Size of priv.edb (Exchange 5.5) 2

[riwa]

We use Exchange Server 5.5 SP4 on a NT4 SP5 server.
We have about 165 mailboxes.
We have a mailbox limit of 18MB for about 90% of the users. Some users have bigger mailboxes but they are all less than 50mb. Some users keep complaining that their mailbox is too small.

At the moment our priv.edb is 3.2Gb. I was wondering if this is big or not ? We are thinking about increasing the mailbox size for all users but we are not sure what a "normal" size for the priv.edb is for this amount of users.

 

[brontosaurus]

3.2 is nothing, very manageable. There is no "normal" size though. I've heard some folks say they have 70GB privs (or more), not that I'm supporting that.
I like to think of it this way: how long would it take me to restore the server in case of a disaster? This depends on a few things...size of the priv, speed of your network, speed of your backup system, and how good you are under pressure .
So, for example if you have a 10GB priv that needs to be brought back, and you have Fiber running to your backup system at 1GB speeds, no problem....

 

[Imashe]

Bear in mind, you have a 16GB limit on your information store.....unless you are running Exchange 5.5 Enterprise edition. "The worst dilemmas are often the best opportunities in disguise."
'Carpe Diem'

 

[PalmStrike]

Ah, hello, I am having a problem with the exact same thisn, except we only have 10GB limit, and it is full to bursting, what should I do about this, is it a case of mass Email Clearout?

 

[Imashe]

You have two choices - massive email clean up OR upgrade your hard disk to allow the extra space for the 16GB Information Store. Not alot of fun, but relieves the pressure more quickly than trying to get users to clean up! "The worst dilemmas are often the best opportunities in disguise."
'Carpe Diem'

 

[PalmStrike]

Thanks for your help, short and to the point, have a star.

 

[brontosaurus]

just a reminder, even after your users clean up, you'll still need to run an offline defrag to get the space back...

 

[PalmStrike]

I was afraid of that, windows NT, can't find a defrag on there at the moment, though I did find a "Microsoft Exchange Optimiser" is it worth it's weight or should I steer Clear?

 

[brontosaurus]

no, not the optimizer. You'll need to run:
ESEUTIL /D <name of priv file>
which you can find in the BIN directory under exchange.

 

[Zelandakh]

optimiser just moves the files around. stop all the services for exchange.

go to command prompt then eseutil /d and leave it until it has got back to prompt (don't cancel part way through).

 

[PalmStrike]

Thanks very much for your help. I am going to have to do this at the weekend, when no one is here, but i was just looking for it, and found it in C\winnt\system32. Is this still the same thing, and will it run fine from where it is?
All I have to do is eseutil/d and then leave right?

 

[brontosaurus]

Well, I would never just leave and hope for the best. Do you at least have remote access so you can monitor the progress?
In addition, with your 3.2 GB database, make sure you have about 4GB disk space available to write the temp file.
Here's the syntax for ESEUTIL:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;182903

 

[PalmStrike]

I didn't actually start this thread, i just gatecrashed, our database is about 10 GB, and it is full, there is however full to the brim, however I have just discovered a couple of people have over 3000 deleted emails in their deleted box, so I am hoping this will help.
------------------------------------------------------------Later

have just looked at the Priv.edb file after deleting over 10000 emails, and it is still 9.95GB. I am assuming the once I have run ESEUTIL, it should cut that down, is that right, but that I won't necessarily see a difference at the moment.

But what I need to know is where will I find the name of the database and also, do I need to use any of the switches that are mention for the defrag on the link that you sent me, or can I just run it alone, and let it do it's thing.

I am doing all this on sunday, and will be here to monitor it till it finishes I hope it will not take more that 3-4 hours, we have full back up copies of the information store on DAT, so I hope I can do no wrong. If it goes wrong, I shall be sweeping the streets on tuesday morning.