Data stores are containers for information. Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 uses two types of data stores: mailbox stores, which store a server’s mailboxes, and public folder stores, which store a server’s public folders. The information in a particular data store isn’t exclusive to either mailboxes or public folders. Exchange Server maintains related information within data stores as well. Within mailbox stores, you’ll find information about Exchange logons and mailbox usage. Within public folder stores, you’ll find information about Exchange logons, public folder instances, and replication. Mailbox and public folder stores also maintain information about full-text indexing. Understanding how to manage data stores and the information they contain is the subject of this chapter.
Each Exchange server installed in the organization has an information store. The information store can hold multiple storage groups, and you can create multiple mailbox stores within those storage groups. Each mailbox store has database files associated with it. These files are stored in a location that you specify when you create or modify the mailbox store.
Mailboxes are the delivery location for messages coming into an organization. Mailboxes contain messages, message attachments, and other types of information that the user might have placed in the mailbox. Mailboxes are in turn stored in mailbox stores.
A default mailbox store is created on each Exchange server in the organization. The default mailbox store is meant to be a starting point, and most Exchange organizations can benefit from having additional mailbox stores, especially as the number of users in the organization grows. There are many reasons for creating additional mailbox stores, but the key reasons are the following:
To provide a smaller unit of recovery in case of failure. Each mailbox store has its own database, which is backed up as part of a storage group. During recovery, you can restore the entire storage group or individual data stores within the storage group. By restoring only a specific mailbox store, you reduce the impact on the user community.
To impose a different set of mailbox rules on different sets of users. Each additional mailbox store can have its own property settings for maintenance, storage limits, deleted item retention, indexing, security, and policies. By placing a user’s mailbox in one mailbox store instead of another, you can apply a different set of rules.
To optimize Exchange performance. Each mailbox store can have its own storage location. By placing the mailbox stores on different drives, you can improve the performance of Exchange Server 2003.
To create separate mailbox stores for different purposes. For example, you might want to create a mailbox store called General In-Out to handle all general-purpose mailboxes being used throughout the organization. These general-purpose mailboxes could be set up for Postmaster, Webmaster, Technical Support, Customer Support, and other key functions.
When you create a mailbox store, you specify the following information:
What the name of the store should be
Where the store’s database files are to be located
When maintenance on the store should occur
What limitations there are on mailbox size
Whether deleted items and mailboxes should be retained
You must also specify which default public folder store to use. Each Exchange server in the organization has a default public folder store that refers to the All Public Folders tree. The All Public Folders tree is the only public folder tree accessible to Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) clients, such as Microsoft Outlook 2003, as well as to Microsoft Windows applications and browsers. You can use the organization’s default (which I call the public root store) or specify that an alternative public folder store be used as the default. The disadvantage of using an alternative public folder store is that it isn’t accessible to MAPI clients.
You can create a mailbox store by completing the following steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage.
Right-click the storage group to which you want to add the mailbox store, point to New, and then click Mailbox Store.
You should now see the Properties dialog box shown in Figure 10-1. In the Name field, type a name for the mailbox store.
Click the Database tab, as shown in Figure 10-2. You’ll see the default location for the Exchange database and the Exchange streaming database. If you want to change the location of the database files, use the Browse buttons to the right of the related fields to set new file locations.
Changes made to Exchange database files can cause the files to become inconsistent over time. To correct problems that might arise, Exchange Server runs maintenance tasks on the database daily from 1:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M. by default. If necessary, click Customize and use the Schedule grid to choose a different maintenance time.
Click the Limits tab, as shown in Figure 10-3. Use the following options to set storage limits and deleted item retention:
Issue Warning At (KB). Sets the size limit, in kilobytes, that a mailbox can reach before a warning is issued to the user. The warning tells the user to clear out the mailbox.
Prohibit Send At (KB). Sets the size limit, in kilobytes, that a mailbox can reach before the user is prohibited from sending any new mail. The restriction ends when the user clears out the mailbox and the total mailbox size is under the limit.
Prohibit Send And Receive At (KB). Sets the size limit, in kilobytes, that a mailbox can reach before the user is prohibited from sending and receiving mail. The restriction ends when the user clears out the mailbox and the total mailbox size is under the limit.
Caution
Prohibiting send and receive might cause users to lose e-mail. When a user sends a message to a user who is prohibited from receiving messages, a nondelivery report (NDR) is generated and delivered to the sender. The recipient never sees the e-mail. Because of this, you should prohibit send and receive only in very rare circumstances.
Warning Message Interval. Sets the interval for sending warning messages to users whose mailboxes exceed the designated limits. The default interval is daily at midnight.
Keep Deleted Items For (Days). Sets the number of days to retain deleted items. An average retention period is 14 days. If you set the retention period to 0, deleted messages aren’t retained, and you can’t recover them.
