Thursday, June 4, 2009

Virtual Memory Fragmentation Exchange

Virtual Memory:
Virtual Memory is nothing but making your hard disk acts as a temp space for swapping the data from the RAM when it is busy or fully occupied. The Process of exchanging/swapping the data back and forth from hard disk and RAM is called Thrashing. The area of the hard disk which stores the RAM data is called Page files, have a .SWP extensions.

In exchange server too allocations of the virtual memory plays a vital role for the efficient functioning of the exchange server. If the virtual memory allocation is not up to the mark, which results in hitting the performance of the exchange server in greater extend.

The below are the way to optimize the virtual memory related issues.

1. Adding the /3GB switch in the boot.ini file.
2. Adding the /userva= where Number value ranges b/w 2970 and 3030. The recommended value is 3030

Eg., boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003" /fastdetect /3GB
or
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003" /fastdetect /userva=3030

The above option can be used only in pre windows server 2003 versions alone. In windows 2000, they have the below option for fine tuning the virtual memory.

1. Edit the "HeapDecommitFreeBlockThreshold" Registry key.
2. Set the “msExchESEParamCacheSizeMax” value via ADSIEDIT.
3. Also the value “msExchESEParamMaxOpenTables” value has to be set appropraitly via ADSIEDIT.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks
Logan
9841499143

Sunday, February 22, 2009

PFDAVAdmin Tool - Exchange

PFDAVAdmin is an one of the useful tool in the exchange environment.The name PFDAVAdmin stands for Public Folder Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV)-based Administration tool. The following are the features..

1. Propagate public folder permissions.It is used to propagate public folder Access Control Entry (ACE) additions, removals and modifications without overwriting the existing Access Control List (ACL).
2. used to Rectify damaged Discretionary Access Control Lists (DACL).Bad DACL is caused due to the incorrect permission from the explorer or from other tool.
3. Import or export permissions against either mailboxes or public folders. This will be a handy option to have the portable different complex level of permission.
4. Setting up Calendar folder permissions in bulk.

Thanks
Logan

91-98414-99143

Garbage Collection and Tombstone object in AD

1. Garbage collection is a housekeeping process that is designed to free space within the Active Directory database. 

2. In Windows 2000 and in the original release version of Windows Server 2003, this process runs on every domain controller in the enterprise with a default lifetime interval of 12 hours. 

3. You can change this interval by modifying the garbageCollPeriod attribute in the enterprise-wide DS configuration object (NTDS) using ADSIEDIT.msc or ldp.exe. 

4. The Active Directory (AD) garbage-collection process performs two vital functions.First, it cleans up deleted objects. When you delete an object in AD, the system doesn't immediately delete the object because when replication occurs, a replication partner would recreate the object. Instead, the system uses a tombstone with a finite lifetime to mark the object as deleted. The tombstone replicates to all domain controllers (DCs), and after it expires, the garbage-collection agent deletes the object.

5. The garbage-collection process also performs online AD defragementation.

6. The default tombstone delete lifetime in windows 2000 and 2003 (w/o SP1) is 60 days. In 2003 Sp1, the value is increased to 180 days.

Thanks

Logan
91-98414-99143

ESEUTIL AND ISINTEG

ESEUTIL 

It is a life saver tool in maintainng the exchange database ie. , tool that manipulates Exchange's Extensible Storage Engine. This tool is similar to ntdsutil in term it manipulates with the Active directory.

/d - Performs off-line defragmentation/compaction of a database.
/r - soft recovery, bringing all databases to a consistent state or clean shutdown state.
/g - Verifies integrity of a database.It just fix the database tables but not the relation and others database stuff.That 
can be rectified by using the isinteg tool.
/m - Generates formatted output of various database file types. It is used to take the file dump.
/p - Repairs a corrupted or damaged database.
/y - Copies a database, streaming file, or log file.
/cc - Performs a hard recovery after a database restore.It is used to replay the logs after restoring from the backups.
/mh - to check the status/state of the mailbox store. To determine whether the last shutdown was clean or dirty. 
/mk - to check the last committed transastion log file into the database.
/ml - similar to /mh, except this switch performs an integrity check on log files.
/mm - Dumps metadata from the database file.

