XADM: Store Generates 3079 and 3084 Errors When It Cannot Rehome a Public Folder Correctly

Users who share data in public folders may not see the same data. Users who are on different servers may see two different sets of data even though all public folders are homed on a main public folder server. When you examine the Event Viewer, you may find the following error message logged in the application log: Event ID 3084 is followed this error message: NOTE: The error 0x469 is ecNoReplicaAvailable.

When this error is logged, folders that are created with a name that falls alphabetically after PUBLICFOLDERNAME are not rehomed. Folders that are created with a name that falls alphabetically before PUBLICFOLDERNAME are correctly rehomed and users can see them properly.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server 5.5. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

On the mailbox server, point the private information store to the Site public folder server. You can use the Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Administrator program to do this. Click the server, and then click the Private Information Store object. Open the properties on this object, and on the General tab is an option to select the public folder server. Click the Site public folder server option rather than the mailbox server.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5. This problem was first corrected in Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 4.

To explain this issue a little better, some configuration information must be provided. The following represents a configuration where this issue can happen: If a user creates a public folder, the folder is actually created on the MBSERVER1's public information store. A background thread finds the folder and rehomes it. The issue is that this thread is using a folder table that is sorted alphabetically. It correctly rehomes folder until it gets an error. If it has an issue with the PUBLICFOLDERINQUESTION folder, the thread errors out and does not process the remaining folders. In this scenario, users on other servers besides MBSERVER1 see the folder on PFSERVER1. They can place data in the folder, and it may appear to work. However, users on the MBSERVER1 server see the local folder, and can place data in it. The folder is disjointed at this point, and users on different servers see different data.

The resolution is to add logic to check for this condition, and rehome the folder properly.