Keep Deleted Mailboxes For (Days). Sets the number of days to retain deleted mailboxes. The default setting is 30 days. You’ll want to keep most deleted mailboxes for at least 7 days to allow the administrators to extract any data that might be needed. If you set the retention period to 0, deleted mailboxes aren’t retained, and you can’t recover them.
Do Not Permanently Delete Mailboxes And Items Until The Store Has Been Backed Up. Ensures that deleted mailboxes and items are archived into at least one backup set before they are removed.
Click OK. Exchange Server creates the new mailbox store. When prompted, click Yes to mount the store. By mounting the store, you make it available for use.
Mailbox stores have different types of information associated with them, including a default public store and a default offline address list. You set these and other messaging options for mailbox stores using the General tab of the related Properties dialog box. To view this dialog box and update the messaging options, follow these steps:
In System Manager, right-click the mailbox store and then select Properties. You should see the Properties dialog box with the General tab selected by default.
The Default Public Store field shows the full path to the public folder store that the mailbox store is using. If you’ve created additional public folder trees or made changes to the public folder stores, you might want to change the default public folder store as well. In this case, click Browse, select the public folder store that points to the public folder tree that you want to use, and then click OK.
Caution
The public folder tree used by default is the one that points to the All Public Folders tree. The All Public Folders tree is the only public folder tree accessible to MAPI clients such as Outlook 2000. If you specify an alternative public folder tree, the tree you specify might not be accessible to some users.
The Offline Address List field shows the offline address list for the mailbox store. Offline address lists contain information on mail-enabled users, contacts, and groups in the organization and are used when users aren’t connected to the network. If you’ve created additional address lists beyond the global default, you can specify one of these additional address lists as the default for the mailbox store. Click Browse, select the address list you want to use, and then click OK.
You can create archives for all messages sent to a mailbox store. The archive is stored in a designated container (mailbox), which can belong to an end user. To start the archive process, select Archive All Messages Sent Or Received By Mailboxes On This Store and then click the related Browse button. Then select the container in which the archive should be created and click OK.
Tip
For a general-purpose mailbox store, archiving messages makes a lot of sense. You can then maintain the message archives for historical tracking and for later reference. For mailbox stores being used by end users, archiving messages usually isn’t a good choice. Few users want their day-to-day messages to be archived where they could be searched and scrutinized.
The next two options have to do with the preferences of users whose mailboxes are placed in the mailbox store. If the users have clients that support Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), select Clients Support S/MIME Signatures. If the users prefer to see plain-text messages in a fixed-width font such as Courier, select Display Plain Text Messages In A Fixed-Sized Font.
Click OK to apply the changes.
Mailbox store limits are designed to control the amount of information that users can store in their mailboxes. Users who exceed the designated limits might receive warning messages and might be subject to certain restrictions, such as the inability to send messages.
To view or set limits on a mailbox store, right-click the mailbox store in System Manager and then select Properties. You’ll see a Properties dialog box. Use the options on the Limits tab to set mailbox store limits as described in Step 6 of the section of this chapter entitled "Creating Mailbox Stores."
Deleted item retention is designed to ensure that messages and mailboxes that might be needed in the future aren’t permanently deleted. If retention is turned on, you can retain deleted messages and mailboxes for a specified period of time before they are permanently deleted and nonrecoverable.
An average retention period for messages is about 14 days, and the minimum retention period for mailboxes should be 7 days. In most cases you’ll want deleted messages to be maintained for 5 to 7 days and deleted mailboxes to be maintained for 3 to 4 weeks. A 5- to 7-day interval is used for messages because users usually realize that they shouldn’t have deleted a message within a few days. A 3- to 4-week interval is used for mailboxes because several weeks can (and often do) pass before users realize that they need a deleted mailbox. To understand why, consider the following scenario.
Sally leaves the company. A coworker gives the go-ahead to delete Sally’s user account and mailbox. Three weeks later, Sally’s boss realizes that she was the only person who received and archived the monthly reports e-mailed from corporate headquarters. The only way to get reports for previous years is to recover Sally’s mailbox.
To view or set deleted item retention for a mailbox store, follow these steps:
Right-click the mailbox store in System Manager and then select Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Limits tab and then change the settings for Keep Deleted Items For (Days) and Keep Deleted Mailboxes For (Days).
You can also specify that deleted items and mailboxes shouldn’t be permanently deleted until the store has been backed up.
The deleted mailbox retention interval determines the number of days you have to recover deleted mailboxes. As long as you’re within the interval, you can recover deleted mailboxes. To recover multiple deleted mailboxes, you’ll want to use the Mailbox Recovery Center as discussed in the section of this chapter entitled, "Using Mailbox Recovery Center." The Mailbox Recovery Center also lets you export mailbox property information.