ISINTEG 

It is used to do some tests on your information store and to fix some detected errors and problems.ISINTEG is the only repair for exchange database engine. ESE is a generic database engine that can be used by different applications (Exchange, ActiveDirectory).
ESEUTIL looks into the database as just another ESE database, and can see their tables and indexes. ESEUTIL just fixes the database tables.Now it is time for ISINTEG. ISINTEG is aware of the relation between database tables and records that turn them into folders and messages.

Isinteg -fix -test alltests

In case of damaged database, the below is the idle steps...

1. Run Eseutil /P.
2. After Eseutil /P completes successfully, run Eseutil /D.
3. After Eseutil /D completes successfully, run Isinteg –fix –test alltests.

Thanks
Logan
91-9841499143

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

System Mailbox in exchange server 2003:

This article gives you the functionality of the built in system mailbox that present in the mailbox store. Every private information store in Exchange Server 2003, has 3 system mailbox by default.

The following are the three different system mailboxes are:

•SystemMailbox{GUID}
•System Attendant Mailbox
•SMTP Mailbox

System Mailbox {GUID}:

•Contains two parts to each System mailbox – the mailbox itself with its content in the corresponding information store and an associated directory object located in MESO (Microsoft Exchange System Object) folder in AD.
•GUID is related to the objectGUID i.e., to the system mailbox. The objectGUID of the mailbox store with which the system mailbox is associated.
•Whenever we mount the store, it checks for the availability of the systemmailbox{GUID}. If not it looks in the MESO directory for the same.
•Each MDB has its own GUID associated with a particular instance of SystemMailbox{guid}.
•Faulty functioning SystemMailbox{guid} then, there’s a very good chance EXOLEDB event sinks will not function.
•It will occupy some reasonable amt of space for storing the schema definitions.

System Attendant Mailbox:

•Each Exchange 200x server has one (and hopefully only one) System Attendant mailbox
•The System Attendant Mailbox contains the folder SpecialPrivateFolderForFreeBusyStorage, for Free/Busy information for Microsoft Outlook and CDO Applications (Collaboration Data Objects) which will be temporarily stored in MSExchangeFBPublish.
•The System Attendant Mailbox will also be used to send and receive Exchange monitoring messages for the Link Monitoring Service. You can find this function in the Exchange System Manager under Tools – Monitoring and Status.
•System Attendant mailbox is also required to be available during mailbox moves. For instance, if you have the mailbox store containing the System Attendant mailbox dismounted during a mailbox move, the move will fail.
•There are two parts to make up the complete System Attendant mailbox: a directory object and a mailbox object.
•Faulty system attendant mailbox, results in OWA-generated Free/Busy information not getting updated and also mailbox moves fail.

SMTP Mailbox

•The SMTP mailbox will be generated when the private information store is created and mounted.
•SMTP (servername-{guid}) mailbox is used by the mail transport of Exchange 200x as a temporary holding place for various messages as they pass through the system. In other words, every private mailbox store contains an SMTP mailbox to store temporary messages.
•For eg, The folders MTS-IN and MTS-OUT are used by Exchange Deployment Kit (EDK) connectors to transfer messages between the MTA (Microsoft Exchange Transport Agent) and the Exchange Server information store (store.exe). They are also used for X400 connectors, Exchange site connectors, and fax connectors.
•Faulty SMTP mailbox, results in failure in delivery into the store

Logging into system mailbox:

Logging into the system mailbox is not recommended, but still we can open the mailbox using the MFCMAPI.

Please revert if you have any questions.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Microsoft Exchange System Attendant:

This article explains the characteristic features of the Microsoft exchange system attendant services. The Microsoft Exchange System Attendant service is primarily a collection of subcomponents that work together to proxy Active Directory requests and to regulate internal Exchange Server functions.

1.It is exchange related services. It is critical for exchange server’s performance and many exchange related services will not work.
2.You cannot mount the database unless the exchange system attendant service is running.
3.It facilitates AD communications to enforce the retention policies and mailbox quotas.
4.Main executable file is the MAD.EXE, located in Program Files\Exchsrvr\Bin folder and most of the subcomponents exist as .DLL files.

