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authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 20.Aug.2008 1:28:26 PM

techissues

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I have been using Exchange 2003 in my organization for many years and just noticed a strange occurrence:
We have one site with many 2003 servers - upwards to 12. When accessing the Exchange System Manager from one of the servers, we noticed that we were unable to see a mailbox store, and oddly, it was only on one of the servers and not all of them. It was given us some authentication problem and it appeared that the store was offline when in actuality, it wasn�t. When checking the security event logs, we saw failed authentication attempts when we were trying to access the information store on that particular server. It was pointing to an obscure AD account that we had deactivated a couple of years ago. When we reactivated the AD account and gave it suitable permissions, the problem went away. My dilemma is that I would like to change the AD account that these two servers authenticate to each other but I see no where in the ESM or other location to perform this. Further, I have no idea how this ad account became the account that is used to talk to these two machines but I would like to know how to change it without having to pay Microsoft a support call. I would hope that someone else has had a similar situation and found a solution.

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RE: authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 20.Aug.2008 10:41:23 PM

uemurad

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First, tell me if you have 12 Exchange servers or Windows servers. If they are all Windows servers, did you install the Exchange System Tools on all of them?

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Dean T. Uemura
Microsoft MVP - Exchange
exchangeguy.blogspot.com
uemurad@yahoo.com

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RE: authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 21.Aug.2008 6:41:44 AM

techissues

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The windows infrastructure comprises of a combination of both windows 2003 domain controllers some with exchange 2003 installed directly on the DC and some exchange 2003 installed on member servers. But to answer your question, there are 8 windows 2003 domain controllers and 12 windows 2003 exchange servers in operation. All operate under the same domain and exchange ou to keep things simple.

And yes, the windows system tools was and is installed on all 12. All 12 are also updated to the latest updates and service packs: windows 2003 SP2 and Exchange 2003 SP2
Thanks...

< Message edited by techissues -- 21.Aug.2008 6:50:29 AM >

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RE: authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 21.Aug.2008 11:20:49 AM

uemurad

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Thanks for the additional information. I have another question - does this happen when looking at ESM on just one particular server, some of the other servers, or from all the other servers? Also, I'm assuming you are using the same account to log on to each of the servers to use ESM, correct?

_____________________________

Regards,

Dean T. Uemura
Microsoft MVP - Exchange
exchangeguy.blogspot.com
uemurad@yahoo.com

(in reply to techissues)

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RE: authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 21.Aug.2008 11:34:29 AM

techissues

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It happens on only one server meaning:

Example:

There are servers A thru H.
Server A can see any server�s parameters � mailboxes, stores, make AD changes, etc. on servers A-H
Server B can also see any server�s parameters � mailboxes, stores, make AD changes, etc. (but not server C). when you look at server C�s store FROM server B�s ESM, it shows it dismounted but from all other servers, server C looks just fine.

I know, I hate word problems but probably the best way to explain it.

Yes, all servers use the same account.

Thanks

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RE: authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 21.Aug.2008 12:26:16 PM

uemurad

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Don't worry about the "word problems". You are making perfect sense.

I can't think of anything in particular that would cause this, so I'll keep asking questions in the hope that it triggers something in one of us leading to a promising line of thought.

Are all the servers in the same Exchange Administrative Group?
Are all the servers in the same domain, or are there child domains involved?
Do you see anything in the Security Log on either B or C at the time you attempt to view the store information in ESM?
Do you have another login account you can test with - THE domain Administrator account for example (just to confirm it's an Exchange-to-Exchange issue and not a permission issue with the account you are using)?
Have you searched the Security Permissions for C to look for differences from the other servers? Are all servers inheriting permissions?

_____________________________

Regards,

Dean T. Uemura
Microsoft MVP - Exchange
exchangeguy.blogspot.com
uemurad@yahoo.com

(in reply to techissues)

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RE: authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 21.Aug.2008 12:47:37 PM

techissues

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Joined: 20.Aug.2008
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We�re making progress. We believe this issue may be related to the "local" server's admin account which is also our privileged domain account � they have the same name. When we choose another account when logging into the problem server the error isn�t there. So, I think we�re closing in on this on and we�ll definitely post a final resolution when we�ve finished.

Thanks for all your help. You certainly pointed us in the right direction.

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RE: authentication problem between Exch 2003 servers - 21.Aug.2008 1:31:01 PM

uemurad

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From: California, USA
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Sounds good. Let me know if you need more ideas.

_____________________________

Regards,

Dean T. Uemura
Microsoft MVP - Exchange
exchangeguy.blogspot.com
uemurad@yahoo.com

(in reply to techissues)

Post #: 8