XCON: MTA Stops Unexpectedly When Receiving Message from Foreign MTA

When a foreign message transfer agent (MTA) sends a large message using a large initial checkpoint followed by much smaller checkpoints, the MTA on the Exchange Server computer may stop unexpectedly and the following event may appear in the event log: This issue is known to occur with a Software and Systems Engineering, Ltd. (SSE) X.400-MIL MTA running on a Siemens RM600 computer, but it may also occur with any other MTA that behaves in this same manner.

The Exchange Server MTA uses the initial checkpoint size to determine how to decode the data it receives from the foreign MTA. If the initial checkpoint is large, and then subsequent checkpoints are considerably smaller, this may prevent the Exchange Server MTA from properly decoding the data it receives.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server 5.5. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5. This problem was first corrected in Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 4.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.