The following are the components of the System Attendant services.

DSACCESS Component:

1.DSACCESS.dll is used to prevent exchange server from flooding your exchange server with excessive requests.
2. In detail, When exchange server component such as exchange store or SMTP Transport engine needs to get the receipient information from AD, the query is routed through the DSACCESS component. Generally it acts as a proxy for these AD request. The recent request are stored in the cache to avoid the repetitive queries.

DSProxy Component:

1.DSProxy.dll acts as a proxy for AD queries coming from outlook clients.
2.In detail, when client running outlook 2000 or later, refers the GC for processing the AD query (such as a request to retrieve the GAL) in direct. Whereas the client older the outlook client 2000, will acts as a true proxy for communicating the GC, so DSProxy performs he operation on behalf of the client.
3.DSACCESS performs differently, DSACCESS proxies AD request coming from the other exchange component.

RUS – Recipeint Update Service:

1.Abv_dg.DLL is the core file for the RUS.
2.It is used for applying recipient policies to mail-enabled user objects.

Mailbox Manager Component:

The Mailbox Manager's job is to enforce policies that help to control the size of an information store, including mailbox quotas and message retention policies.

Server Monitor Component:

1.It is primarily used to keep exchange server’s link state information up to date.
2.The link state information is used to calculate the optimal path to various destinations within the exchange organization. Metrics like costs, availability and hop counts are taken into account.
3.It is responsible for monitoring server resources using WMI Windows Management Instrumentation.
4.It is also responsible for managing message tracking logs (if the message tracking is enabled).

Offline Address Book Generator:

1.The idea behind OAB generator (OABgen.dll) is for mobile users to access the address book, even is the users are offline.
2.So the offline users rely on the OAB instead of GAL.
3.The OABgen.dll file is stored in an Exchange public folder subfolder called Offline Address Book. This folder contains two subfolder: OAB Version2 and OAB Version 3a.

Free/busy Component:

1.The free/busy (madfb.dll) component is responsible for publishing the free busy information.
2.In detail, free busy information of other attendee is required for scheduling meeting. So the source user needs the free busy data of the target attendee’s calendar. Since user don’t generally have access to other user’s mailbox. Like OAB, the free/busy(madfb.dll) component is stored in a subfolder of the system public folder named SCHEDULE + FREE BUSY.
3.When a user creates an appointment or meeting, the exchange store sends the corresponding free/busy information to the exchange system attendant mailbox. The madfb.dll extracts the free busy data from the message and publishes it in the SCHEDULE + FREE BUSY folder.

Metabase Update Service:

1.Metabase Update Service (ds2mb.dll) is closely related to the IIS.
2.IIS metabase is the core file for IIS. Given that, exchange is dependent on IIS, exchange is also dependent on the IIS metabase.
3.IIS metabase exists in the form of an XML file named Metabase.xml, also stores as binary file called Metabase.bin (located in System root\system32\inetsrv) and the corresponding schema file called MBSchema.xml.
4.Some Exchange configuration information related to SMTP Virtual servers, the HTTP configuration of OWA and few others are stored in AD, but are needed by IIS. This is where the Metabase Update Service comes into play. This service replicates protocol related exchange server configuration information from the AD to the IIS metabase.

Hope the above is informative. Please ping me if you have any questions.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Finding the mailboxes homed in particular mailbox store:

This article explains the different type of methods to find the mailbox homed in particular mailbox store. In simple words, the methods used for querying the mailbox based on the mailbox store information.
When you try to delete a mailbox store from a server that is running Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003, you may receive the following error message:
“One or more users currently use this mailbox store. These users must be moved to a different mailbox store or be mail disabled before deleting this store.
ID no: c1034a7f
Exchange System Manager”.

In that, we need to find the mailboxes that are homed in that particular mailbox store. The following are the different types of method to find that respective mailboxes.

Method 1: Use the LDP tool (Ldp.exe) to browse for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

You can use the LDP tool to find all the accounts that have mailboxes on a particular mailbox store. This tool is included with the Microsoft Windows 2000 Support Tools package.

