Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP3, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007
Topic Last Modified: 2007-01-02

This topic explains how to configure message retry, resubmit, and expiration intervals on an Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 server that has the Hub Transport server role or the Edge Transport server role installed.

Before You Begin

To perform the following procedures, the account you use must be delegated the following:

  • Exchange Organization Administrator role

To perform the following procedures on a computer that has the Edge Transport server role installed, you must log on by using an account that is a member of the local Administrators group on that computer.

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange Server 2007, see Permission Considerations.

Retry Intervals

When a Hub Transport server or an Edge Transport server can't connect to the next hop, the queue is put in a status of Retry. Connection attempts continue at specified retry intervals until the queue expires or a connection is made.

Configuring the Queue Glitch Retry Count

The queue glitch retry count specifies the number of connection attempts that are immediately tried when a transport server has trouble connecting with the destination server. The default queue glitch retry count is 4. Typically, you don't have to modify this parameter unless the network is unreliable and continues to experience many accidentally dropped connections. If you set the queue glitch retry count to 0, the server does not immediately attempt to retry an unsuccessful connection, and the next connection attempt is controlled by the transient failure retry attempts.

To modify the queue glitch retry count

  1. Open the following file by using Notepad: C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin\EdgeTransport.exe.config.

  2. Modify the following line in the <appSettings> section:

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    <add key="QueueGlitchRetryCount" value="<Integer>" />

    For example, to change the queue glitch retry count to 6, modify the QueueGlitchRetryCount parameter as follows:

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    <add key="QueueGlitchRetryCount" value="6" />

  3. Save and close the EdgeTransport.exe.config file.

  4. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Transport service.

The valid input range for this parameter is 0 to 15.

Configuring the Queue Glitch Retry Interval

The queue glitch retry interval specifies the interval between each connection attempt that is specified by the QueueGlitchRetryCount parameter. The default queue glitch retry interval is 1 minute. Typically, you don't have to modify this parameter unless the network is unreliable and continues to experience many accidentally dropped connections.

To modify the queue glitch retry interval

  1. Open the following file by using Notepad: C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin\EdgeTransport.exe.config.

  2. Modify the following line in the <appSettings> section:

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    <add key="QueueGlitchRetryInterval" value="<hh:mm:ss>" />

    For example, to change the queue glitch retry count to 30 seconds, modify the QueueGlitchRetryCount parameter as follows:

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    <add key="QueueGlitchRetryInterval" value="00:00:30" />

  3. Save and close the EdgeTransport.exe.config file.

  4. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Transport service.

To specify an age value, enter the value as a time span, as follows: hh:mm:ss, where h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds.

Configuring the Number of Transient Failure Retry Attempts

The number of transient failure retry attempts specifies the number of connection attempts that are tried after the connection attempts that are controlled by the QueueGlitchRetryCount and QueueGlitchRetryInterval parameters have failed. The default number of transient failure retry attempts is 6. If you set the number of transient failure retry attempts to 0, the next connection attempt is controlled by the outbound connection failure retry interval.

To use the Exchange Management Console to set the number of transient failure retry attempts

  1. Open the Exchange Management Console. Perform one of the following steps:

    • On a computer that has the Edge Transport server role installed, in the console tree, select Edge Transport, and then click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

    • On a computer that has the Hub Transport server role installed, in the console tree, expand Server Configuration, and then select Hub Transport. In the result pane, select a server. In the action pane, click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

  2. Click the Limits tab.

  3. Enter an integer next to Transient Failure retry attempts. The valid input range is 0 to 15.

  4. Click Apply to save your changes and remain in the Properties page, or click OK to save your changes and exit the Properties page.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to set the number of transient failure retry attempts

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -TransientFailureRetryCount <Integer>

    For example, if you want to change the number of transient failure retry attempts to 8 on an Exchange 2007 Edge Transport server named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 - TransientFailureRetryCount 8

The valid input range for this parameter is 0 to 15.

Configuring the Transient Failure Retry Interval

The transient failure retry interval specifies the interval between each connection attempt that is specified by the number of transient failure retry attempts. On a Hub Transport server, the default transient failure retry interval is 5 minutes. On an Edge Transport server, the default transient failure retry interval is 10 minutes.

To use the Exchange Management Console to set the transient failure retry interval

  1. Open the Exchange Management Console. Perform one of the following steps:

    • On a computer that has the Edge Transport server role installed, in the console tree, select Edge Transport, and then click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

    • On a computer that has the Hub Transport server role installed, in the console tree, expand Server Configuration, and then select Hub Transport. In the result pane, select a server. In the action pane, click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

  2. Click the Limits tab.

  3. Enter a value in seconds next to Transient failure retry interval (seconds). In the Exchange Management Console, the valid input range is 1 second to 43200 seconds (12 hours).

