RUS not updating the user email aliases 1

[cowboy00242]

The Recipient Update Service (RUS) in Exchange 2000 is not updating the recipient list any more. When I first installed Ex2k, I included 3 new aliases in the Default recipient policy. Users that were mailbox and mail activated at that time (not ALL users in the domain)recieved the aliases according to the policy. This was about 2 months ago.

Last week, I attempted to mail enable the remainder of the users. When I was finished, I found that users only recieved 2 of 3 aliases. To test, I made a change to the Default policy, and forced an update. This did not work. I rebuilt the RUS for the domain, and that did not work either. I finally re-installed sp2 for Ex2k, and rebooted. Still no change.

Any thoughts? It is simply refusing to update the addresses according to policy.

 

[meekrob]

Is the update interval set to Always Run?

 

[Xybertron]

Is any 5.5 still in place?

Have you turned up logging on the MSExchangeAL? Dan
Microsoft Exchange Support @ Microsoft

 

[cowboy00242]

Thank you both for your suggestions. I had actually had the update interval set to Always Run, as well as upped the logging level to check for errors. There were no errors. What I encountered I can only call "by design". Here's what was happening, and how I worked around it:

Call my email domain "company.com". I have the Default policy set to create 5 aliases for every user with mail (includes mail-enabled and mailbox-enabled users). One of these aliases is firstname.lastname@company.com, which is set to be the primary alias.

When I would mailbox-enable someone, all aiases were created, and the primary was set correctly. However, when I mail-enabled someone (essetially a redirector), the primary would never be created, but the other aliases would. Exchange would set the primary as the redirected email address. Ex: I want Joe.Blow@company.com to redirect to joe.blow@hotmail.com, so joe.blow@hotmail.com would be set by Exchange as the primary address.

What Exchange was doing was making a choice: since the redirector was already the primary, it would skip the creation of the primary that was dictated by the Default policy. So, no joe.blow@company.com gets created in this case, but the other aliases are created.

My workaround: change the primary to one of the less-used aliases, and push the update. Then, create all my redirectors. Once finished, I reset the primary in the policy to the one I really want, and push the policy out again. Eureka! The first step insures that the alias I really want is created, and the second step switches all mailboxes back to the correct primary. I have to do it this way, because the users with mailboxes have to have their return addresses show up as firstname.lastname@company.com, and all redirectors have to have this as their address within the company (company policy).

But this is silly. Exchange should still create the alias, regardless of whether or not it is primary. It's very bothersome. There should at least be a choice to have it create or not create when it is in a "conflict".

In the future, we will create the redirectors and add the firstname.lastname alias manually to each one. We had to do it "in bulk" this time, so we had to play games with policy.

Thanks again for your suggestions. I hope that my explanation helps someone evade this problem in the future.

 

[Xybertron]

Never ever modify the default policy with anything in front of the @domain.com

By default the Default Policy stamps Public Stores and this messes them up. It will screw up replication of them if you have more than one Public Store.

Are you using %g.%s@domain.com for the Primary? If so read above as you will break stuff doing this. And if not this is what you need to use. But in a policy other than the Default. And set it up to only do Mailboxes and Contacts.

Dan
Microsoft Exchange Support @ Microsoft

 

[cowboy00242]

I made the change you suggested. Thanks for the tip!