To use the LDP tool to find all the accounts that have mailboxes on a particular mailbox store, follow these steps:
1.Start Ldp.exe.
2.Click Connection, and then click Connect.
3.Enter the name of a domain controller, and then click OK.We recommend that you enter a domain controller in the root domain of the forest.
4.Click Connection, and then click Bind.
5.Enter the user name, the password, and the domain name of an administrative account, and then click OK.
6.On the View menu, click Search.
7.Click to select the "DC=domainname,DC=local" by Base DN check box.
8.Click the Filter box, and then type the following text:
msExchHomeServerName=Exchange virtual server name
9.Click Subtree, and then click Run.
10.Identify the users who have mailboxes on this store. Then, use the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the mailboxes.


Method 2: Use the LDP tool to search for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.Start Ldp.exe.
2.Click Connection, and then click Connect.
3.Enter the name of a domain controller, and then click OK.
4.Click Connection, and then click Bind.
5.Enter the user name, the password, and the domain name of an administrative account, and then click OK.
6.On the View menu, click Tree.
7.Make sure that the Base DN box is blank, and then click OK.If the Base DN box is not blank, clear its contents, and then click OK.
8.Right-click the container that you want to search, such as the CN=Users container, and then click OK.
9.Click the Filter box, and then type the following:
(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(msExchHomeServerName=/o=ORGANIZATION NAME/ou=ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP NAME/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=SERVER-NAME-TO-REMOVE))
10.Click Subtree, and then click Run.
11.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.

Method 3: Use Active Directory Users and Computers to browse for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.Start Active Directory Users and Computers on a computer that has Exchange System Manager installed on it.
2.In Active Directory Users and Computers, click View, click to select the Advanced Features check box, and then click OK.
3.Click View, and then click Choose Columns.
4.In the Modify Columns box, click Exchange Mailbox Store in the Hidden Columns list, click Add, and then click OK to add the Exchange Mailbox Store to the Displayed Columns list.An Exchange Mailbox Store column appears in Active Directory Users and Computers that shows the mailbox store that a user has a mailbox on.
5.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.

Method 4: Use Active Directory Users and Computers to search for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.Start Active Directory Users and Computers.
2.Right-click the domain that you want, and then click Find.
3.Click the Advanced tab, click Field, point to User, and then click Exchange Home Server.
4.In the Condition list, click Ends with, type the name of your Exchange computer, and then click Find Now.
5.If you are prompted to add the current criteria to your search, click Yes.
6.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.
The mailbox search results appear in the lower pane.

Method 5: Use the LDIFDE tool (Ldifde.exe) to create an export file that contains the mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.At a command prompt, type an LDIFDE command that is similar to the following. Then press ENTER.
ldifde -d "DC=ROOT,DC=COM" -f c:\output.txt -r "(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(msExchHomeServerName=/o=ORGANIZATION NAME/ou=ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP NAME/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=SERVER-NAME-TO-REMOVE))"
2.Quit the command prompt.
3.Start Notepad or some other text editor, and then load the Output.txt file that you created in step 1 to view the mailboxes that are on the mailbox store.
4.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Outlook Web Access – OWA in Exchange 2007:

In this article, we are going to discuss all the new features that are available in the exchange 2007 OWA and also related configuration. The OWA is handy for many users in accessing their email when compared to the outlook client when they are out of their organization, probably when they are travelling different places. They will be able to access their email with ease even though they don’t have the laptop.

Key new OWA features:

1.Web ready documents allow opening office docs.
2.Email headers view.
3.Customizable toolbars.
4.Out of Office configuration.
5.Deleted Item recovery.
6.Instant language options.
7.Cleaner Calendar reminders.
8.Multiple calendars and drag gable appointments.
9.Mobile device configuration options.
10.Change password interface.
11.Open other’s mailbox within OWA.

Light vs. Premium Client

Light Version:
1.For non-IE browsers.
2.For slow connections.
3.For older systems.
4.Most secure/best for kiosks
5.Contains basic access to all resource types.