  4. Click Apply to save your changes and remain in the Properties page, or click OK to save your changes and exit the Properties page.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to set the transient failure retry interval

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -TransientFailureRetryInterval <Age>

    For example, if you want to change the transient failure retry interval to 1 minute seconds on an Exchange 2007 Hub Transport server named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 - TransientFailureRetryInterval 00:01:00

To specify an age value, enter the value as a time span, as follows: hh:mm:ss, where h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds. The valid input range for this parameter is 00:00:01 to 12:00:00.

Configuring the Outbound Connection Failure Retry Interval

The outbound connection failure retry interval specifies the retry interval for outgoing connection attempts that have previously failed. The previously failed connection attempts are controlled by the transient failure retry attempts and the transient failure retry interval. The default value for the outbound connection failure retry interval on a Hub Transport server is 10 minutes. The default value on an Edge Transport server is 30 minutes.

To use the Exchange Management Console to set the outbound connection failure retry interval

  1. Open the Exchange Management Console. Perform one of the following steps:

    • On a computer that has the Edge Transport server role installed, in the console tree, select Edge Transport, and then click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

    • On a computer that has the Hub Transport server role installed, in the console tree, expand Server Configuration, and then select Hub Transport. In the result pane, select a server. In the action pane, click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

  2. Click the Limits tab.

  3. Enter a value in minutes next to Outbound connection failure retry interval (minutes). In the Exchange Management Console, the valid input range is 1 minute to 28800 minutes (20 days).

  4. Click Apply to save your changes and remain in the Properties page, or click OK to save your changes and exit the Properties page.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to set the outbound connection failure retry interval

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -OutboundConnectionFailureRetryInterval <Age>

    For example, if you want to change the outbound connection failure retry interval to 45 minutes on an Exchange 2007 Edge Transport server named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 - OutboundConnectionFailureRetryInterval 00:45:00

To specify an age value, enter the value as a time span, as follows: dd.hh:mm:ss, where d = days, h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds. The valid input range for this parameter is 00:00:01 to 20.00:00:00.

Configuring the Mailbox Delivery Queue Retry Interval

The mailbox delivery queue retry interval specifies how frequently the mailbox delivery queues on a Hub Transport server try to connect to a Mailbox server destination that can't be successfully reached. By default, the mailbox delivery queue retry interval is 5 minutes. The mailbox delivery queue retry interval is controlled by the MailboxDeliveryQueueRetryInterval parameter in the EdgeTransport.exe.config application configuration file that is located in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin directory. Changes that are saved to the EdgeTransport.exe.config file take effect after the Microsoft Exchange Transport service is restarted.

To set the mailbox delivery queue retry interval

  1. Open the following file by using Notepad: C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin\EdgeTransport.exe.config.

  2. Modify the following line in the <appSettings> section:

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    <add key="MailboxDeliveryQueueRetryInterval" value="<hh:mm:ss>" />

    For example, to set the mailbox delivery queue retry interval to 3 minutes, modify the MaiboxDeliveryQueueRetryInterval parameter as follows:

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    <add key=" MailboxDeliveryQueueRetryInterval " value="00:03:00" />

  3. Save and close the EdgeTransport.exe.config file.

  4. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Transport service.

To specify an age value, enter the value as a time span: dd.hh:mm:ss, where d = days, h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds. The valid input range for this parameter is 00:00:01 to 1.00:00:00.

Configuring the Message Retry Interval

The message retry interval specifies how frequently a Hub Transport server or an Edge Transport server resends a message that has a status of Retry. By default, the message retry interval is 1 minute. We recommend that you don't modify the default value unless Microsoft Support Services advises you to do this.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to set the message retry interval

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -MessageRetryInterval <Age>

    For example, if you want to change the message retry interval to 2 minutes on an Exchange 2007 computer named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 -MessageRetryInterval 00:02:00

To specify an age value, enter the value as a time span: dd.hh:mm:ss, where d = days, h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds. The valid input range for this parameter is 00:00:01 to 1.00:00:00.

Configuring the Delay DSN Message Notification Time-Out Interval

By default, the delay DSN message notification time-out interval is 4 hours. If the message is not successfully delivered before the notification time-out interval has passed, a delay DSN message is delivered to the sender.

The value of the DelayNotificationTimeout parameter should always be greater than the value of the TransientFailureRetryCount parameter multiplied by the value of the TransientFailureRetryInterval parameter.

