Error 1018 Received When Web-based Distribution OABs Fail to Replicate

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

This topic provides information about how to troubleshoot Event ID 1018.

In Exchange Server 2007, Web-based distribution is the distribution method by which Outlook 2007 or later clients that are working offline or through a dial-up connection access the offline address book (OAB). Specifically, Exchange 2007 Client Access servers use a dedicated OAB virtual directory to distribute the OAB to client computers.

When you install the first Exchange 2007 Client Access server in your organization, its OAB virtual directory becomes associated with the default OAB. The Microsoft Exchange File Distribution service that is running on the Client Access server periodically synchronizes the OAB virtual directory data with data that is generated by the OAB generation server.

To load-balance the default OAB, or to start distributing other OABs in the organization, you can add more virtual directories. This enables the OAB to be copied from the OAB generation server to the Client Access server by way of the Microsoft Exchange File Distribution service.

In certain scenarios, it is possible that the OAB generation and the Client Access servers reside in different child domains. The Microsoft Exchange File Distribution service builds a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to the OAB by using the short name (NetBIOS) of the server. If this short name cannot be resolved, the following event might be logged.

Event Type: Warning Event Source: MSExchangeFDS Event Category: General Event ID: 1018 Description: Process MSExchangeFDS.exe (PID=3420). Failed to connect to remote server MCHH235E. The remote server may be down, or its Server service may not be running.

Resolution

The Microsoft Exchange File Distribution service (MSExchangeFDS.exe) attempts to contact the OAB generation server five times. If it fails, an error is logged in the Application log indicating that the Microsoft Exchange File Distribution service will no longer attempt to contact the OAB generation server.

To resolve this issue, enable Domain Name System (DNS) short name resolution. When this is complete, the OAB will be successfully replicated to the distribution point on the Client Access server.

For More Information

To learn more about OABs, see Understanding Offline Address Books.

For information about the OAB virtual directory, see How to Create an Offline Address Book Virtual Directory.

For more information about how to manage OABs, see Managing Offline Address Books.