Chapter 10. Managing and Monitoring Technologies That Support Exchange Server 2003

Terms you'll need to understand:

• DNS server

• DNS client

• Active Directory integrated zone

• Primary zone

• Secondary zone

• Stub zone

• Forwarder

• nslookup

• Mail queue

• Nondelivery report

• Performance object

• Network Monitor

Techniques you'll need to master:

• Performing an nslookup query to locate the Mail Exchanger (MX) records for a particular domain

• Using the ipconfig utility to determine the preferred and alternate Domain Name System (DNS) settings for a client

• Diagnosing whether a hostname resolution problem is due to a smart host or an Exchange server

• Being able to check mail queue lengths

• Using nondelivery reports to locate problems in mail transmission

• Using the Performance snap-in of the MMC to diagnose problems with global catalog servers

Every mail administrator has the nightmare that the Exchange Server 2003 is configured correctly, yet mail is not being processed correctly and the incoming and outgoing mail queues are growing longer and longer.

There is more to supporting Exchange than just having Exchange installed and configured correctly. A host of technologies are utilized by Exchange to ensure that communication is processed correctly. This chapter deals with how you can diagnose problems with these technologies.

Most of the problems discussed in this chapter are not specific to Exchange Server 2003. Most of these problems could apply to any mail server on any network. Those of you who are conversant with network diagnosis and troubleshooting will find many of the topics covered here familiar.

It is also important to note that the exam topics we discuss here involve the diagnosis of different networking problems rather than the more involved troubleshooting. Those of you with a good background in networking and who have passed the 70-216 or 70-293 exams should find this material significantly easier to cope with than those who do not have this background.

A key question on the exam is whether the Exchange Server 2003 computer had functioned correctly up until the point represented in the scenario. If the Exchange Server 2003 computer had functioned correctly before, you can discount several diagnoses, for example that the incorrect IP address configuration has been set. If the Exchange Server 2003 computer functioned in the past according to the scenario, ask yourself what could have reasonably changed? Look for evidence of this; for example, a DNS server or default gateway failing influences more than the Exchange Server 2003 computer.