Event ID : 1042

Issue : Metabase Update failed to read the Configuration namespace property from the domain controller.

Event Source: MSExchangeMU

Cause : This event indicates that Exchange was not able to read the configuration namespace property from any domain controller. The error code in the event may vary, depending on why Exchange was not able to read the configuration namespace property. One of the more common values is 0x80040a01. This event frequently occurs when the topology discovery process in Directory Service Access (DSAccess) fails. Some reasons that the topology discovery process in DSAccess fails include intermittent or faulty network connectivity, DNS problems, or permissions problems.This problem occurs if the RootVer registry value is invalid.

Description : Metabase Update failed to read the Configuration namespace property from the domain controller. Error code is 80040a01.

Action Needed : Review events in the event log that were logged before this event. There will probably be Error events pertaining to DSAccess failures, network connectivity failures, and so on. Focus on resolving the problems indicated by the earlier Error events. Running DCDiag and NetDiag may be useful in resolving this problem.
1) Check IIS service is running on server.
2) Run Exchange Best Practise Analyzer tool to check configuration issue.

Ref.Link :
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/906154