Smarthost name error

[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 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34707.]  

Topic Last Modified: 2010-04-01

Servers that are running the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Edge Transport role act as SMTP gateways for Exchange. The Edge Transport role cannot resolve NetBIOS names. Instead, the Edge Transport role can only resolve fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) or host names that are mapped in the %WINDIR%\System32\Drivers\Etc\hosts file.

The Exchange Best Practices Analyzer parses all SMTP Send connectors that list Exchange 2007 servers on the Source Server tab to determine the following:

• Whether the names of bridgehead servers (smart hosts) contain periods (also known as dots). A period in the name indicates that the name is not a NetBIOS name.

• Whether the names of bridgehead servers that do not contain periods are listed in the %WINDIR%\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts file.

• Whether the names of a bridgehead server are represented by two dash characters (--). Double-dash characters are a placeholder that specifies all the Hub Transport servers that are located in the subscribed Active Directory site.

The Analyzer displays a warning message if both of the following conditions are true:

• A bridgehead server that is listed in a Send connector is not specified by using a fully qualified domain name or an IP address.

• A bridgehead server that is listed in a Send connector by using a host name is not specified in the hosts file.

This warning message indicates that the Edge Transport role cannot resolve the smart host name successfully. To address this error, change the name of the smart host to a fully qualified domain name or to an IP address.

To use the Exchange Management Console to specify a bridgehead server

1. On a computer that is running the Hub Transport role, start the Exchange Management Console.

2. Expand Organization Configuration, and then click Hub Transport.

3. Click the Send Connectors tab, click an SMTP Send connector, and then click Properties.

4. Click the Network tab, click the computer name that appears in the Smart host list, and then click Edit.

5. In the Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) box, type the fully qualified domain name of the smart host. For example, type mail.contoso.com. Or, click IP Address, and then type the publicly-accessible IP address of the smart host.

6. Click OK two times.

7. Synchronize the changed settings with the Edge Transport role. To do this, run the Start-EdgeSynchronization cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell.