Topic Last Modified: 2005-11-18

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool queries the Active Directory® directory service to determine the value of the serialNumber attribute for each Exchange Server object in the directory. If the string value for the serialNumber attribute of an Exchange Server 2003 server object contains Service Pack 2, it indicates that the Exchange server is running a pre-release version of Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

The Exchange Server Analyzer also reads the following registry entry to determine whether the RestrictionMethod registry value is present:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeTransport\Parameters\RestrictionMethod

The Exchange Server Analyzer displays a non-default configuration message if the following conditions are true:

This configuration indicates that the transport components on this Exchange server will not expand membership of distribution groups when the server checks restrictions. This configuration provides the best performance for restriction checks.

If you believe the presence of and setting for the RestrictionMethod registry value is in error, you can use the following procedure to revert to the default configuration. However, because the presence of this key in combination with Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 provides the best performance for checking restrictions, it is recommended that you leave the RestrictionMethod registry value at its current setting.

Important:
This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to restore the registry, view the "Restore the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe.
To revert to the default configuration
  1. Open a registry editor, such as Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe.

  2. Navigate to: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeTransport\Parameters\

  3. In the right pane, right-click RestrictionMethod and select Delete.

  4. Close the registry editor and then restart the IIS Admin and Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine services for the change to take effect.

Before you edit the registry, and for information about how to edit the registry, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 256986, "Description of the Microsoft Windows registry" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=256986).

For more information about the RestrictionMethod registry value, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 895407, "In Exchange Server 2003, message delivery to local mailboxes and to external mailboxes is slower than you expect after you configure delivery restrictions based on distribution groups" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=895407).