Microsoft KB Archive/823153

= HOW TO: Work with the Recipient Update Service in Exchange Server 2003 =

PSS ID Number: 823153

Article Last Modified on 12/12/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition

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For a Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server version of this article, see 319065.



IN THIS TASK

 * SUMMARY
 * Requirements
 * Overview of the Recipient Update Service
 * How to Configure the Default Recipient Update Service
 * How to Add a New Recipient Update Service
 * How to Manually Update the Recipient Update Service
 * Troubleshooting
 * REFERENCES



SUMMARY
This step-by-step article describes how to work with the Recipient Update Service in Exchange Server 2003. You can use the Recipient Update Service to update specific information for recipient objects in a domain, such as address list membership and e-mail addresses. For most single-domain installations, you do not have to configure the Recipient Update Service; however, if you have multiple domains or very specific e-mail generation requirements, you may want to know how to configure this service.

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Requirements
The following list outlines the recommended hardware, software, network infrastructure, and service packs that you require:
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later installed or Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
 * Microsoft Active Directory directory service
 * Exchange Server 2003

This article assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:
 * Exchange System Manager
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory issues

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Overview of the Recipient Update Service
The Recipient Update Service is a component in the Exchange 2003 System Attendant service. The Recipient Update Service creates and maintains Exchange 2003-specific attribute values in Active Directory.

If you create a mailbox for a user, the Recipient Update Service is responsible for the automatic generation of the user's Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address and any other proxy addresses that you have defined for your recipients. However, in the Active Directory Users and Computers tool, the proxy addresses are not displayed immediately because a short latency period occurs before the Recipient Update Service produces the new e-mail addresses. This latency occurs even if you have configured the Recipient Update Service to run continuously.

After you install Exchange 2003, two instances of the Recipient Update Service are created:
 * The enterprise configuration Recipient Update Service

There is only one instance of this Recipient Update Service in the organization.
 * The domain Recipient Update Service

You must have a Recipient Update Service for each domain that contains mailbox-enabled users.

Each instance of the domain Recipient Update Service associates one Exchange 2003 computer (where the Recipient Update Service runs) with one Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 domain controller (where the Active Directory objects are updated). Only one Recipient Update Service can be associated with any Active Directory domain controller.

If you have multiple sites, you can also add multiple instances of the Recipient Update Service for each domain. In this scenario, an instance of the Recipient Update Service is hosted on a domain controller in each site, and mailbox creation does not depend on the inter-site replication schedule of Active Directory.

If you create a new mailbox-enabled user, that user cannot log on to their mailbox until the Recipient Update Service has generated the new proxy e-mail addresses. If you set the Recipient Update Service to run on a schedule, that user may have to wait a short period before they can use Exchange 2003.

To update addresses immediately, you can force the Recipient Update Service to run manually. To do so, see the &quot;How to Manually Update the Recipient Update Service&quot; section of this article.

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How to Configure the Default Recipient Update Service
If you install Exchange 2003 in the first domain in your forest, two default instances of the Recipient Update Service are created. To view these Recipient Update Services:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
 * 2) Expand Recipients, and then click the Recipient Update Services container.

The following items are displayed in the right pane:
 * 1) * Recipient Update Service (Enterprise Configuration)
 * 2) * Recipient Update Service
 * 3) Right-click one of these items, and then click Properties.

The domain, the Exchange 2003 computer, and the Windows domain controller that are involved in running this Recipient Update Service are displayed. The Update interval setting is also displayed. By default, this is set to Always Run.
 * 1) To change the Exchange 2003 computer that the Recipient Update Service runs on, click the Browse button that is next to Exchange Server, locate the Exchange 2003 computer that you want the Recipient Update Service to run on, and then click OK.
 * 2) To change the domain controller that this Recipient Update Service connects to when it updates objects in Active Directory, click the Browse button that is next to Windows Domain Controller, locate the domain controller that you want the Recipient Update Service to connect to, and then click OK.
 * 3) To configure the update interval setting, either click a value in the Update interval list or click Customize.
 * 4) If you click Customize, either click a day in the left column, and then click a time on the top row, or click and hold the mouse button to select the time slots that you want the update interval to run in.

