XFOR: Method Used by IMS to Obtain IP Address

Last reviewed: October 7, 1997
Article ID: Q146556

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.0

SUMMARY

This article discusses the method that the Internet Mail Service uses to obtain the IP address of the recipient's server when the Internet Mail Service is configured to deliver messages using DNS.

MORE INFORMATION

When the Internet Mail Service is configured to deliver messages using DNS, it uses the following method to obtain the IP address of the recipient's server:

The Internet Mail Service queries the appropriate DNS server for mail exchanger (MX) records.
If the Internet Mail Service is unable to obtain the IP address by querying the DNS server, it requests the following information from the Windows NT server:
```
    - Address (A) records
    - Alias (CNAME) records
    - WINS servers
    - LMHOSTS file
```

For information about problems that can arise when you attempt to establish TCP/IP connections using DNS, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163391
   TITLE     : Troubleshooting Problems Communicating on the Internet

   ARTICLE-ID: Q169790
   TITLE     : How to Troubleshoot Basic TCP/IP Problems in Windows NT 4.0

Additional query words: internet mail connector imc resolution
Keywords : XFOR kbnetwork kbusage
Version : 5.0
Platform : winnt

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Last reviewed: October 7, 1997
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