To use the Exchange Management Console to set the delay DSN message notification time-out interval

  1. Open the Exchange Management Console. Perform one of the following steps:

    • On a computer that has the Edge Transport server role installed, in the console tree, select Edge Transport, and then click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

    • On a computer that has the Hub Transport server role installed, in the console tree, expand Server Configuration, and then select Hub Transport. In the result pane, select a server. In the action pane, click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

  2. Click the Limits tab.

  3. Enter a value in hours next to Notify sender when message is delayed more than (hours). In the Exchange Management Console, the valid input range is 1 hour to 720 hours (30 days).

  4. Click Apply to save your changes and remain in the Properties page, or click OK to save your changes and exit the Properties page.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to set the delay DSN message notification time-out interval

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -DelayNotificationTimeout <Age>

    For example, if you want to change the delay DSN message notification time-out to 6 hours on an Exchange 2007 computer named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 -DelayNotificationTimeout 06:00:00

To specify an age value, enter the value as a time span, as follows: dd.hh:mm:ss, where d = days, h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds. The valid input range for this parameter is 00:00:01 to 30.00:00:00.

Enabling or Disabling the Sending of Delay DSN Notifications to External Message Senders

By default, delay DSN notification messages can be sent to message senders who are outside the Exchange organization.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable the sending of delay DSN notifications to external message senders

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -ExternalDelayDSNEnabled <$true | $false>

    For example, if you want to prevent the sending of delay DSN notification messages to external senders on an Exchange 2007 computer named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 -ExternalDelayDSNEnabled $false

Enabling or Disabling the Sending of Delay DSN Notifications to Internal Message Senders

By default, delay DSN notification messages can be sent to message senders who are inside the Exchange organization.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable the sending of delay DSN notifications to internal message senders

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -InternalDelayDSNEnabled <$true | $false>

    For example, if you want to prevent the sending of delay DSN notification messages to internal senders on an Exchange 2007 computer named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 -InternalDelayDSNEnabled $false

Resubmit Intervals

Undelivered messages are automatically resubmitted if the mailbox delivery queue or remote delivery queue is in the status of Retry for a specified amount of time, and the messages are not in the Suspended state. That amount of time is controlled by the MaxIdleTimeBeforeResubmit parameter in the EdgeTransport.exe.config application configuration file. By default, the value of the MaxIdleTimeBeforeResubmit parameter is 12 hours.

To modify the message resubmit interval

  1. Open the following file by using Notepad: C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin\EdgeTransport.exe.config.

  2. Modify the following line in the <appSettings> section:

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    <add key="MaxIdleTimeBeforeResubmit" value="<hh:mm:ss>" />

    For example, to change the message resubmit interval to 6 hours, modify the MaxIdleTimeBeforeResubmit parameter as follows:

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    <add key="QueueDatabasePath" value="6:00:00" />

  3. Save and close the EdgeTransport.exe.config file.

  4. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Transport service.

Expiration Intervals

The message expiration time-out interval specifies the maximum length of time that an Edge Transport server or a Hub Transport server tries to deliver a failed message. If the message can't be successfully delivered before the expiration time-out interval has passed, a non-delivery report (NDR) that contains the original message or the message headers is delivered to the sender, and the original message is removed from the queue.

Configuring the Message Expiration Time-Out Interval

By default, the message expiration time-out interval is 2 days.

To use the Exchange Management Console to set the message expiration time-out

  1. Open the Exchange Management Console. Perform one of the following steps:

    • On a computer that has the Edge Transport server role installed, in the console tree, select Edge Transport, and then click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

    • On a computer that has the Hub Transport server role installed, in the console tree, expand Server Configuration, and then select Hub Transport. In the result pane, select a server. In the action pane, click the Properties link that is directly under the server name.

  2. Click the Limits tab.

  3. Enter a value in hours next to Maximum time since submission (days). In the Exchange Management Console, the valid input range is 1 day to 90 days.

  4. Click Apply to save your changes and remain in the Properties page, or click OK to save your changes and exit the Properties page.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to set the message expiration time-out

  • Run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer <Identity> -MessageExpirationTimeout <Age>

    For example, if you want to change the message expiration time-out to 4 days on an Exchange 2007 computer named Exchange01, run the following command:

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    Set-TransportServer Exchange01 -MessageExpirationTimeout 4.00:00:00

To specify an age value, enter the value as a time span: dd.hh:mm:ss, where d = days, h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds. The valid input range for this parameter is 00:00:05 to 90.00:00:00.

For detailed syntax and configuration information, see Set-TransportServer.

For More Information

For more information about message retry, resubmit, and expiration intervals, see Managing Message Retry, Resubmit, and Expiration Intervals.

For more information about DSN messages, see Managing Delivery Status Notifications.