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exchange routing issues

I recently added a new exchange server into an environment with an existing exchange server with plans to decommission the old server. when i setup the server i had an issue with mail routing internally so i created 2 separate routing groups and had them point to each other, which was successful. It then came time to stop the services on the old server so we could see if there was any issues. I also moved the old server that was in a routing group to the routing group of the new server which automatically put it as a member. since this i get mail that backs up in the default smtp virtual server queue of the old server.

My question is should i stop the smtp virtual service on the old server? I"ve still got the relay info on the old server as well. Would removing that make a difference? I can't find a lot of documentation on this that relates to the issue that I"m having. I enabled logging on the transport level and receive a lot of event id: 984.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help on this.

Cheers!!!

endital1097

i would look at the settings for your default smtp virtual server on each server
if either is configured to use a smart host you will break mail flow between other exchange servers

pizza1

ASKER

our new server has our smtp gateway as a smart host. should i remove that? the old server has nothing.

endital1097

yes, you need to create a secondary smtp virtual server in coordination with an smtp connector
otherwise the new server will always attempt to deliver via the smart host and never deliver to your old server

endital1097

create an smtp connector
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/265293

pizza1

ASKER

I'm sorry i should've said that i moved all the mailboxes to the new server so there is no reason for mail to flow through that. The queue that is on the new server holds mail in the smtp virtual queue of the old server.

Does that make sense? I apologize if it's not clear.

endital1097

look at the messages in the queue, you'll probably find public folder replication messages

pizza1

ASKER

no public folder replication messages. i removed the old server from the replication list before i stopped the services. As of right now I've got 83 messages in the oldserver.domain.com smtp virtual server queue.

endital1097

did you stop any services on the old server? i would view messages in the queue to see what they were. since you have the new server configured with a smart host, all internet mail should be routed out thru it
check within your routing group for any smtp connectors too

pizza1

ASKER

All services have been stopped except the smtp service. When i view the messages in the queue it just says that the sender is the new server (newserver.domain.com) and the recipient is the old server (oldserver.domain.com)

I currently don't have any smtp connectors or routing groups.

Thanks for the help.

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endital1097

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pizza1

ASKER

even if there aren't any user mailboxes on the server? does it go by the smtp mailbox? what is recommended when decommissioning a server so this doesn't happen. Is it a big deal?

endital1097

yes, they must be running
you should have everything running until you decommission the server
when you decommission the server will be removed from the directory and no communication will be attempted

pizza1

ASKER

I was reading that it's a good thing to stop services for a week or so just in case there's something using the server that we don't know about.

endital1097

i've heard people that do this, and if this is your only "issue" you sound like you're ready

pizza1

ASKER

so, since these are "basic" system messages I can delete them at any time, right?

endital1097

i would mount the store/strat is
these are most likely just link state messages which would be safe to delete

pizza1

ASKER

Ok, well I appreciate your help.

Cheers!!