Shrinking Exchange EDB after mailbox Cull 2

[1DMF]

Hello,

We hit that 36GB Exchange store limit, so I changed the Reg Key upping it to 40gb, all seemed fine.

I then went and culled a mailbox which was 12GB in size, by deleting domain account via AD Users and saying 'yes' to include mailbox when prompted.

The Microsoft Exchange Server Mailbox Manager process ran but no mailboxes or emails were deleted.

So I opened Exchange Manager and purged the mailbox.

However, still the Priv1.EDB file is the same size as it was before the culling.

I'm assuming it's now full of empty space where the emails/mailbox used to reside, how do I get the DB to resize correctly to it's 'real/actual' size since the purging.

Cheers,

1DMF.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[1DMF]

it's ok, I've found on the 'properties->limits' section there are 'deletion settings' , and they are currently on 'keep deleted mailboxes / items' for 30 days!

I'll worry about the DB not shrinking in 30 days time I guess

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[LWComputingMVP]

The Exchange Database will NEVER shrink BY ITSELF. The mail/mailboxes removed will release the space for use my other messages, but the file itself should remain at it's current size for some time (until that 12 GB is used again).

You CAN manually decrease the size - but it's not generally recommended. To manually decrease the size you do an offline defrag.

-Lee

Those who ask why, learn

http://www.lwcomputing.com

 

[1DMF]

You CAN manually decrease the size - but it's not generally recommended

Why is it not recommended?

It's either decrease the size or have the server fall over from no disk space!

How do I run an offline defrag, I take it you don't mean dismounting the store and running a normal defrag? or do you?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[LWComputingMVP]

Reference:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328804

Where is the information store? If it's on the C: drive, MOVE IT. No data belongs on the C: drive. Further, storage is CHEAP. Add a couple of SATA 250 GB drives in a software RAID 1 for about $100. It would be better not to use software RAID and to use hardware RAID, but you likely won't notice the performance hit if you have a half-way decent system.

-Lee

Those who ask why, learn

http://www.lwcomputing.com

 

[1DMF]

No it's on the Drive, we have an HP ML350 G3, running Raid level 5 striping.

But getting a couple of new drives is not an option - no budget, plus I didn't think you could expand an array once built?

I'm gona take the store offline and use the eseutil, thanks for the link.



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[1DMF]

hmmm Houston, we have a problem!

i've ran the eseutil /ms to get the free pages number...

===========================================================
TOTALS:
Free: 249598
Reserved: 11677
Deleted: 99
Committed: 1513218
Unknown: 0
-------------
1774592
***********************************************************

so that's 249598 * 4 = 998392KB.

subtract that from the actual priv1.edb file size....

32487240 - 998392 = 31488848KB.

times that by 110% ...

31488848 * 1.1 = 34637732.8 space required to run defrag....

Current free space on D:drive = 12118405

so that equates in GB to needing 33GB and only having 11.5GB

hmmm , not looking good is it!

I guess i'll just have to leave the Exchange DB as is and wait for the server to fall over, maybe then the bosses will listen when i've been saying for 2 years we need to upgrade and expand our IT systems!


"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[noveyron]

Offline Defragmentation with Redirected Temporary Database

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255035

 

[1DMF]

Thanks, only I can't find a client machine with enough free space either!

OK it might be a case of purchasing an 80GB HD, wacking it in a client, mapping drive and doing it that way, but i feel rather anxious about putting our exchange DB in this senario.

Or am I just being over cautious?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[noveyron]

Are you being over cautious? No, probably not, you can never be too careful when it comes to eseutil. Always do a full backup before you do anything else.

"It's either decrease the size or have the server fall over from no disk space!"

I am not convinced that you have an immediate problem? I may be wrong though..

It doesn't look like the server itself will fall over due to lack of disc space, the Exchange side of things *could* stop working however, as the stores will dismount *if and when* they hit the limits.

The stores will not fall over or grow if there is sufficient whitespace within the database, as this will get used before there is any additional increase in database size.

How much whitespace are your event 1221's reporting?

 

[1DMF]

I am not convinced that you have an immediate problem? I may be wrong though..

No you're not wrong, you were quite right, I was being flippant through frustration, and it's not that bad at all.

It's anoyying having all that free space but cannot 'realise' it as there isn't enough room to offline defrag, but I guess i'll just have to live with it for now.

The current 1221 is reporting...

The database "First Storage Group\Mailbox Store (SERVER)" has 18725 megabytes of free space after online defragmentation has terminated.

yup 17+ GB, no server fallover in the forseeable future ;-)

ok everynight the backup runs and i get...

