Rackspace Directory Sync best practices and common errors

This guide discusses best practices while using Rackspace Directory Sync with Rackspace Hosted Email services and
outlines common errors and solutions.

Directory Sync installation and setup best practices

1. Create a new Email Control Panel Admin ID to use for the Directory Sync Service.

2. Create a new administrator on the Domain Controller to manage the Directory Sync Service.

   Note: You should create this admin with at least domain admin-level permissions.

3. Create a new Security Group to synchronize with the Cloud Office mailboxes.

   Note: If synchronizing both Microsoft® Exchange and Rackspace Email, create a Security Group for each service.

Additional best practices

• For Hosted Exchange, create and synchronize all users to mailboxes before creating and synchronizing distribution lists.

• Do not use nested groups to create or synchronize users.

• Ensure that your Active Directory user or group has a valid email address set for the mail attribute.

Directory Sync common errors and solutions

This section describes common errors and their solutions.

Unable to Sync User: The value '[xxx]' specified in the mail attribute for user '[USER]' is invalid.

Sync Error: The value '[xxx]' specified in the mail attribute for user '[USER]' is invalid.

Cause: This error occurs because the Email Address field for the specific user is not set.

Solution: Within the Active Directory, set the desired email address, including the domain, to associate with the user.

Unable to Sync User: Mailbox Limit Exceeded.

Sync Error: Performed action 'Create' for user 'User Name'. Mailbox limit exceeded.

Cause: Directory Sync cannot create a new mailbox because all the purchased mailboxes are in use.

Solution: Use one of the following solutions:

• Add additional mailbox licenses through the Cloud Office Control Panel.
• Verify that the user is subscribed to the correct security group.

Unable to Sync User: User already exists in another service in Control Panel.

Sync Error: An error occurred when provisioning user 'User-Name' for Hosted Exchange Mailboxes. Check that the user does not already
exist in another service in the Control Panel.

Cause: This error occurs when a user, who already has a mailbox, subscribes to a security group for the wrong email service. For example,
you add a user with a Rackspace Email mailbox to the Hosted Exchange security group.

Solution: Reassign the user to the correct security group.

Unable to Sync User: Received Unauthorized error.

Sync Error: Performed action 'Create' for user 'User-Name' on domain 'Domain'. Not authorized

Cause: This error occurs because the domain used in the email address attribute does not match a hosted domain associated with your Cloud Office account.

Solution: Correct the domain within the email address attribute to match a domain associated with your Cloud Office account.

Unable to Sync Distribution List: Group Already Exists.

Sync Error: Performed action 'Update' for group 'Security Group'. An
error occurred when provisioning group 'Security Group' for Hosted Exchange
Distribution List: Check that the group does not already exist in another
service in the Control Panel.

Cause: This message occurs because the email address of the distribution list already exists within the Control Panel
as a mailbox, alias, contact, group list, or distribution list.

Solution: Use one of the following solutions:

• Remove the mailbox within the Control Panel that matches the email address attribute of the Security Group in your Active Directory.
• Create a new email address for the distribution list within the Active Directory that is currently not in use.

Unable to Sync User: The alternate address was not in the primary domain or any of the alternate domains.

Cause: This error occurs because the domain used in the proxyAddress attribute does not exist in our environment as an
accepted domain or exists in another attribute such as the mail attribute.

The proxyAddresses attribute is used to create alternate email addresses
for our Exchange environment. Those alternate email addresses are aliases
specific to that user's mailbox. Any address that begins with SMTP: tries to
create an alternate email address with the user's mailbox.

Solution: Use one of the following solutions:

• Check the proxyAddress within the Attribute Editor tab of the user object in the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC).
  You need to have Advanced Features enabled in view settings to see this tab.
• You can also use the ADSI Edit window to view the user's attributes from properties. Ensure this value does not contain any
  existing email address that might be in the mail or proxyAddress attributes of another user or include a domain that is listed
  as a domain alias.
• The domains that work in the proxyAddresses attribute are the primary domain and accepted domains.
• Ensure this attribute does not already exist in the mail or proxyAddress attributes of another user.

Unable to Sync Contact*: The value '[xxx]' specified in the otherMailBox attribute for contact 'CN=Contact,CN=Users,DC=aaron,DC=local' is invalid.

Sync Error: The value '[xxx]' specified in the otherMailBox attribute for contact CN=Gmail Aaron Medrano,CN=Users,DC=aaron,DC=local is invalid.

Cause: This error occurs because the Directory Sync needs to specify which domain to create the contact in. With accounts that
host multiple domains, the attribute otherMailbox is used to specify this domain. If you only have one domain on your account, you
do not need to specify this atribute.

Solution: Go to the Attribute Editor of the Contact object in Active Directory and specify the domain to synchronize
in the otherMailbox attribute. This attribute only requires the domain name.

Service ID error: The Service ID specified in the mail attribute for user 'CN=User' has changed from 'userA' to 'userB'. Directory Sync cannot change the Service ID for an object.

Sync Error: The Service ID specified in the mail attribute for user CN=User has changed from userA to userB. Directory Sync
cannot change the Service ID for an object.

Cause: This error occurs when the username of the email address in Active Directory is changed.

Solution: Create a ticket with your Cloud Office Support team to perform a mailbox rename of the user's email address.

Pipe error: There was an error writing to the pipe: The pipe is being closed. (232, 0xe8)

Sync error: There was an error writing to the pipe: The pipe is being closed. (232, 0xe8).

Cause: This error occurs during a manual synchronization. Recognized changes are not provisioned because the WCF application
connection is inactive. This error displays in the Sync History section of the user interface.

Solution: Running the manual synchronization performs a successful sync.