Change in mailbox size

[matt95gsr]

Hi,

I'm Running Exchange 5.5 with about 110 users. I recently got everyone to start cleaning their mailboxes out because they were ridiculous in size. I actually had one user with a 650mb mailbox. He cleaned out 90% of it, but it's been over a week now and have seen no change in his mailbox size reported in Exchange Admin. In fact, I've personally emptied mailboxes, but have seen no change in reported size on any of them. Can anyone tell me what's up?

 

[fuego007]

If they are simply deleting messages, those messages are going into the deleted items folder. This folder is not emptied automatically unless you set the option in Outlook for it to be emptied when exiting Outlook. The deleted items folder is manually emptied from the Tools menu in Outlook. I don't recommend having any of your users set the option to automatically empty the deleted items. If a user accidently deleted a new message then closed Outlook, there would be no way to retrieve it.

Bob

 

[royalmail]

In the past I have seen users with mailboxes around the 2GB mark. Nowadays I set limits on all mailboxes at 100MB and get the system to mail a warning when a mailbox hits that limit. Preventing users from sending and receiving isn't a good idea as it will just create irate users.

It is difficult to change user habits, but if you can intoduce your users to auto archiving then I recomend you get them to archive the Sent Items and Deleted Items as a minimum. I personally wipe all deleted items over one month old but that decision is really up to the user.

 

[makai]

If he is using OL2k, go to his machine, right click on his 'Outlook today - [mailbox - username]' and choose PROPERTIES.
Then choose FOLDER SIZE. It will give you a break down of where the most items are and in what folder. Pin point the problem and then sort.

Then you can teach the user to do this on a regular basis. I find that a short email to everyone in the company explaining this procedure helps greatly. They cant blame ignorance for not cleaning out then.

Cheers

 

[matt95gsr]

Thanks guys,

This issue is indeed after the deleted items has been emptied. Makai, taking the guy who used to have a 650mb mailbox for example, checking the size from within OL2K shows about 125mb now. But my question is, am I ever going to see the size of his box decrease within Exchange Admin?

 

[makai]

In essence, yes. But it does take a short while to update. I cant remember the real reasons.

You will notice it changed most likely tomorrow. I dont beleive it is instantaneous.

it could be to do with the deleted item retention time. There are time limits you can change that reflect how often deleted mail is 'tombstoned'in 'DS site Configuration.

Others may tell you the reason though.

Cheers

 

[jefblack]

Deleted mail, even after the Deleted Items folder is emptied, is retained by Exchange for a configurable period, so that you (administrator) can restore a deleted item for the user. When this retention period is expired, then the space is recovered during a periodic housecleaning cycle.