1. Check the replication history of the Domino Directory to ensure that changes to it are replicating properly. Make sure the Domino Directory's ACL provides servers with at least Editor access. Check for messages in the Administration Requests database, and verify that the Administration Process is set up and working properly.

Mail problems occur if replication of the Domino Directory throughout the domain isn't occurring correctly. For example, if you move a user's mail file and the change recording this move on the Person document does not replicate, a mail message could bounce back and forth between two servers and eventually be returned to the sender. Alternatively, the message could become dead mail if the maximum hop count is exceeded.

• There's no Person document for the recipient in the Domino Directory. If necessary, register the recipient to create one.
• The mail recipient's name, mail server, or mail file is incorrect or is spelled incorrectly. Correct the entries, if necessary.
• There are multiple occurrences of the recipient's name in the Domino Directory. There may be more than one Person document, or a user and a group may have the same name. You can add a middle initial to one of the user names if two users share the same name. You can modify a group name if it's duplicate of another.
• The recipient receives mail through a gateway. Make sure the recipient's Person document contains a forwarding address.

4. Check Connection documents for mail routing. If two servers are in different Notes named networks (or domains) or don't have a third server that has a Notes named network in common with both servers, then you must create pairs of Connection documents to enable mail routing back and forth. For servers in the same Notes named network, mail routing is automatic so you don't need Connection documents.

To check mail routing connections, from the Domino Administrator, click the Messaging - Mail tab. You can see mail routing topology by connections or by named networks. Look for servers that can't reach a server in another Notes named network or domain. Then check the Domino Directory for these problems, and edit or create the documents as necessary:
• Missing Connection documents. Make sure that each domain's Domino Directory has a Connection document from one of its servers to a server in the other domain.
• A misspelled Notes network or domain name in the Connection document.
• An incorrect phone number (for dialup connections) in the Connection document.
• A missing selection for "Mail Routing" in the Tasks field of the Connection document.

6. If your organization uses cascading address books, be sure that the Names setting in the NOTES.INI file contains the correct names of the cascading address books.

Related topics

How to troubleshoot mail routing

Glossary