Topic Last Modified: 2006-03-16
The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool examines the Cluster\Resources registry settings of the Exchange server system.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Cluster\Resources
If the Exchange Server Analyzer finds that the Message Transfer Agent (MTA) Stacks service resources are running on the Exchange Server 2003 cluster in a native mode organization, the Exchange Server Analyzer displays a best practice message.
As a best practice, it is recommended that the Exchange Administrator configure the MTA resource so that MTA does not cause a possible Exchange Virtual Server failover when MTA stops or fails.
 Note: |
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| The MTA Stacks service in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 is frequently used to provide backward-compatible message transfer services between Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003 servers and Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 servers in a mixed-mode environment. When the transition is made to a pure Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003 native-mode environment, MTA is not a critical resource for Exchange services to run. |
If the MTA Stacks service stops running or fails, a possible Exchange Virtual Server failover may be set off. To prevent a possible Exchange Virtual Server (EVS) failover, it is recommended as a best practice that you configure the MTA Stacks service to avoid a failover by doing the following.
To configure the MTA Stacks service to an unaffected state in an Exchange server cluster-
Open Cluster Administrator
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Clear the Affect this Group option for the MTA Stack service resource.
For More Information
For information about MTA Stacks service supportability guidelines for Exchange Server 2003, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 810489, "MTA Stacks service supportability guidelines for Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=810489).
For more information about MTA in the Exchange Server 2003 architecture, see Exchange MTA in Exchange Server 2003 Architecture (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=63496).
For information about how to deploy Exchange Server 2003 in a cluster, see Deploying Exchange Server 2003 in a Cluster (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=63495).
For information about how to use Cluster Administrator, see Using Cluster Administrator to Manage Exchange Clusters (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=63493).