Administrative Groups/Routing Groups

[PietMuis]

Hi Guys, i need some help. We have an multi-domain multi-site network.

The problem is with routing between two exchange servers in the same AD site, these two server are in different administrative groups as they belong to different domains with different administrators. They both connect to a bridgehead in a remote site, they sent all external mail to this BH. We had a connector setup between them so that email send between them not travel over the WAN to the remote BH server. This works, but when the WAN link to the BH fails email sent to external addresses fails with NDRs, it seems that both servers seem to think that they can send external email via the connector between them when the WAN link fails. Once i remove the connector between them they start queuing email again(when the WAN link is down).

Any ideas on how this should be setup?

 

[Zelandakh]

You'd need to set up a connector with a lower cost and specify the domain name, routing the mail to the relevant server.

Then you'd have a higher cost connector through the BH you mention to take over in case that one goes down.

Sounds like your existing connector routes to the BH anyway. Look at your routing tables too.

 

[PietMuis]

Is is a very simplified idea of the setup, maybe i will make more sense with and diagram...

Internet
|
|
|
|
Site 1
Bridge Head (and other meil servers for this site)
email.com and email.co.za addresses
admin group 3
Routing group 3
| |
| |
| The same WAN link |
| connects them |
| |
Site 2 Site 2
Routing group 1 Routing group 2
Connector to BH Connector to BH
Mail Server1 Mail Server2
Admin Group1 Admin Group2
email.com addresses only email.co.za addresses only


Basically when i send email from Mail Server 2 to a user on Mail Server 1 I do not want the email to travel over the WAN to the bridgehead and back again, since the two servers are in the same site and connected on a LAN. I had a connector between Mail Server 1 and 2 which worked fine, but when the WAN link to the Bridgehead failed Mail Server 1 and 2 thought they could send email to the outside world via each other which they do not have permission to do, and even if they did it would not work since the WAN link was down.

I understand what you are saying about the connector, but how do i tell it to only use that connector between routing groups 1 and 2 and never to routing group 3?

Thanks for you help and patience.

 

[Zelandakh]

Let's just look at one way!

Mail Server 1
Connector to Mail Server 2 for email.com only, cost 1, not via bridgehead
Connector to Bridgehead for email.com only, cost 2, via Bridgehead
Connector to Bridgehead for all traffic, cost 3, via Bridgehead

That will route all traffic to the Bridgehead, traffic to the other server will go direct to the other server unless that site link goes down in which case it will go over the bridgehead.

I've a nagging feeling there is something else you need to do but I can't think what it is