VERY URGENT 1

[Greenback]

Hi All,

Ive recently taken over our E2k servers and the database size has reached 16gb, which is the limit.

I know cant start the information store (obviously) and i want to run eseutil to defrag - what exactly do i need to do to get this running again using eseutil?

Ive never used it before and would really appreciate some help - I have backups of the DB's from yesterday.

Please hurry!!

Thanks in advance

 

[Davetoo]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;192185

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[Greenback]

Hi thanks!

Ive read that i just wanted some human reassurance that it wasnt going to break everything!!!

 

[Greenback]

ah

something i just noticed - the DB size is 16gb but the disk space free on the drive is 9gb and its the only drive in the server - is there anyway round this?

 

[dsterry]

I'm about to take 70-222 about Exchange and have just finished my reading. I have little experience but the book I read stressed thas eseutil should not be used for preventative maintenance like a defrag. According to the book, defragmentation is done by a daily service that is automatically run as part of E2k. eseutil can possibly corrupt your database, so it should not be run willy-nilly.

 

[SteveTheGeek]

Greenback,
I quote from

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;183888

"In the case of the defrag or repair operations, the /t command line switch should be used to specify the location of a temporary file. This file should be located on a drive that has the required free disk space. This can be a local or a network drive." Map a drive to your file server or someplace and use that.

It's true, eseutil should not be used for preventative maintenance, but it does need to be used in circumstances like this one to reclaim drive space after you've removed significant amounts of data from the store. I just ran it last night against 22GB worth of data (stores and streaming files) and I'm down to 16GB now, on a server that got built a year ago and hasn't had a defrag yet (yes we have mail users that store everything in their mailbox and never delete).
-Steve

 

[mtraversMSFT]

Microsoft has a fix that will allow you to temporarily extend the database size in E2k to allow you enough space to start and then defrag. You can call PSS at 1-800-936-4900 for this.

Also here is my defrag template that explains the process and different scenarios

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1. Run an offline defragmentation. This will take run at about 2-5GB per hour, depending on hardware. An offline defragmentation has certain disk space requirements. You will need disk space equal to your database size plus and additional 10 percent. For example, if your database is 16GB, you will need an additional 16GB of space plus an additional 10 percent (1.6GB) to run.

If disk space is at a premium, the temporary database created during the defrag can be redirected to a drive with more space or a network drive. The following 3 Scenarios describe the different options.

Scenario A.

If you have the disk space requirements, to run an offline defragmentation, go to a command prompt and change to your Exchsrvr\bin folder. The syntax would be

Eseutil /d <database path>

Eseutil /d “c:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb”


Repeat the steps for the public database (pub1.edb file)

Note the priv1.stm and pub1.stm files do NOT need to be defragmented.

*Database path needs to be in quotes if located in “program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata” if path is exchsrvr\mdbdata the path does not need quotes.


Scenario B.

If because of disk space, you need to redirect the temp database to another drive on the same server use the syntax below. In this example, a folder created for the temp database on the F drive is called Defrag the syntax would be

Eseutil /d “c:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb” /tF:\defrag\tempdfrg.edb



Or


Scenario C.

To redirect the temp database to a mapped network drive the following syntax would be used



For example we mapped a drive Z to a folder called Defrag on a network share

Eseutil /d <path> /tz:\tempdfrg.edb


Eseutil /d c:\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb /tz:\tempdfrg.edb

***when redirecting the temp database to a network drive the defrag will take significantly longer*****


2. Once the degrag has completed, we will need to free up significant space in the database so you are not in danger of shutting down again. To accomplish this

a. Set deleted items retention to 0. This can be found by going to the properties of the mailbox store and the Limits tab &quot;Keep deleted items for&quot;
b. Have users delete old items, empty their deleted items and/or move items to a pst file
c. A cycle of online maintenance needs to be run following these deletions. On the properties of your Mailbox Store on the Database tab, hit the Customize button on Maintenance Interval and set to always (extend the green bar all the way)
d. When online maintenance has started (it may take 30 minutes to start) and finished you will see these informational events in your Application log in Event Viewer.


Event ID: 700

Source: ESE

Type: Information

Category: Online Defragmentation

Description: MSExchangeIS (170) Online Defragmentation is beginning a full pass on database 'C:\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb'.


The defrag may take several hours to complete and upon complete will log the following in the application log:


Event ID: 701

Source: ESE

Type: Information

Category: Online Defragmentation

Description: MSExchangeIS (170) Online Defragmentation has completed a full pass on database 'C:\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb'.

e. When this completes run another offline defragmentation to free up space in the database.

More Information


A permanent resolution to this would be to upgrade, if possible, to Exchange Enterprise Edition which has an unlimited database size. For more information see the following KB article

170280 XADM: Upgrading From Exchange Server Standard Edition to the Enterprise

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=170280

If upgrading to Enterprise Edition is not an option, you may want to implement mailbox limits to help prevent the database from getting too large. This can be implemented on the entire mailbox store. Individual limits can be set on a per mailbox basis if you have executive mailboxes that require higher storage limits. For more information, see the following KB article

319583 HOW TO: Configure Storage Limits on Mailboxes in Exchange 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=319583

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Hope this info is helpful

--
Melissa Travers, MCSE
Microsoft Exchange Support

Please do not send email directly to this alias. This alias is for newsgroup purposes only.

This posting is provided &quot;AS IS&quot; with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[SteveTheGeek]

Excellent information, Melissa, thanks. Can you tell us what the online maintenance specifically accomplishes?
-Steve

 

[Claudek]

Just make sure after you all done that you send out an email out to all the users with large mailboxes and tell them to Clean Up . Many of my clients have people who have years worth of stuff just in their deleted items for eg and who have never bothered or known to purge those items. The last client I got to do a cleanup brought the Exchange database size down by 4Gb .
Have fun and G'luck.



Claudius (What certifications??)

http://www.iteq.com.au

 

[Greenback]

Thanks for all your help guys (and gals!)

I really appreciate all your information and explanation - this is one those things that Microsoft &quot;document&quot; but dont explain that well or provide all the consequences of doing it!

And yes, I have had a quiet word into the shell-like ears of certain members of staff who require instant access to mails from 1997....(&quot;Archiving? Whats archiving?&quot

Thanks again

GB