IPv4 is Not Enabled on Windows Server 2008

[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: 2008-01-18

The Microsoft Exchange Analyzer Tool examines the following registry entry to determine the version of the Microsoft Windows operating system that is running on the computer:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\CurrentVersion

Note

A CurrentVersion value of 4.0 indicates the computer is running Microsoft Windows NT® Server 4.0. A value of 5.0 indicates the computer is running Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. A value of 5.2 indicates the computer is running Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003. A value of 6.0 indicates the computer is running Windows Server 2008.

The Exchange Server Analyzer also queries the Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) class for the value of the IPAddress key for each Network Interface Card (NIC) found in the computer to determine whether an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) address has been assigned to it.

Finally, the Exchange Analyzer queries the Active Directory directory service for the value of the msExchCurrentServerRoles attribute on the msExchExchangeServer object for the computer to determine which Exchange Server 2007 server roles are installed.

The Exchange Analyzer will display either a warning or an error, based on the two scenarios in this section.

If the Exchange Analyzer finds that all the following conditions are true, the Exchange Analyzer displays a warning.

  • The computer is running the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

  • The computer has the Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox server role, Client Access server role, Edge Transport server role, or Hub Transport server role installed.

  • The computer does not have the Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging server role installed.

  • The computer has no IPv4 address assigned to any of the installed NICs.

This warning means that, before Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) can support Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), IPv4 must be enabled on the computer.

Beginning with Exchange Server 2007 SP1, deploying Exchange Server 2007 into an IPv6 enabled topology is supported with the following limitations:

  • The server must be running the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

  • The topology must be both IPv6 and IPv4 enabled. IPv6 only is not supported.

If the Exchange Analyzer finds that all the following conditions are true, the Exchange Analyzer displays an error.

  • The computer is running the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

  • The computer has the Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging server role installed.

  • The computer has no IPv4 address assigned to any of the installed NICs.

This error means that, for the Unified Messaging server role to function, IPv4 must be enabled on the computer.

Windows Server 2008 includes both IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stacks that are installed and enabled by default. If the IPv4 protocol stack has been disabled, you can use the procedure linked here to re-enable it.

To enable the IPv4 protocol stack

  1. Follow the guidance of the Windows Server 2008 topic "Configure TCP/IP Settings" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=108281).

For more information about Exchange 2007 support of IPv6 see "IPv6 Support in Exchange 2007 SP1" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=102391).