Site folder server deleted

[This topic is intended to address a specific issue called out by the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool. You should apply it only to systems that have had the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool run against them and are experiencing that specific issue. The Exchange Server Analyzer Tool, available as a free download, remotely collects configuration data from each server in the topology and automatically analyzes the data. The resulting report details important configuration issues, potential problems, and nondefault product settings. By following these recommendations, you can achieve better performance, scalability, reliability, and uptime. For more information about the tool or to download the latest versions, see "Microsoft Exchange Analyzers" at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34707.]  

Topic Last Modified: 2011-01-21

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool queries the Active Directory® directory service to determine the value of the siteFolderServer attribute for each administrative group object. If the Exchange Server Analyzer determines that the value for the siteFolderServer attribute contains the string DEL*:*, an error is displayed.

The siteFolderServer attribute represents the Distinguished Name (DN) of the Public Folder store that is responsible for hosting the site folders (normally the first server in the site or administrative group).

By default, the Site Folder Server is the first server that is installed in the administrative group. The public folder store on this server is the default location of the free/busy folders and offline address book folders for the administrative group. If you remove or decommission this server without replicating these folders to another server and designating that server as the offline address book server, Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 users will see problems with the offline address book and with free/busy data.

Warning

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 correct this error

  1. Open an Active Directory editor, such as ADSI Edit.

  2. Locate the public folder information store that you want to designate as the Site Folder Server. For Exchange Server 2000 through Exchange Server 2007, expand the following nodes in the Configuration container:

    CN=Configuration,DC=<DomainName>,DC=com, CN=Services, CN=Microsoft Exchange, CN=<OrganizationName>, CN=Administrative Groups, CN=<AdministrativeGroupName> CN=Servers, CN=<ServerName>, CN=InformationStore, CN=<StorageGroupName>
    For Exchange Server 2010, expand the following nodes in the Configuration container:
    CN=Configuration,DC=<DomainName>,DC=com, CN=Services, CN=Microsoft Exchange, CN=<OrganizationName>, CN=Administrative Groups, CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT), CN=Databases

  3. In the right pane, right-click CN=<PublicFolderStoreName>, and then click Properties.

  4. In the Attributes field, scroll down and select the distinguishedName attribute.

  5. Click Edit, and then copy the entire attribute to the Clipboard.

  6. Expand the Configuration container, and then expand CN=Configuration,CN=<DomainName>,CN=com, CN=Services, CN=Microsoft Exchange, CN=<OrganizationName>, CN=Administrative Groups

  7. Right-click the administrative group you want to modify, and then click Properties.

  8. In the Attributes field, scroll down and select the siteFolderServer attribute.

  9. Click Edit, and then paste the value for the distinguishedName attribute into the Value field.

  10. Double-check the contents of the Value field to ensure the paste was performed correctly, and then click OK to save the change.

  11. Click OK to close the Administrative Group properties.

  12. Exit the Active Directory editor and restart the Microsoft Exchange Server Information Store service on all Exchange Server computers in the site for the change to take effect.

For more information about re-creating system folders and resetting the Site Folder Server, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

For more information about using the LDP tool, see the Knowledge Base article 260745, "XADM: Using the LDP Utility to Modify Active Directory Object Attributes" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=3052&kbid=260745).

For more information about working with ADSI Edit, see the topic "Adsiedit.msc: ADSI Edit" in the Windows Server Help.