XADM: Exchange Performance Monitor Counters Are Not Visible on a Cluster

Microsoft Exchange Server Performance Monitor counters may not be available after the Exchange Server services have moved to the second node of a Windows NT cluster. The counters may not be available using the Exchange Server virtual name or the actual computer name when you select the computer in Performance Monitor.

The behavior occurs when the order of software installed on the Cluster Server nodes is different. The performance key for each of the Exchange Server services contains the index in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Perflib\009\Counters registry key, where the first and last counters for the Exchange Server services exist. If you install software into a cluster in a different order, the values for each service are different for each server in the cluster. The registry replication in a cluster is currently set to replicate all subkeys for the particular service key, including the performance key. This overwrites the values of one server with the values of another server in the cluster. Hence, the values in the Counters key on the second node no longer match the indices in performance keys of the services.

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Component: Setup Program


After you obtain the fix, follow these steps to apply it:

1. Create a new folder on your hard disk, and then copy the contents of the Server\Setup\I386 folder from the Exchange Server 5.5 CD-ROM to this new folder.
2. Rename the Setup.exe file in the folder on the hard disk to Setup.old, and then rename the Srvrmax.exe file to Setup.exe.
3. Run Setup.exe from the folder on the hard disk.
4. When the installation process is finished, apply the latest service pack for Exchange Server 5.5, even if it was already applied previously. For additional information about how to obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server 5.5, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   191014� XGEN: How to Obtain the Latest Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack

The available fix only corrects the behavior on new installations of Exchange Server into a cluster environment. If you have already installed Exchange Server, perform the following steps to manually correct the behavior:

1. In Microsoft Windows NT Cluster Administrator, right-click the directory service.
   
   NOTE: You must be at the console itself to run the Windows NT Cluster Administrator program; you cannot run the program from a remote location.
2. Click the Registry Replication tab, remove all of the existing entries, and then click Apply to apply these changes.
   
   NOTE: It is very important that you remove ALL of the existing entries in the the Registry Replication tab before you proceed to the next step.
3. Add the following entries for the directory service:
   SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeDS\Diagnostics
   
   SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeDS\Parameters
4. Repeat the above steps to add the specified entries for each of the following Exchange Server services:
   • The system attendant:
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeSA\Diagnostics
     
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeSA\Parameters
   • The message transfer agent:
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Diagnostics
     
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Parameters
   • The information store:
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\Diagnostics
     
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersPublic
     
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersPrivate
     
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem
     
     SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersNetIF
     NOTE: Make sure that you do NOT replicate the root keys for each service (For example, the SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeDS key).
5. You must now reload the Performance Monitor counters on each node in the cluster, after you make the changes to registry replication. You need to locate the following .ini files. These files are located in the Exchsrvr\Bin directory by default.
   Dsactrs.ini
   Mtaperf.ini
   Mdbperf.ini
   
   This file is located in the %Winnt%\System32 directory by default:
   Eseperf.ini
   To reload the counters, at a command prompt in the directory that contains the .ini files, enter the following commands:
   unlodctr MSExchangeDS
   lodctr dsactrs.ini
   unlodctr MSExchangeMTA
   lodctr mtaperf.ini
   unlodctr MSExchangeIS
   lodctr mdbperf.ini
   unlodctr ESE97
   lodctr eseperf.ini
   The Lodctr.exe and Unlodctr.exe files are included in the %Winnt%\System32 folder.
6. Restart both nodes of the Exchange Server cluster.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.