To recover a single deleted mailbox, complete the following steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
You should see a list of available data stores. Click the plus sign (+) next to the mailbox store you want to work with, and then select Mailboxes.
Deleted mailboxes are displayed with a mailbox icon and a red X. Right-click the deleted mailbox you want to recover, and then select Reconnect.
Use the Select A New User For This Mailbox dialog box to select the user who should be assigned this mailbox. Click OK.
Note
Deleted mailboxes aren’t marked as such immediately, and it may take 15 minutes to an hour before the mailbox is marked as deleted, during which time the mailbox is displayed normally, but you will not be able to do anything to it. In addition, you can’t assign the mailbox to a user who already has a mailbox. That’s why users who already have a mailbox aren’t listed in the Select A New User For This Mailbox dialog box.
You delete a user’s mailbox by following the steps listed in the section of Chapter 6, entitled "Removing Mailboxes from User Accounts" If you’ve set a deleted mailbox retention interval, however, the mailbox isn’t permanently deleted. To permanently delete the mailbox, either you must wait for the mailbox retention period to expire or you must manually purge the mailbox from the mailbox store.
You manually purge a mailbox from the mailbox store by completing the following steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
You should see a list of available data stores. Click the plus sign (+) next to the mailbox store you want to work with and then select Mailboxes.
Deleted mailboxes are displayed with a mailbox icon and a red X. Right-click the deleted mailbox you want to permanently remove and then select Purge. When prompted to confirm the action, click Yes.
You can recover deleted items from mailbox stores as long as you’ve set a deleted item retention period for the data store from which the items were deleted and the retention period hasn’t expired. If both of these are the case, you can recover deleted items from mailbox stores by completing the following steps:
This section explains how to create public folder stores and set basic public folder store properties. It doesn’t go into detail on managing the many facets of public folders. That topic is covered in Chapter 11.
Public folders are used to share messages and files in an organization. You manage public folder stores much differently than mailbox stores. For starters, public folder stores must have a public folder tree associated with them. This public folder tree must be unique and can be assigned to a single public folder store only. Users access items that are stored in public folders through the public folder tree.
Each Exchange server in your organization has a default public folder store. I refer to this store as the public root store.
Mailbox stores should point to the public root store. If the mailbox stores don’t point to it, the public folder tree will be inaccessible to a user’s mail client. The reason for this is that the public root store contains the All Public Folders tree, which is the only public folder tree accessible to MAPI mail clients such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. Only compliant Web browsers and Windows applications can access other public folder trees.
Working with public folders and public folders stores isn’t as straightforward as working with mailboxes and mailbox stores, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid creating additional public folder stores. On the contrary, you’ll often need additional public folder stores. The following are some leading reasons for creating additional public folder stores:
To share files and messages pertaining to projects. For example, you could create a public folder store called Project Store. Project managers could then create folders for individual projects in the related public folder tree. Project members could share information by posting messages and files to a particular project folder.
To share files and messages within a department or business unit. For example, you could create a public folder store called Group Store. Department managers could then create folders for each business unit and the members of these business units could share information by posting messages and files to a folder.
To impose different sets of rules on different sets of users. Each additional public folder store can have its own property settings for maintenance, storage limits, deleted item retention, indexing, security, and policies.
To help optimize Exchange performance. Each public folder store can have its own storage location. By placing the public folder stores on different drives, you can improve the overall performance of Exchange Server 2003.
Unlike mailbox stores, which are completely separate from one another, you can replicate public folder stores from one server to another. Replication allows users to access public data on multiple servers, which distributes the load and provides alternative data sources in case of server failure.
You can create a public folder store by completing the following steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage.
Right-click the storage group to which you want to add the public folder store, point to New, and then click Public Store.
If a public folder tree isn’t available for use, you’ll see the dialog box shown in Figure 10-4. Before you can continue, you’ll need to create a public folder tree as described in the section of Chapter 11 entitled "Creating Public Folder Trees"
You should now see the Properties dialog box shown in Figure 10-5. Type a name for the public folder store in the Name field.
Click Browse to the right of the Associated Public Folder Tree field, and then use the Select A Public Folder Tree dialog box to associate a public folder tree with the public folder store.
Click the Database tab. You’ll see the default location for the Exchange database and the Exchange streaming database. If you want to change the location of the database files, use the Browse buttons to the right of the related fields to set new file locations.
Changes made to Exchange database files can cause the files to become inconsistent over time. By default, Exchange Server runs maintenance tasks against the database daily between 1:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M. If necessary, click Customize and use the Schedule grid to choose a different maintenance schedule.