Note To configure the schedule to appear in 1-hour divisions or in 15-minute divisions, click the appropriate option under Detail view.
 * 1) Click OK.

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How to Add a New Recipient Update Service
Each domain where mail-enabled objects will exist requires a Recipient Update Service, and some domains may require several instances of the Recipient Update Service. Because of this, you may have to create additional instances of the Recipient Update Service.

You can have multiple instances of the Recipient Update Service on an Exchange 2003 computer, but each domain controller in a domain can only participate in one Recipient Update Service. If you want multiple Recipient Update Service instances for a domain, that domain must have multiple domain controllers.

To add a new Recipient Update Service:  Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager. Expand Recipients, and then click the Recipient Update Services container. Right-click Recipient Update Services, point to New, and then click Recipient Update Service. Click Browse to display a list of domains in your forest. Click the domain that you want this Recipient Update Service to update, and then click OK. Confirm that the domain that you selected appears in the New Object - Recipient Update Service dialog box, and then click Next.</li> Click Browse, click the Exchange server where you want this Recipient Update Service to run, and then click OK.</li> Click Next.

The following message appears in the last page of the wizard:

Recipient Update Service Name: Recipient Update Service

Windows 2000 Domain:

Domain Controller:

Exchange Server:

The Exchange 2003 computer is granted rights to modify Exchange Server attributes on recipients that are in the domain.</li> Click Finish.</li> Right-click the new Recipient Update Service that you created, and then click Properties. Configure the update interval setting, and then click OK.</li></ol>

Note The Exchange 2003 computer and the Windows domain controller that are associated with a particular Recipient Update Service are displayed in the right pane of Exchange System Manager. Click the Recipient Update Services container in the left pane to display this information in table form.

Note When you are creating a Recipient Update Service, you cannot select the domain controller; you can only select the domain that you want the new Recipient Update Service to be associated with. After you have finished creating the Recipient Update Service, you can edit the properties of the Recipient Update Service and select the domain controller that you want.

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How to Manually Update the Recipient Update Service
To update the Recipient Update Service manually, you can perform either an update operation or a rebuild operation:
 * If you perform an update operation, proxy e-mail addresses are generated immediately for all new users. This operation forces address book membership to be recalculated for recently altered Exchange 2003 recipients. Perform an update operation if you are running the Recipient Update Service on a schedule and you want to complete mailbox creation before the next duty cycle runs.
 * If you perform a rebuild operation, all proxy e-mail addresses are recalculated and all address list memberships are verified. Perform a rebuild operation if you make a change to organizational policy on SMTP addressing (for example, if you change from a .com location to a .net location or if you change the DNS domain name). A rebuild operation may take several hours. Microsoft recommends that you perform this operation during a period of low network activity.

To run an update operation or a rebuild operation:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
 * 2) Expand the Recipients object, and then click the Recipient Update Services container.
 * 3) Right-click the Recipient Update Service that you want to configure, and then click either Update Now or Rebuild.

If you click Rebuild, you receive a message that states that this operation may take some time.

To confirm that the Recipient Update Service is working:
 * 1) Confirm that the Recipient Update Service update interval is set to Always Run, and then create a new user account.

At the end of the user account creation process, you are prompted to create a new Exchange mailbox.
 * 1) After you create the new user account and mailbox, log on, and then configure an Exchange profile.

If you can configure a profile, the Recipient Update Service is working correctly.

For additional information about how to confirm that the Recipient Update Service is working, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

246127 How to Check the Progress of the Recipient Update Service

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Troubleshooting

 * Each domain controller can only participate in one Recipient Update Service association.
 * After you add a new mailbox-enabled user in Active Directory Users and Computers, the new user account may not be processed by the Recipient Update Service, even after you force an update. This issue may occur if you do not have the appropriate permissions.

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