeston

ASKER

Installed the patch with no issues