As Figure 10-6 shows, you use the Replication tab to set replication intervals and limits for all folders in the public folder store. The available options are as follows:
Replication Interval. Determines when changes to public folders are replicated. Select a specific time (Always Run, Run Every Hour, Run Every 2 Hours, Run Every 4 Hours, or Never Run) or Use Custom Schedule.
Replication Interval For Always (Minutes). Sets the interval (in minutes) that’s used when you select Always Run as the replication option. The default is 15 minutes.
Replication Message Size Limit (KB). Sets the size limit (in kilobytes) for messages that are replicated. Messages over the size limit aren’t replicated. The default size limit is 300 KB.
Note
Chapter 11, covers public folder replication in detail. There you’ll find complete information on replication and how it works.
Use the Limits tab to set storage limits and deleted item retention on a peruser basis. The available options are as follows:
Issue Warning At (KB). Sets the size, in kilobytes, of the data that a user can post to the public store before a warning is issued to the user. The warning tells the user to clean out the public store.
Prohibit Post At (KB). Sets the maximum size, in kilobytes, of the data that a user can post to the public store. The restriction ends when the total size of the user’s data is under the limit.
Maximum Item Size (KB). Sets the maximum size, in kilobytes, for postings to the data store.
Warning Message Interval. Sets the interval for sending warning messages to users whose total data size exceeds the designated limits. The default interval is daily at midnight.
Keep Deleted Items For (Days). Sets the number of days to retain deleted items. An average retention period is 14 days. If you set the retention period to 0, deleted postings aren’t retained, and you can’t recover them.
Do Not Permanently Delete Items Until The Store Has Been Backed Up. Ensures that deleted items are archived into at least one backup set before they are removed.
Age Limit For All Folders In This Store (Days). Sets the number of days to retain postings in the store. Postings older than the limit are automatically deleted.
Click OK. Exchange Server creates the new public folder store. When prompted, click Yes to mount the store. By mounting the store, you make it available for use.
Public store limits are designed to control the amount of information that users can post to public folders. As with mailbox stores, users who exceed the designated limits might receive warning messages and might be subject to certain restrictions, such as the inability to post messages.
To view or set limits on a public folder store, right-click the public folder store in System Manager, and then select Properties. Use the options on the Limits tab to set the limits as described in Step 9 of the section of this chapter entitled "Creating Public Folder Stores"
Because public folders help users share messages, documents, and ideas, they’re an important part of any Exchange organization. Over time, however, public folders can become cluttered, which reduces their usefulness. To reduce the clutter, you can set an age limit on items that are posted to public folders. Items that reach the age limit expire and are permanently removed from the public folder.
When you set the age limit, keep in mind the type of information stored in the related public folders. For example, if you have a public store for general discussion and file sharing, you might want the age limit to be a few weeks. However, if you have a public store for projects, you might want the age limit to extend throughout the life of the project, which could be months or years.
The age limit and the deleted item retention are two separate values. Deleted item retention is designed to ensure that postings and documents that could be needed in the future aren’t permanently deleted. When retention is turned on, deleted items are retained for a specified period of time before they are permanently deleted and made nonrecoverable.
The age limit applies to deleted items as well. If a deleted item reaches the age limit, it’s permanently deleted along with other items that have reached their age limit.
To set the age limit and deleted item retention for a public folder store, follow these steps:
Right-click the public folder store in System Manager and then select Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Limits tab and then change the settings for Keep Deleted Items For (Days) and Age Limit For All Folders In This Store.
You might also want to specify that deleted items shouldn’t be permanently deleted until the store has been backed up.
You can recover deleted items from public folder stores as long as you’ve set a deleted item retention period for the public folder store from which the items were deleted and the retention period for this data store hasn’t expired. If both of these conditions are met, you can recover deleted items by completing the following steps:
Log on to the domain using either an account with administrative privileges in the domain or an account with full control over the public folder from which you need to recover items.
After starting Outlook, access the Public Folders node and then select the public folder from which you need to recover an item.
Select Recover Deleted Items from the Tools menu. You should now see the Recover Deleted Items From dialog box.
Select the items you want to recover and then click Recover Selected Items.
Now that you know how to create and use data stores, let’s look at some general techniques you’ll use to manage data stores.
The information store tracks logons to mailbox and public folder stores. You can use this information to view a wide range of activity in the data store.
To view logon information, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
You should see a list of available data stores. Click the plus sign (+) next to the data store you want to examine and then select Logons.
As Figure 10-7 shows, information about all logons to the store is displayed in the Details pane. The default view provides basic logon information such as the user name, the related Windows account, the logon time, the last access time, and the client version.
To get more detailed logon information, you can customize the logon view. Right-click Logons, point to View, and then click Add/Remove Columns. Next, use the Add/Remove Columns dialog box to add or remove columns from the view. Table 10-1 provides a summary of the available columns. Use the extra information provided to help you track logons and related data store activity.
