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dSHeuristics is not set correctly for Hosted Exchange

[This topic is intended to address a specific issue called out by the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool. You should apply it only to systems that have had the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool run against them and are experiencing that specific issue. The Exchange Server Analyzer Tool, available as a free download, remotely collects configuration data from each server in the topology and automatically analyzes the data. The resulting report details important configuration issues, potential problems, and nondefault product settings. By following these recommendations, you can achieve better performance, scalability, reliability, and uptime. For more information about the tool or to download the latest versions, see "Microsoft Exchange Analyzers" at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34707.]  

Topic Last Modified: 2005-11-17

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool queries the Active Directory® directory service to determine whether the deployment is a Hosted Exchange deployment. If the Exchange deployment is running in a hosted environment, the Exchange Server Analyzer queries Active Directory to determine whether the dSHeuristics attribute on the Directory Service container is set correctly for a Hosted Exchange deployment.

If the value of dSHeuristics is not equal to 1, the Exchange Server Analyzer displays a warning. In a Hosted Exchange environment, the dSHeuristics attribute should be set to 1.

Warning

If you incorrectly modify the attributes of Active Directory objects when you use Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) Edit, the LDP (ldp.exe) tool, or another Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) version 3 client, you may cause serious problems. These problems may require that you reinstall Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, Exchange Server 2003, or both. Modify Active Directory object attributes at your own risk.

To correct this warning

  1. Use an Active Directory editor, such as ADSI Edit, to locate the Directory Service object in Active Directory.

    The dSHeuristics attribute can be found at

    CN=Configuration, CN=Services, CN=Windows NT, CN=Directory Service

  2. Enter a value of 1 for dSHeuristics.

For more information about Hosted Exchange environments, see the following articles: