Exchange server very slow (Sybari Antigen ?)

[raket]

We are having a problem that's driving me crazy.

Configuration:
Intel Xeon Pentium 3 - 1 Ghz
1,8 GB RAM
Windows 2000 Server
Exchange 5.5
Sybari Antigen

2 weekends ago, we upgraded our Antigen to include the spam filter.
Since then, our Exchange has been VERY slow. Our users use Outlook 2002, and every time they hit "send" on an e-mail, it takes about 10-20 seconds (same thing happens when they try to move an e-mail to a different folder in their mailbox, or when they delete an e-mail). Outlook says it's waiting for the Exchange server, or "retrieving information from the Exchange server" ..

We disabled Antigen; the problem persisted.

We did an offline defragmentation of the store; the problem persisted.

Do you know what else I can try ?
Users keep complaining about slow e-mail .. and at the moment also from loads of spam in their mailboxes (since I disabled Antigen)

PS. another strange thing: since we upgraded Sybari Antigen, it's impossible to set the "out of office".

 

[Tpm73]

hello,
we have the same issue with our outlook 2002...
the company who "manages" the EXCHANGE server says the problem is on the LAN but i don´t believe...

any solution?
thanks!

 

[raket]

We did an ISINTEG -fix followed by another offline defragmentation, and this speeded up the server.

It is still slow at times.

The next thing to try would be to EXMERGE the mailboxes and settings, and then import into a clean information store.

 

[N0ktar]

clients XP and running SPS2? Did you check the firewall settings to make sure it is off? Are all the users having the same issue, including you? Does it make any difference if less users conenct, say on the weekend? Does it affect OWA if deployed? Have you tested on earlier version of Outlook like 2000?

 

[raket]

- clients are running SP2 yes, I haven't disabled the firewall yet, should I ?

- some mailboxes are unaffected; but 90% is affected (some running XP SP2, some working on the terminal server on Win2000 Server)

- in the weekend, speed is good; it slows down in the week.

- OWA seems to be slower too

- some users have Outlook 2002, some 2003

 

[N0ktar]

First, disable the Windows firewall and monitor results, I have noticed the XP clients do not communicate with Exchange server well ( with deafualt settings) when the firewall is turned on (messages arrive late after signifiacnt delay, requesting data from Exchage Server appears quite frequently).

I also suggest making a list of the clients affected and not affected by the issue, simply write down their specific configuration and try to find out what is different about clients not affected by the slow down. There is a reason and this may help you find it.

Try to find out if the clients not affected by the slow down are also fine when using OWA, and so if the clients affected on the network are also affected when using OWA.
(or if it is slow for everyone in general)

These steps should help you focus in the right direction, client or server.