Table 10-1. Understanding the Column Headings in the Logon Details
Description | |
|---|---|
Adapter Speed | The speed of the network adapter with which the user connected in Mbps, such as 100000 for 100 Mbps connection. |
Client IP Address | The IP address of the client, such as 192.168.1.202. |
Client Mode | The connection mode used by the client. Access mode zero (0) is used for the system attendant and access mode 2 is used for access with an e-mail client, such as Outlook 2003. |
Client Name | The DNS name of the computer used to connect to Exchange, such as gandolf.adatum.com. |
Client Version | The version of the client that was used to log on. |
Code Page | The code page that the client was using, such as 1252. |
Folder Ops | The total number of folder operations performed in the last 60 seconds. Operations tracked include opening, closing, and renaming folders. |
Full Mailbox Directory Name | The complete path string for the user’s mailbox in Active Directory. |
Full User Directory Name | The complete path string for the related user object in Active Directory. |
Host Address | The server host used with the connection. IIS-HTTPDAV means the user connected using Outlook Web Access, ie they made a WebDAV connection over HTTP to IIS. |
Last Access Time | The date and time the user last accessed the mailbox store. |
Latency | The delay between when a request is made and the time it’s received in milliseconds. Generally speaking the latency experienced by the user is out of your hands. However, a high degree of latency could explain why e-mail seems slow for the user. |
Locale ID | The locale ID for the language the client is using. |
Logon Time | The date and time that the user last logged on. |
MAC Address | The machine address of the user’s computer. |
Messaging Ops | The total number of messaging operations performed in the last 60 seconds. Operations tracked include opening, closing, and deleting messages. |
Open Attachments | The total number of open attachments. |
Open Folders | The total number of open folders. |
Open Messages | The total number of open messages. |
Other Ops | The total number of miscellaneous operations performed in the last 60 seconds. |
Progress Ops | The total number of progress operations performed in the last 60 seconds. Progress operations tell users how long it takes to complete a task. |
RPC Calls Succeeded | The number of remote procedure calls that succeeded. |
Stream Ops | The total number of stream operations performed in the last 60 seconds. Operations tracked include changing and deleting attachments. |
Table Ops | The total number of table operations performed in the last 60 seconds. Operations tracked include displaying folder contents and expanding public folder tree views. |
Total Ops | The total number of operations performed in the last 60 seconds. |
Transfer Ops | The total number of transfer operations performed in the last 60 seconds. Operations tracked include copying and moving messages. |
User Name | The full name of the user who last logged on, such as William R. Stanek. |
Windows 2000 Account | The Windows account name of the user who last logged on, such as DEVwilliams. |
Typically, you’ll use custom views to help you understand the level of activity in a particular data store. Generally, you’re most interested in seeing this information:
Who accessed the store
Which IP addresses were used
The last access time
How many messages and attachments are open
The total number of operations performed in the last 60 seconds
A custom view to provide this information would include these columns:
User Name
Client IP/Client Name
Last Access Time
Open Messages
Open Attachments
Open Folders
Total Ops
Just as you can view information about logons, you can also view information about mailboxes. The available information tells you the following:
How many messages are stored in a mailbox
How much space the mailbox is using
Whether the mailbox has deleted items that are being retained
How long items have been deleted
Whether the mailbox is subject to storage limits
Who the last user to log on to the mailbox was
You can view mailbox summaries by completing the following steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
You should see a list of available data stores. Click the plus sign (+) next to the mailbox store you want to examine and then select Mailboxes.
As Figure 10-8 shows, mailbox summaries should now be displayed in the Details pane. The default view provides basic mailbox information such as the mailbox name, the last user account to log on to the mailbox, the mailbox size, and the total number of items in the mailbox.
To get more detailed mailbox information, you can customize the mailbox view. Right-click Mailboxes, point to View, and then click Add/Remove Columns. Next, use the Add/Remove Columns dialog box to add or remove columns from the view. Table 10-2 provides a summary of the available columns. Use the extra information provided to help you track mailbox activity.
Table 10-2. Understanding the Column Headings in the Mailbox Details
Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
Deleted Items (KB) | The total amount of disk space, in kilobytes, occupied by deleted items that are being retained for the mailbox |
Disconnect Time | The date and time at which Exchange Server detected the deletion of the user account for this mailbox |
Full Mailbox Directory Name | The complete Active Directory path string for the specified mailbox |
Last Logged On By | The account name of the user who last logged on to the mailbox |
Last Logoff Time | The time that a user last logged off this mailbox |
Last Logon Time | The time that a user last logged on to this mailbox |
The mailbox name | |
Size (KB) | The total amount of disk space, in kilobytes, that a mailbox occupies |
Storage Limits | Specifies whether a mailbox is subject to storage limits |
Total Associated Messages | Total number of system messages, views, rules, and so on, associated with the mailbox. |
Total Items | Total number of messages, files, and postings that are stored in the mailbox. |
You can access only data stores that are mounted. If a store isn’t mounted, the store isn’t available for use. This means that an administrator has probably dismounted the store or that the drive on which the store is located isn’t online.
Real World
Dismounted stores could also point to problems with the database files used by the store. During startup, Exchange Server 2003 obtains a list of database files registered in Active Directory and then checks for the database files before mounting each store. If files are missing or corrupted, Exchange Server 2003 will not be able to mount the store. Exchange Server 2003 then generates an error and logs it in the application event log on the Exchange server. The most common error is Event ID 9547. An example of this error follows:
The Active Directory indicates that the database file D:ExchsrvrmdbdataMarketing.edb exists for the Microsoft Exchange Database /o=My Organization/ou=First Administra tive Group/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=MAILER2/ cn=Marketing, however no such files exist on the disk.
This error tells you that the Exchange database (Marketing.edb) is registered in Active Directory but Exchange Server 2003 is unable to find the file on the disk. When Exchange Server 2003 attempts to start the corrupted mailbox store, you’ll see an additional error as well. The most common error is Event ID 9519. An example of this error follows:
Error 0xfffffb4d starting database First Storage GroupMarketing on the Microsoft Exchange Information Store.
This error tells you that Exchange Server 2003 couldn’t start the Marketing database. To recover the mailbox store, you must restore the database files as discussed in Chapter 12, under "Recovering Exchange Server." If you are unable to restore the database files, you can re-create the store structures in System Manager by mounting the store. When you mount the store, Exchange Server 2003 creates new database files and as a result, all the data in the store is lost and cannot be recovered. Exchange Server 2003 displays a warning before mounting the store and re-creating the database files. Click Yes only when you are absolutely certain that you cannot recover the database.
To determine whether a store is mounted, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
You should see a list of available data stores in the Details pane. The icon to the right of the data store name indicates the mount status. If the icon shows a red down arrow, the store isn’t mounted.
You should rarely dismount an active data store, but if you need to do so, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
You should see a list of available data stores in the Details pane. The icon to the right of the data store name indicates the mount status. If the icon shows a red down arrow, the store is already dismounted.
Right-click the store you want to dismount, select Dismount Store, and then confirm the action by clicking Yes. Exchange Server dismounts the store. Users accessing the store will no longer be able to work with their server-based folders.
If you’ve dismounted a data store to perform maintenance or recovery, you can remount the store by completing the following steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
You should see a list of available data stores in the Details pane. The icon to the right of the data store name indicates the mount status.
You should see a red down arrow indicating that the store isn’t mounted. If so, right-click the store and then select Mount Store.
If Exchange Server is able to mount the store, you’ll see a dialog box confirming that the store has been mounted. Click OK.
The new store isn’t accessible to users that are currently logged on to Exchange server. Users need to exit and then restart Outlook before they can access the newly mounted store.
Normally, Exchange Server automatically mounts stores on startup. You can, however, change this behavior. For example, if you’re recovering Exchange server from a complete failure, you might not want to mount data stores until you’ve completed recovery. In this case you can disable automatic mounting of data stores.
To enable or disable automatic mounting of a data store, complete the following steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
Right-click the data store you want to work with and then select Properties.
Click the Database tab in the Properties dialog box.
To ensure that a data store isn’t mounted on startup, select the Do Not Mount This Store At Start-Up check box.
To mount the data store on startup, clear the Do Not Mount This Store At Start-Up check box.
Click OK.
You should run maintenance routines against data stores on a daily basis. The maintenance routines organize the data store, clear out extra space, and perform other essential housekeeping tasks. By default, Exchange Server runs maintenance tasks daily from 1:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M. If this conflicts with other activities on the Exchange server, you can change the maintenance schedule by following these steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
Right-click the store you want to work with and then select Properties.
Click the Database tab in the Properties dialog box, and then use the Maintenance Interval drop-down menu to set a new maintenance time. Select a time (such as Run Daily From 11:00 P.M. To 3:00 A.M.) or Use Custom Schedule.
Click OK.
You use mailbox and public folder policies to control settings for groups of data stores. When a policy applies to a property, the property is unavailable and you’re unable to change its value in the data store’s Properties dialog box. The only way you can change a policy-controlled property is to do the following:
Edit the related policy.
Remove the policy from the data store.
To determine whether a policy applies to a data store, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
Right-click the store you want to work with and then select Properties.
Any policies that affect the data store are listed on the Policies tab. You can modify or delete the policy by following the techniques discussed in the sections of Chapter 8, entitled "Modifying System Policies" and "Deleting System Policies."