Full Version:
1.More feature-rich.
2.Deeper interaction with mailbox content.
3.Drag and drop.
4.Access to file servers and SharePoint.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microosft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Address List:

In this article, we are going to discuss about the functions of the address list in exchange server 2007 version. In simple words, address list contains the classified details of the contact address (user’s email address, mail contacts, public folder email address, distribution email address, etc). The address lists are built to make lookups more useable than the basic Global Address List. The Global Address list contains all the address in the exchange directory (in short contains all mail enabled objects), and by default this is available in all email clients. This pre-canned address book will suffice for small-midsized businesses. The custom address list can be created as per your company needs.

Global Address List:

1. A list from the AD with all mail-enabled containers in it.
2. By default, it is provided to every user within Outlook and OWA.
3. Additional GALs can be created for hosting environments that need isolation.

Offline Address Book:

1. Allow users to get AD info while offline.
2. It is available to both internal and external users.
3. Are distributed via web-site and via Public folder.

Dynamic Distribution Group:

1. Groups can be built based on AD properties like Department, State or Company.
2. Dynamic security group is not feasible; one dynamic distribution group is possible. For example, Suppose I need to create a group on the basis of company name and city location (custom attribute1). The above can be done by creating the dynamic distribution group. Any new addition which matches the above condition will be automatically added to the distribution group, that’s the reason why it s called as Dynamic.
3. Especially useful for location-specific communications.
4. Can’t be used as security groups.
5. Create them in the Group sub-node of the Recipient node.
6. Non-wizard filtering criteria can be used if you use the New-DynamicDistributionGroup cmdlet.
#New-DynamicDistributionGroup –Name “Groupname” –Alias “ABC_Company” –IncludedRecipeints “MailboxUsers,MailContacts” – OrganizationalUnit “Domain.com/Users” –ConditionalCompany “Domain”

Best Practice:

1.Address List:

a. Don’t create any unless you really need them, and then keep it simple.
b. Make list names clearly descriptive of contents.

2.Global Address List:

a. Stick with the default one if at all possible.
b. Create new ones only for client based isolation.

3.Dynamic Distribution List:

a. Make use of this group.
b. Don’t forget about the value of the non-wizard Dynamic lists.

Hope the above is informative.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Thanks
Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143.

Public folder in the exchange server 2007:

In Simple words, the Public folder is just like a general forum which is used for posting mails, documents and other common information. Actually, usage of public folder has been overcome by SharePoint portal services. Exchange server 2007 is de-emphasized i.e., there is no change or improvement in the public folder architecture in the 2007 version. Microsoft no more support public folders. This article explains the working of the public folders in the exchange 2007 server.

Public folder function:

  1. Public folder data is kept in the public folder database.
  2. Multiple replicas of a public folder can be maintained on separate servers.
  3. Any sort of folder data can be kept in a public folder.
  4. Public folders can be given their own email address.
  5. You can configure Send-as permission on a public folder.

Public folder Creation:

In the EMC, go to toolbox PFMC – Public folder management console.

#New-Publicfolder –name TESTPUBLICFOLDER –path ‘\’ –server ‘servername’

Assigning PF Permission and PF Email address:

1.Setting Permission can be done from Outlook or the EMS.

2.There are two ways to give admin permission via EMS:

a.Add-PublicFolderadministratorPermission - Per-PF.
b.Add-ExchangeAdministrator - General Admin rights, including to PF root.

3.The easiest way is to use Add-PublicFolderClientPermission to assign ownership

#Add-PublicFolderClientPermission –Identity \TESTPUBLICFOLDER –User USERALIASNAME –AccessRights FolderOwner

4.Check permission of the PF using the Outlook or in EMS with

Get-PublicFolderClientPermission
Set perms with Add/Remove/Set-PublicFolderClientPermission

#Get-PublicFolderClientPermission \TESTPUBLICFOLDER list

5.You can use either the EMC or the EMS to mail-enable a public folder.
#Enable-MailPublicFolder \TESTPUBLICFOLDER

6.Check whether a PF is mail-enabled

#Get-PublicFolder list mailenabled
#Get-MailPublicFolder

7.Send-As Permission can be done in the console.

Hope the above is informative.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

91-98414 99143.