XADM: Microsoft Exchange Administrators' FAQ

This document contains some of the most commonly asked questions and answers regarding Microsoft Exchange administration.

Q. Where is circular logging enabled or disabled?
A. To enable or disable circular logging on a Microsoft Exchange Server, get Properties on the Server and select the Advanced tab. There are two check boxes for circular logging, one for the Directory and the other for the Information Store.

Q. To enable or disable circular logging, do you need to restart the server?
A. The server will not need to be restarted. When this option is changed from enabling or disabling circular logging, the Directory or Information Store will be stopped and started again, which will enable the logging option specified.

Q. How do you back up the Microsoft Exchange Server from another computer?
A. Install the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program on the computer so that backup is Microsoft Exchange-aware. Then you will need backup permissions on the Microsoft Exchange Server computer that you wish to back up.

Q. Why would the Microsoft Exchange options be missing from the backup utility?
A. The Microsoft Exchange option is provided by the Ntbackup.exe that ships with Microsoft Exchange. If a Windows NT service pack is installed on a working Microsoft Exchange Server computer, the Ntbackup for the service pack will be copied over and you will lose the Microsoft Exchange option. You can copy the Ntbackup.exe and Backup.hlp from the Microsoft Exchange Server compact disc to resolve the problem.

Q. The Microsoft Exchange Administrator program is not showing the correct message count or size in the store. Why does this happen?
A. There is a latency issue when the Information Store (IS) is cleaned up. If a message is deleted from a user's mailbox, it may take until the next day for the IS to be updated and this will be reflected in the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program. This issue has been addressed in service packs for Exchange 4.0, 5.0, and 5.5.

Q. What are the capabilities of LoadSim?
A. LoadSim simulates any amount of users sending and receiving mail messages on any number of Microsoft Exchange Servers. It can also create the users and folders for this purpose. This is useful for performance and load balance testing. For additional information, please see the Loadsim.doc on the Microsoft Exchange Server compact disc.

Q. How do you get Books Online?
A. Books Online can be installed from the Microsoft Exchange Server compact disc. To add the Books Online after Exchange has been installed, rerun Exchange setup and choose the "Add/Remove" option. Place a check mark in the box next to "Books Online" on the next dialog box and click on "Continue" to proceed with the install. Reapply your current Exchange service pack after setup completes.

Q. The Information Store gets error 1011 when starting. What does this mean?
A. Run ISINTEG - PATCH. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q. How can you configure the Microsoft Exchange Server for better performance?
A. Please see the Performance white paper located on Microsoft TechNet. For information about Microsoft TechNet, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/ithome/default.htm

Q. Can you merge two Microsoft Exchange Sites together?
A. You might be able to use the Move Server Wizard; for additional information, please refer to: The Move Server Wizard can be obtained from the following Microsoft Web site: Q. Why is SP4 required on the primary domain controller (PDC)?
A. Either Windows NT 3.51 SP4 (Exchange Server 4.0) or Windows NT 4.0 SP3 (Exchange Server 5.0 and 5.5) is required for Novell clients to change their passwords.

Q. Can I send mail to a Public Folder?
A. Yes, you can send mail provided you know the e-mail address of the Public Folder (PF). You might need to Unhide the public folder by unchecking the Hide from Address Book option on the Advanced page of the PF properties in the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program. The PF should now be visible in the GAL and can be mailed to like any other mailbox.

Q. How do I restrict users from creating top-level PFs?
A. From the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, choose Configuration, Information Store Site Configuration Properties, Top Level Folder Creation.

Q. How do you give another person Administrator rights?
A. From the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, add the user's Windows NT account to the Permissions on the Organization, Site and Configuration containers.

Q. How do you delete a PF?
A. Public Folders can be deleted from Microsoft Outlook and the Microsoft Exchange Client.

Q. How do you run the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program from an untrusted domain?
A. Please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q. How can users change their own mailbox details?
A. There is no built-in support to do this. The users will have to develop a solution on their own. One possible solution is:

1. Create a E-Form to allow the user to make changes.
2. The E-Form should be mailed to a particular mailbox.
3. Create a mailbox agent that monitors this mailbox.
4. The mailbox agent runs BIMPORT or directly imports the data by calling DAPI functions. Details are available in the Exchange Developers Kit.

Q. How do you rename the Microsoft Exchange Server computer name?
A. Note that this will only work if there is only one Microsoft Exchange Server in the Site. This information can also be found in the Microsoft Exchange Resource Kit.

Caution: When you rename a server you lose:

• All connector/DXA configurations on the server.
  
  
• All non-recipient configurations on the server.
  
  
• All profiles for users that connect to the server.

To rename the computer running Microsoft Exchange Server:

1. Disconnect all clients from the server.
2. In the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program, select the Server name - Advanced tab.
3. Under IS/DS Consistency Adjustment, select a method for adjusting inconsistencies. This step ensures that the information store is up-to-date.
4. From the Tools menu, choose Directory Export.
5. Ensure that the Assoc-NT-Account field has been exported. You use this file to restore the mailbox, distribution list, and customer recipient permissions.
6. Quit all Microsoft Exchange Server services.
7. Back up \dsadata\dir.edb.
8. Back up \mdbdata\priv.edb and pub.edb.
9. Run the Microsoft Exchange Server Setup program, and choose Remove All.
10. Restart your computer. and delete \exchsrvr.
11. In the Main program group, double-click Control Panel.
12. Double-click Server and then rename the server.
13. Restart your computer.
14. Run the Microsoft Exchange Server Setup program. Choose the same organization and site names as before.
15. Restart your computer.
16. Quit all Microsoft Exchange Server services.
17. Delete *.log from \dsadata and \mdbdata.
18. Restore \mdbdata\priv.edb and pub.edb. If offline copy, run isinteg -patch.
    
    IMPORTANT: Do not restore the files from \dsadata.
19. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Server services.
20. Run the IS/DS Consistency Adjustment again on the private and public Information Stores. The consistency adjustment will re-create the directory without any permissions.
21. Import the directory file created in step 4. Be sure to select Append in the Multi-Valued Properties box.
    
    Your server should now be running with the same mailboxes and Public Folders but it will have a new server name.