To rename a data store, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Exchange server you want to manage and then click the plus sign (+) next to the storage group you want to work with.
Right-click the data store, select Rename from the shortcut menu, and then type a new name for the storage group.
Note
All objects in Active Directory are located by a unique identifier. This identifier uses the directory namespace and works through each element in the directory hierarchy to a particular object. When you change the name of a data store, you change the namespace for all the objects in the data store.
Deleting a data store removes the data store and all the public folders or mailboxes it contains. Before you delete a data store, make sure that you no longer need the items it contains. If they are necessary, you should move them to a new data store. You move mailboxes as described in the section of Chapter 6, entitled "Moving Mailboxes to a New Server or Storage Group." You move public folders as described in the section of Chapter 11 entitled "Renaming, Copying, and Moving Public Folder Trees."
Once you’ve moved items that you might need, you can delete the data store by completing the following steps:
Earlier in the chapter, I discussed how to recover an individual mailbox. Deleted, disconnected, or otherwise unavailable mailboxes can also be recovered using Mailbox Recovery Center. The advantage to using Mailbox Recovery Center is that you can perform recovery operations on multiple mailboxes at one time rather than recovering mailboxes individually. Mailbox Recovery Center also lets you export mailbox data. You can export mailbox properties to an Active Directory container, and you can export mailbox data to a file.
You’ll find Mailbox Recovery Center under the Tools node in System Manager. Expand the Tools node and then click Mailbox Recovery Center. Before you can recover mailboxes, you must add the mailbox stores that you want to work with to the Mailbox Recovery Center’s details view. You’ll then be able to export mailbox property information or associate users with disconnected mailboxes so that you can make them available by reconnecting them. When you are finished working with the mailbox stores, you should remove them from the Mailbox Recovery Center. This ensures the mailbox stores aren’t locked for recovery and are restored to normal operation status.
You must add the mailbox stores that you want to work with to the recovery center’s details view. To do this, complete the following steps:
In System Manager, right-click Mailbox Recovery Center and then select Add Mailbox Store. Keep in mind that any mailbox store already added to Mailbox Recovery Center won’t be available.
In the Add Mailbox Store(s) dialog box, type the name of the mailbox store you want to work with, such as Engineering Mailbox Store. You can enter multiple mailbox store names by separating each name with a semicolon. Click Check Names.
If multiple matching names are found, you’ll see the Multiple Names Found dialog box shown in Figure 10-9. Select the mailbox store you want to work with. Press Shift or Ctrl to select multiple stores. Click OK to close the Multiple Names Found dialog box.
If a matching name isn’t found, you’ll see the Name Not Found dialog box shown in Figure 10-10. Retype the mailbox store name and then click OK. If this doesn’t work, you might need to change the directory location you are working with. Click Locations and then use the Locations dialog box to browse for the location to use.
Click OK to close the Add Mailbox Store(s) dialog box and add the selected mailbox stores to the recovery center. You can now export mailbox data, or associate users with disconnected mailboxes so that you can make them available by reconnecting them.
Once you’ve added one or more mailbox stores to the recovery center, you’ll see an overview of any deleted or disconnected mailboxes those mailbox stores contain as shown in Figure 10-11. The default view provides basic mailbox information, such as the mailbox name, the associated mailbox store, the full mailbox directory name, the date and time when the mailbox was disconnected, and the mailbox size.
Figure 10-11. Once you add mailbox stores, any deleted or disconnected mailboxes are listed in the Mailbox Recovery Center Details pane.
To get more detailed recovery information, you can customize the view. Right-click Mailbox Recovery Center, point to View, and then click Add/Remove Columns. Next, use the Add/Remove Columns dialog box to add or remove columns from the view. Table 10-3 provides a summary of the available columns. Use the extra information provided to help you recover mailboxes.
Table 10-3. Understanding the Column Headings in the Mailbox Recovery Center Details Pane
Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
Deleted Items (KB) | The total amount of disk space, in kilobytes, occupied by deleted items that are being retained for the mailbox |
Disconnect Time | The date and time at which Exchange Server detected the deletion of the user account for this mailbox |
Full Mailbox Directory Name | The full directory path for the mailbox in the Active Directory data store |
Last Logged On By | The account name of the user who last logged on to the mailbox |
Last Logoff Time | The time that a user last logged off this mailbox |
The time that a user last logged on to this mailbox | |
Mailbox | The mailbox name |
Mailbox GUID | The globally unique identifier (GUID) of the mailbox in Active Directory |
Mailbox Store | The mailbox store that contains the deleted mailbox |
Size (KB) | The total amount of disk space, in kilobytes, that a mailbox occupies |
Storage Limits | Specifies whether a mailbox is subject to storage limits |
Total Associated Messages | Total number of system messages, views, rules, and so on, associated with the mailbox |
Total Items | Total number of messages, files, and postings that are stored in the mailbox |
Mailbox Recovery Center lets you export mailbox recovery data, which includes information about the user account previously or currently associated with the mailbox. You can use that user account information to confirm mailbox associations. To recover mailbox data, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Mailbox Recovery Center node and then in the Details pane, right-click the mailbox you want to work with and select Export. You can select multiple mailboxes using Shift or Ctrl to select the mailboxes you want to work with and then right-clicking.
