XADM: How to Prevent the Replication of an Attribute from Exchange Server to Active Directory (272918)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 SP3
This article was previously published under Q272918

SUMMARY

This article provides a general description of how to prevent the replication of a particular attribute to Active Directory.

The Active Directory Connector (ADC) replicates entries from the Exchange Server directory to Active Directory, from Active Directory to the Exchange Server directory, and keeps all of these entries synchronized. To prevent the replication of a particular attribute to Active Directory, follow the steps outlined in the "More Information" section.

MORE INFORMATION

  1. Open the Active Directory Connector snap-in in Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
  2. Right-click Active Directory Connector Management, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  3. Click the From Exchange tab. On this tab, if you click to select the check box that is next to an attribute, you enable replication for that attribute; if you click to clear the check box next to an attribute, you disable replication for that attribute.

    NOTE: Use caution when you disable the replication of some attributes because you may disrupt the ADC.
WARNING: If you use the raw mode of the Exchange Server Administrator program (admin /r) incorrectly, serious problems may occur that may require you to reinstall Microsoft Windows NT Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, or both. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that result from using raw mode incorrectly can be solved. Use raw mode at your own risk.

You can test whether an attribute is being replicated to Active Directory to help you determine if you need to disable replication. To do so:
  1. Start the Exchange Server Administrator program in raw mode by typing admin /r at a command prompt in the Exchsrvr\Bin folder.
  2. Click the Recipients container, and then click a mailbox.
  3. On the File menu, click Raw Properties.
  4. In the List Attributes of Type list, click All.
  5. In the Object Attributes box, find the attribute name of the attribute that you want to test for.
  6. In the Edit Value field, type a number, such as 1036.
  7. Click Set, and then click OK.
  8. To check if the attribute replicated to Active Directory, open a program such as ADSI Edit.WARNING: If you use the ADSI Edit snap-in, the LDP utility, or any other LDAP version 3 client, and you incorrectly modify the attributes of Active Directory objects, you can cause serious problems. These problems may require you to reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, or both. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that occur if you incorrectly modify Active Directory object attributes can be solved. Modify these attributes at your own risk.

    1. Start ADSI Users and Computers from the Administrative Tools group.
    2. Expand the Domain container.
    3. Expand the Users container.
    4. Right-click a user in the right pane, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
    5. On the Attributes tab, in the Select Property to View list, find attribute that you modified in step 6; its value should be 1036 (or whatever value you set in step 6).
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:4/28/2005
Keywords:kbhowto KB272918
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