Exchanger Server disk space running low.

[keven]

I have a question about how the exchange server's "priv.edb"
files decreases in size. My exchange partition is running out of disk space (currently has 477 MB) do to a number of large mailboxes. I have transfered the emails from the exchange server mailboxes into .pst files that are stored on a seperate partition. However, the "priv.edb" file is not getting any smaller. I have allready made sure the retention time for deleted items is set for "0 days". Should I stop/restart the information store service for the files to be purged? Please let me know your input thanks.

 

[Grenage]

afaik, the priv file does not decrease in size when contents are removed, it sort of "leaves a gap". When this is filled up again it will start to increase in size nce more.

In order to shrink the Priv.edb remove your unwanted emails (which you've done) then run an offline exchange defrag. This should shrink the file to its "real" size.

 

[CSCKone]

Unless you have an exceedingly small priv.edb, you will need to have an external source to do an offline defragmentation of the edb file to.

Generally you need 110% of the size of your priv.edb in free space to defrag the priv.edb on the same disk.

Microsoft article Q255035 gives the different methods of doing the offline defrag

We were inclinded to perform one just 2 weeks ago to recover over 9gb of free space and everything went fine.

If you do a search on this board, there are a number of excellent threads on the subject of defraging the information stores.

 

[jrmjh]

See the following URL for info on the eseutil.exe. If you don't regularly compact the Data It will not reduce in size. You will probalbly have to place the temporary.edb on a different drive.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q192185&

 

[VBmim]

My situation: priv.edb is 4.9 GB, disk is 5 GB (I know, I'm in trouble... )
My question: is it possible to use eseutil.exe to compact my priv.edb? It's obvious I can't let it run on the same disk, but can I run this on a different disk?

greetz

Mim

 

[Grenage]

If you can get a new disk and install it on the computer, then run the Exchange Optimizer/Wizard and you can move your Exhange onto the new disk. It's what we ended up doing.

 

[verland]

On a side note, defragging the info store does not always shrink it. There has to be a "hole" of deleted messages or something for that to happen.

On sunday I did a 14 hour defrag on one of our stores and it actually got a few megs BIGGER.....

 

[keven]

I just want to thank everyone for their help. I think I'm going with what Grenage suggested. Using the Exchange Optimizer and move the priv.edb and pub.edb to a different partition. I'll let everyone know how it turns out. If anyone has used the optimizer, how much Exchange down time will there be?

 

[verland]

It really depends on how much stuff your moving. It is an offline thing, so it's not like backing up individual mailboxes or other slow activities. I don't think it takes much longer then copying a comparably sized file from disk to disk.

I'd tell everyone a few hours to be safe, but if your hardware's good it'll probably take a very small part of that. Don't forget to backup!

 

[cpurom]

Look at your mailboxes by size and see who's being a pig. Set their limits so they can't send email. They'll contact you, and then tell them to empty their deleted items, clean out the sent item, etc.

Set your defaults storage limits for non-VP employees to a low value. I sent an email around to our users to do "spring cleaning" and we got half our space back (after an eseutil)

 

[VBmim]

Can I run eseutil on my mail-database (with only 100 MB free on the disk)?

Mim

 

[brontosaurus]

only if you instruct eseutil to create the temporary file on another drive with 110% more disk space than the size of your IS.

Or, if your current IS is only 80MB....

 

[VBmim]

hmmmm, a database of 80MB with 65 users.... that's 1 MB each... this should work my users would be terrified!!

Of course the event was there, but I just looked in the wrong place... my exchange server does an online defrag several times at night...