When the Exchange Mailbox Export Wizard starts, click Next.
Choose the Active Directory properties for the related user objects that you want to export (if any) and then click Next. The available properties include the following:
userAccountControl. The account control identifier
MsExchUserAccountControl. The Exchange account control identifier
DisplayName. The display name for the user account
ObjectClass. The object class, such as user
SAMAccountName. The System Account Manager (SAM) name associated with the mailbox. This is also referred to as the pre–Windows 2000 user logon name.
Click Browse and then use the Choose A Container dialog box to select the Active Directory container for the exported properties. Click OK and then click Next.
Specify the name of the export file for the mailbox data. The mailbox data is stored as an LDiff file with the extension .ldf. Click Browse to use the Export File dialog box to find a save location.
If you want to append the data to an existing file without overwriting it, choose Append The Next Definitions. Otherwise, click Replace Existing Content.
Click Next and then click Finish.
Recovering a disconnected mailbox is a multipart process. First you need to associate a user account with the mailbox by finding user accounts that are the best match for the mailbox. Matches are made using the mailbox properties, primarily, the SAM account name and the display name. When a user account is matched to a mailbox, there will be an entry in the User Name field. This entry specifies the Active Directory path for the related user object.
After you match the mailbox to a user account, you can attempt to reconnect the mailbox. Reconnecting the mailbox creates an association between the mailbox and the specified user account and makes the mailbox available for use. If there are problems reconnecting the mailbox, you can attempt to resolve and trouble-shoot any conflicts.
To associate users with mailboxes and then reconnect them, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Mailbox Recovery Center node and then in the Details pane, right-click the mailbox you want to work with and then select Find Match. You can select multiple mailboxes using Shift or Ctrl to select the mailboxes you want to work with and then right-clicking.
When the Exchange Mailbox Matching Wizard starts, click Next to show the results of the matching tasks. Note any conflicts that are detected and whether the matching operations complete successfully and then click Finish.
Select the mailboxes where the matching operation completed successfully, right-click, and then choose Reconnect to start the Exchange Mailbox Reconnect Wizard.
Click Next. Note the operations that will be performed and then click Next again.
Note the status of the operation and then click Finish. The reconnect operation should complete successfully and the red X for the mailboxes should no longer be displayed. If any conflicts or errors occurred during this procedure, you can attempt to resolve them as discussed in the section of this chapter entitled "Resolving Matching and Reconnection Conflicts."
When you are attempting to match and reconnect mailboxes, the most common reason for a conflict is that there is no user account to match to the mailbox. This happens if the user account has been deleted. In this case, you can create a new account for the user in Active Directory Users And Computers, or associate the mailbox with a different user account using the Exchange Mailbox Conflict Resolution Wizard. If an error occurred while reconnecting a matched mailbox, you can also use the wizard to attempt to resolve the problem.
To resolve matching and reconnection conflicts, follow these steps:
In System Manager, select the Mailbox Recovery Center node and then in the Details pane, select any mailboxes for which conflicts occurred. Right-click and then choose Resolve Conflicts to start the Exchange Mailbox Conflict Resolution Wizard.
Click Next to see a list of user accounts that are possible matches. Select the account to use and then click Next. If the user account you want to use isn’t shown, click Browse and then use the Select A Matching User For This Mailbox dialog box to choose a user account to associate with a particular mailbox.
Click Next and then click Finish.
When you are finished working with the mailbox stores, you should remove them from Mailbox Recovery Center. This ensures the mailbox stores aren’t locked for recovery and are restored to normal operation status. To remove mailbox stores from Mailbox Recovery Center, complete the following steps:
In System Manager, right-click Mailbox Recovery Center and then select Remove Mailbox Store.
In the Remove Mailbox Store(s) dialog box, type the name of the mailbox store you want to remove from the recovery center. You can enter multiple mailbox store names by separating each name with a semicolon. Click Check Names.
If multiple matching names are found, you’ll see the Multiple Names Found dialog box and be able to select the specific stores to remove.
If a matching name isn’t found, you’ll see the Name Not Found dialog box and be able to retype the mailbox store name or change the directory location you are working with.
Click OK to close the Remove Mailbox Store(s) dialog box and remove the selected mailbox stores from the recovery center.