Topic Last Modified: 2006-10-04

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool queries the Active Directory® directory service for the value of the msExchSmtpFullyQualifiedDomainName attribute from the Default Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) virtual server object.

The Exchange Server Analyzer also tries a Domain Name System (DNS) query against the configured DNS servers for the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the server that is running Exchange Server. This connection is made with a custom object processor that performs a name resolution request and analyzes the results.

The Exchange Server Analyzer compares the results of the two queries. If the value of the msExchSmtpFullyQualifiedDomainName attribute from the Default Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) virtual server object does not match the DNS FQDN of the Exchange server, the Exchange Server Analyzer displays a warning.

This warning indicates that the values of these attributes may have been manually changed. Therefore, these changed values might contribute to mail flow problems on this server.

The value of the msExchSmtpFullyQualifiedDomainName attribute specifies the FQDN for the SMTP virtual server and must be resolvable by the Domain Name System (DNS) networking protocol.

A valid DNS HOST (A) record must exist for the value of this attribute so that messaging servers that try to resolve the FQDN of the SMTP virtual server can retrieve the correct IP address and route mail appropriately.

To address this warning, determine whether the values were intentionally changed for a valid purpose. If the values were changed for a valid purpose, take one of the following steps:

Caution:
If you incorrectly modify the attributes of Active Directory objects when you use Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) Edit, the LDP (ldp.exe) tool, or another Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) version 3 client, you may cause serious problems. These problems may require that you reinstall Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, Exchange Server 2003, or both. Modify Active Directory object attributes at your own risk.
To update the value of the msExchSMTPFullyQualifiedDomainName attribute

  1. Open Exchange System Manager.

  2. Expand Administrative Groups, expand Servers, expand the Exchange server, expand Protocols, and then expand SMTP.

  3. Right-click the default SMTP virtual server and select Properties.

  4. Select the Delivery tab, and then click Advanced.

  5. Under Fully qualified domain name, enter the value for the msExchSmtpFullyQualifiedDomainName attribute.

  6. Click OK to save the changes, and then click OK to close the Properties dialog box of the SMTP virtual server.

To configure the DNS FQDN of the Exchange Server

  1. Follow the guidance in How to Configure Settings on the DNS Server.

For more information about the reverse DNS lookup feature in Exchange, see "Add a resource record to a DNS zone" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=63002).

For more information about SMTP virtual server settings, see the following Knowledge Base articles:

For more information about SMTP Service Design, see "SMTP Service Design" in the Technical Reference Guide for Exchange Server 2003 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=58876).