How to add new mailbox stores in Exchange 2000

This step-by-step article describes how to create and add new mailbox stores in Exchange 2000. In Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, all user mailboxes are maintained in one private store. However, this configuration may cause issues with scalability if you have a large number of users. In addition, it may take longer to back up and restore data. In Exchange 2000 Enterprise Edition, you can create multiple storage groups, which each contain several mailbox stores. This configuration allows you to distribute users' mailboxes around the mailbox stores, which reduces backup and restore times, and gives you greater flexibility with database file placement.

Requirements

The following list outlines the recommended hardware, software, network infrastructure, and service packs that you need:

• Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Active Directory
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1)

This article assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:

• Exchange System Manager
• Transactional tracking logs and databases

How to plan storage groups and mailbox stores

Exchange 2000 (like Exchange Server 5.5) uses mailbox stores (which are known as private stores in Exchange Server 5.5) and public folder stores (which are known as public stores Exchange Server 5.5). In Exchange 2000, both mailbox stores and public folder stores are both referred to as databases. In Exchange 2000 (unlike Exchange Server 5.5), you can configure up to five stores (either mailbox stores or public folder stores) in up to four storage groups. You can configure up to a total of twenty databases for each Exchange 2000 computer.

Each group of databases within a storage group shares the same set of transactional tracking logs. However, each database within a storage group can have its database files in a different location that can be a separate location than the transactional tracking log files location. Note that functions like circular logging are enabled at a storage group level.

When you decide where to locate your transactional tracking log files and your mailbox store files, consider the following recommendations:

• It is recommended that you place both transactional tracking log files and database files on fault-tolerant partitions such as RAID1, RAID5, or RAID0+1.
• It is recommended that you place transactional tracking log files and database files on separate partitions and arrange them so that a failure of a single disk does not affect both the log files and the databases.
• It is recommended that each database has a separate fault-tolerant volume if you are working in a large environment. Use this configuration if you have a special mailbox database (for an important person) that you may need to restore more rapidly.
• To carry out in-place restores, database volumes should always have free space equal to 110 percent of the size of the database.
• It is recommended that you always fill up one storage group with databases before you create another storage group. Exchange 2000 runs a single instance of the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) for each storage group. If you create multiple ESE instances, the amount of memory that is consumed increases.
• Remember that the deleted item retention time means that deleted items are not removed from the database until the retention time has elapsed.

How to create a new storage group

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
2. In the left pane, double-click Servers.
3. Right-click the server on which you want to create the new storage group, point to New, and then click Storage Group.
4. Type a name for the storage group in the Name box.
   
   This name is entered in the Transaction log location box and the System path location box automatically. By default, the location is C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\Storage group name.
   
   Alternatively, you can click Browse in Exchange System Manager to select a preexisting folder. After you click Browse, click New Folder to create a new folder location for the transaction log files, and then click OK to accept the new folder location.
5. If you are working in a high security environment, click Zero out deleted database pages.
   
   If you click this option, security is increased because deleted database pages are overwritten on the hard disk with zeros.
6. To reduce storage requirements, click Enable circular logging.
   
   If you click this option, the transactional tracking logs wrap entries, which limits the size of the logs. However, if you click this option, you cannot recover the databases in this storage group up to the last transaction.
7. Click OK to create the storage group.

How to create a new mailbox store

After you create a storage group, create a mailbox store or database within that storage group.

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
2. In the left pane, double-click Servers.
3. Right-click the storage group that you created in the preceding section, point to New, and then click Mailbox store.
4. Type a name for the mailbox store in the Name box.
   
   Note Use a name that describes the purpose of the database, such as "Managers."
   
   Mailbox stores are associated with a default public store. If you define more than one public store, you can change this association. However, because Outlook client computers only display the first public store, you do not have to change the association unless users are going to use Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA) or the Web storage system mailboxes to access this store.
5. Either confirm that you want to use the default offline Address Book or create and select an alternative offline Address Book for this mailbox store.
6. If you want to archive all messages that are sent and received on this store by a particular user or distribution group, click to select the appropriate check box, click Browse, click the user or the distribution list that you want to archive under Select Recipient list, and then and click OK.
7. Click the Database tab, and then enter the locations of the database (.edb) file and the streaming media (.stm) files.
   
   Note The default location is the same folder as the transactional log files:
   • C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\New Storage Group\New Mailbox Database.edb
   • C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\New Storage Group\New Mailbox Database.stm
   
   
8. Configure a maintenance interval for this database to specify when the online compaction runs.
   
   This procedure compacts the file by defragmenting the data within the database files; however, this procedure does not make the files themselves any smaller. To make the files smaller, run the Eseutil offline defragmentation utility.
9. Click the Limits tab, and then configure the storage limit warnings settings, the prohibit send settings, and the prohibit send and receive settings.
   
   Note These settings apply to all mailboxes in this storage group unless they are overridden by the individual mailbox. You can also configure deletion settings to specify the time interval before deleted items are completely removed from the database.
10. Click OK to accept the changes.
11. When you are prompted to choose when you want to mount the store, click Yes to mount the store immediately and make it available for mailboxes.
12. Click OK.

How to confirm that the storage group was successfully created

1. Start Microsoft Windows Explorer and browse to the folder that you specified for the transactional logs and system files.
   
   By default, this folder is located at C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\Storage group name.
2. Confirm that the following files are listed in this folder:
   • E01.chk
   • E01.log (and possibly more log files)
   • Res1.log
   • Res2.log
   
   
3. Confirm that all of the log files are 5,120 kilobytes (KB) in size.
   
   If the log files are not that size, they are corrupted.

How to confirm that the mailbox store was successfully created

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools and click Event Viewer.
2. In the left pane, click Application Log.
3. Click Filter on the View menu.
4. Click MSExchangeIS mailbox store in the Event Source box, and then click OK
   
   Events from the MSExchangeIS mailbox store only are displayed.
5. Scroll through the list of events and look for the following event numbers:
   
   
   • 1000
   • 1133
   • 1217
   • 9523
   
   These numbers indicate that the mailbox store was successfully created and mounted.

Troubleshooting

If you create storage groups and mailbox stores and place them on a disk drive that does not have adequate disk space, you cannot mount the mailbox store. To resolve this issue, open the Mailbox Store properties, and then enter another location for the mailbox store.

For more information about how to configure storage groups and mailbox stores in Exchange 2000, refer to the Exchange 2000 Server Resource Kit and Exchange 2000 Server Help.