Mail stored on server 2

[turnjt]

I run a small network with exchange server for our mail. Pardon my ignorance but where on the server is all the mail stored??

 

[DistressedDes]

Hi again turnjt,

I saw your other post so I presume your talking about the same exchange 5.5 sp4 server.

As far as I'm aware the main files are,

exchsrvr/DSADATA/dir.edb
exchsrvr/DSADATA/dir.pat

exchsrvr/MDBDATA/PRIV.EDB
exchsrvr/MDBDATA/PUB.EDB
exchsrvr/MDBDATA/PRIV.pat
exchsrvr/MDBDATA/PUB.pat

You may also have some log files there, which I think may hold imcomplete transactions for the databases.

The location of the exchsrvr will vary on your particular installation, and you may also find that if you have several partitions, that exchange has spread it around to aid performance.

I can't help asking why you want to know, for I fear you may be contemplating a backup directly of the files. If that is your intention, I wouldn't do anything without a considerable search for approved backup procedures. Added, Just in case!

 

[zbnet]

faq10-6004

 

[turnjt]

Thanks very much for your assistance on both matters. With regard to the mail storage, I just wanted to view the files not do anything with them but thought it would be good to know so I can back them up in case the server crashes - which it does every few months or so! I hate losing them all and thought it might be easier than backing up my own on my machine.

Thanks again - Ill read up on your suggestions regarding my relaying problem. Is there any way of telling how many messages they are sending off my server??

 

[DistressedDes]

Although you will have to make allowances for legitimate NDRs, the 'NDRs Total Outbound' of the MSExchangeIMC object in Performance Monitor should give you an indication, I think.

 

[turnjt]

Thanks again. How do you open .edb files?? I tried using notepad without success. No .pat files there and I always assumed that the emails would be in some simple format like the logs are???

 

[zbnet]

You don't! Have you read the FAQ in the document I pointed you to? The .edb files are full-blown database files, you can no more read them with notepad than you can read SQL files.

 

[DistressedDes]

turnjt,

You're either pulling my chain, really brave or have a strong masochistic steak.

First and foremost : Maybe I'm just windy, but I wouldn't go opening the EDB files, at least not if the server is a live one. The exchange server, I'm guessing, is accessing these files on a regular basis and I wouldn't want to interupt that process.

Secondly, again I'm guessing, that any email will be in an encrypted format on disk. If not specifically encypted, then at least compressed, thereby making it unreadable by simple text based applications like notepad. Besides that, the shear size of the files, more than likely, makes them unsuitable for something like notepad.

There are, apparantly, third party applications that can extract mailboxes from the databases, but I presume that should be done from an off-line copy of the databases.

Please ensure you have a competant backup procedure in place before tinkering with these files. I am by no means an exchange expert, but I fear you may be putting your hand in the fire, so to speak.

I may be wrong, but the amount of horror stories out there regarding failed backup/restore scenarios makes me think you should proceed with great caution.

 

[turnjt]

Thanks again to both zbnet and distresseddes. I havent read the link yet as I was waiting for a quiet time to check it all out - but I'll take your word for it that I shouldn't try and open them. I am not pulling your chain but run my own server and the consequences of it crashing aren't too high as no-one but me really cares! But, I really want to understand how exchange works so I can know what I am doing logically. I have always assumed that stored emails could be both viewed and retrieved and that the administrator would have some sort of control over them all. But if they can't be viewed then I am obviously incorrect. Then again, once I read your link the answers might be in there! Do you think if I upgraded to a newer version that I could solve my relay issues automatically?? Thanks again both of you for your assistance.

 

[DistressedDes]

I'm mighty relieved to hear it's not a live production server. I done quite a few years in the school of hard knocks, and it's a great way to learn.

Regarding your <> sender issue, I think it was cured in subsequent releases of exchange. However, if it's not a production server you may well want to try and edit the registry as suggested by zbnet. It may well be a quick fix for you without the need for newer licenses.

The only reason I've not tried this is because my exchange server is a live production server.