Issue Last Occurrence Total Occurrences
Low Disk Space (C 31/10/2008 00:01 1
The following disk is low on free disk space. Low levels of free disk space can cause performance problems and prevent users from saving files on the disk.

Drive Letter: C:
Free Disk Space: 468.000000. MB
% Free Disk Space: 3.659395.%

You can disable this alert or change its threshold by using the Change Alert Notifications task in the Server Management Monitoring and Reporting taskpad.

when I check the free space in Explorer, it's actually 1.2 GB free, but I guess the backup uses temporary space and it then throws a wobbly.

I've had to minimise the swapfile on the C:drive because I don't have the space , though I did move it to minimum for core dump as recommended by a TT poster.

I've just deleted the programs shared folder that had years of patches, drivers, usefull programs etc... which has free'd up 10GB on the Drive but that still doesn't help the Crive situation!

It's all on tape backup should I need XP SP2 or SQL SP4 etc.. most of the other stuff was out of date or could easily be downloaded again.

So for now, panic over, disaster overted, TGI Friday, I'm off down the pub in 1.5 hours ;-)




"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[noveyron]

The lack of free space on C is worrying though. Have you done any investigation as to what is filling it up? As a quick test, do a search for all files, created in the last month - anything strike you as odd?

Where are your exchange transaction log files stored, and is your backup "exchange aware" ?

Alternatively, do you have any sort of diagnostic logging running on the server?

Pub is calling up here too!

 

[1DMF]

most of the C: space is taken up with MS updates, Widnows and programs.

Some is Sophos AV install , SQL, Exchange (Programs only)

All data, SQL, Exchange DB & Logs reside on the D:drive.

But the people who built the server only partitioned the C: to 12GB, so it's not suprising it's getting short on space.

I've checked documents & settings and it seems Administrator 'Local Settings/Temp' is 2.5GB , can i kill it's contents?

The programs folder is @3.5GB and the windows folder is @5.5GB.

So 9gb out of 12gb gone just on installed programs and windows OS, doesn't leave much for swap file and working space does it!

culling the local settings/temp will free over 2GB, which would be a great help.

what you recon? I've done disk cleanup and emptied files in IE, plus cleared history and recent files, but it didn't clear the temp folder.

Is it safe to manually delete it?



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[noveyron]

Er, in theory it should be OK to delete the temp files, you might be better waiting for a second opinion on this one to confirm though, if you blx the admin profile, your space issues will be the least of your worries

12Gb is quite a tiny partition, might be worth starting a thread asking what software would be best to extend the parition (partition magic et al), although given your financial constraints, possibly pointless.

Monday morning may be a good time to make an appointment to see the MD, and explain to him that the cost of staying in business involves investing in either hardware or software for the server, or both. There is only so much bodging one can do to keep the server running, ultimately it is a strategic decision that he will need to make. Failure to make adequate investment will initially compromise the server and server performance, and ultimately his business. Better to have a planned improvement to the infrastructure than an emergency one.

Enough sopapboxing for today, like you say, beer is calling

 

[1DMF]

You hit the nail on head.

We've just gone over our user licence for our email archiving service and need to purchase additional licencing.

I've now been told not to request the invoice, as they may want to do things differently, I can't even get £400.00 + VAT a year extra to ensure we continue to archive our email in line with sarbanes oxley / FSA retention requirments.

What hope do I have in getting additional financing for other server requirments.

I think my options are clear, find another job!

I handed my notice in a year ago, part of the deal for me to stay was I would get financing for required software, hardware and licencing (without the constant hasle) and I would get what ever training was required.

A year later , i've had no training, been told ther is no money for software upgrades such as MSO2007 / Vista , let alone licencing or server upgrades.

They basically lied, and I turned down the oportunity to work for local government and gain valuable experience with GIS and other new technologies.

And while they fail to provide what they promised if i stayed, they have since employed a marketing consultant and given him a marketing budget, plus employed another staff in accounts, as the accounts bod was getting overwhelmed!

talk about taking the piss, but is it wise to leave in the midst of a credit crunch?

oh well, enough of my moaning, yup that beer is calling my name...

Have a good weekend , i'll pick this up then!

Regards,

1DMF.



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[JamesClarkDizon]

Hi. We are using MS Exchange Server 2003 running on POP3 Clients. Our current DB size is 33GB (31GB .STM file and 2GB .EDB file).

Question: How do we reduce our database size especially the .STM file?

We did delete unnecessary emails on every users mailboxes, delete unnecessary users mailbox on the store, and do also offline defragmentation.

But after offline defragmentation, database size seems untouched and result to the same size as before.

Is there anything I missed to perform to fully reduce our exchange database size?

any help would be highly appreciated.

Many thanks,
- James