Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007
Topic Last Modified: 2008-11-21

This topic provides information about how to troubleshoot MSExchangeSA 9386 warnings and OAB generation and access issues.

When you view the Application log in Event Viewer, you may see the following event:

Event Type: Warning

Event Source: MSExchangeSA

Event Category: OAL Generator

Event ID: 9386

Description: OALGen is configured to generate version 2 or version 3 OAB files for offline address book '/o=Organization/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Default Offline Address List' but there is no public folder server available. OAB versions prior to version 4 require a public folder server and cannot be generated at this time. Please ensure that a public folder server with a replica of the Offline Address Book system folder is online and mounted, or disable all OAB versions other than version 4.

The Warning event MSExchangeSA 9386 indicates that offline address book (OAB) versions prior to version 4 cannot be generated because a public folder server containing a replica of the offline address book system folder cannot be contacted. (Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 contains version 4 of OABs.) As a result, users of some versions of Microsoft Office Outlook clients and Office Outlook Web Access are unable to view their Address Books.

This event may occur in the following situations:

If at least one public folder store is not in an Online state in the Exchange organization, and the Enable public folder distribution option is enabled on the properties of the default Offline Address Book.
If the OAB folder does not correctly exist or have a valid replica. This situation may happen in cases where an Administrator creates a new OAB, designates the public folder database on server "X" as the site folder server, and the designated public folder database is subsequently deleted incorrectly. For example, ensuring that replicas are moved prior to the deletion is an incorrect method. In addition, it is also incorrect to remove the public folder database object from Active Directory directory service by using LDP.exe or AdsiEdit.msc or, if the database is on a pre-Exchange 2007 server, by uninstalling the server.
The OAB folder was created, but hierarchy replication or maintenance didn't occur. As a result, the OAB folder was actually not created but the OAB exists in Active Directory, which lists a deleted public folder database as the designated site folder server. As a result, OAB folders do not exist anywhere in the organization.
The Exchange 2007 server that is configured to be the Offline Address List generation server contains an invalid or missing homeMDB attribute on the System Attendant mailbox object.

To fix these issues, perform one of the following procedures:

If you do not require OAB support for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007, perform the procedure "To disable the "Enable public folder distribution" option."
If you require OAB support for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007 and you already have public folders deployed in your Exchange organization, perform the procedure "To enable public folder distribution for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007."
If you require OAB support for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007 and you do not have public folders deployed in your Exchange organization, perform the procedure "To create a public folder database and enable public folder distribution for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007."
To verify that the homeMDB attribute exists and is correct for the System Attendant mailbox, perform the "To verify and correct the homeMDB attribute for the System Attendant mailbox" procedure.

Before You Begin

To perform these procedures, the account you use must be delegated the Exchange Server Administrators role and local Administrators group for the target server.

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

Procedure

To disable the "Enable public folder distribution" option

Open the Exchange Management Console, expand the Organization Configuration container, and select the Mailbox sub-container.
In the center pane, select the Offline Address Book tab. This tab displays the Default Offline Address Book object.
Right-click Default Offline Address Book, and then select Properties.
Select the Distribution tab, and clear the Enable public folder distribution check box.
Click OK to save the changes.

To enable public folder distribution for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007

Open the Exchange Management Console, expand the Organization Configuration container, and select the Mailbox sub-container.
In the center pane, select the Offline Address Book tab. This tab displays the Default Offline Address Book object and properties.
Right-click Default Offline Address Book, and then select Properties.
On the General tab, identify the Generation server attribute and make note of it.
Select the Distribution tab and confirm that the Enable public folder distribution check box has been selected. Also make sure that the appropriate check boxes in the Client Support section have been selected.
Click Apply, and then click OK to save the changes.
Next, expand the Server Configuration container, and select the Mailbox sub-container.
In the top center pane, select the Mailbox server that was previously identified as the OAB Generation Server.
In the lower center pane, identify the storage group that contains the public folder database, and click the database object.
Confirm that the status field shows a status of Mounted for the database. If the database is not in a Mounted state, click the Mount Database action in the right-hand action pane.
If the database does not mount, review any errors presented in the user interface, as well as those located in the Application event log, to identify the cause of the failure and resolve those errors. After the errors have been resolved, repeat step 10.

To create a public folder database and enable public folder distribution for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007

Perform the procedure detailed in How to Create a New Public Folder Database.
Perform the procedure "To enable public folder distribution for versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2007" in this topic.

To verify and correct the homeMDB attribute for the System Attendant mailbox

Start ADSI Edit.

Expand the following container:

CN=Configuration,DC=<Domain>,DC=<Domain>,DC=<Domain>/Services/Microsoft Exchange/<OrganizationName>/Administrative Groups/Exchange Administrative Group/Servers/<ServerName>
Right-click Microsoft System Attendant, and then click Properties.
In the Attributes list, locate the homeMDB attribute.
Verify that the homeMDB attribute has a value and that it points to a valid mailbox database on the local Exchange server.
If the homeMDB attribute is not correct, follow these steps:
1. Close Microsoft System Attendant Properties.
2. In the <ServerName> container, expand Information Store.
3. Click the Storage Group where the valid mailbox database is located.
4. Right-click the mailbox database, and then click Properties.
5. In the Attributes list, click distinguishedName, and then click View.
6. Copy the value of the distinguishedName attribute to the Clipboard.
7. Click Cancel two times.
8. Right-click Microsoft System Attendant, and then click Properties.
9. In the Attributes list, click homeMDB, and then click Edit.
10. In the Value box, paste the value that you copied to the Clipboard.
11. Click OK two times, and then close ADSI Edit.

For More Information

For more information about offline address books, see Managing Offline Address Books.

For more information about public folders, see Planning for Mailbox Servers and Managing Public Folders.