You receive error messages when you create a high volume of new user objects by using Microsoft Provisioning Server

When you create a high volume of user objects with Microsoft Provisioning Server (MPS), you may receive the following error messages:

When you create a high volume of user objects through MPS, such as performing a migration or conducting benchmark tests, you might see a set of errors that are returned by MPS that are related to creating user objects. These errors occur when you create user objects very fast, and network resources on the domain controllers and on the MPS servers run out.

To resolve this problem, increase the values for the registry subkeys that are related to the networking on both the domain controller computer that the MPS server directs the provisioning request to, and on the MPS server computer. To do this, modify the values for the relevant registry subkeys by using Registry Editor.

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To modify the registry values, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box appears.
2. In the Open box, type regedit.
3. Click OK.
4. Locate the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\currentControlSet\services\tcpip\parameters
5. Under the Name column, right-click the maxuserport dword value in the right pane, and then click Modify. The Edit DWORD Value dialog box appears.
6. In the Value data box, type 0xfffe, and then click OK.
7. Locate the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\currentControlSet\services\tcpip\parameters
8. Under the Name column, right-click the TcpTimedWaitDelay dword value in the right pane, and then click Modify. The Edit DWORD Value dialog box appears.
9. In the Value data box, type 30.
10. Close Registry Editor.

Note You must restart the computer after you make these changes.

This behavior is by design.

If the large number of requests for network resources heavily loads your computer, Microsoft recommends that you increase the value for the MaxUserPort registry entry but not for the TcpTimedWaitDelay registry entry. The timed delay waits for any other messages that might come in on the same network connection. In a benchmark situation, this behavior is well known, and using a small value is fine. In production, there is a slightly higher risk that a port may be released too soon. This means that Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) might release connection resources before the connection is complete. Therefore, the server must use additional resources to reestablish the connection.

Steps to reproduce the behavior

Create a high number of users in your Microsoft Hosted Exchange environment with MPS, and then monitor the results. You may notice the behavior that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

For more information about Microsoft Provisioning System, visit the following Microsoft Web site: