Exchange Health Check

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Microsoft advisory services engagement scenario - exchange health check

Scoping

Microsoft requires the following information so that the Advisory Support Engineer can gain a better understanding of the Exchange servers, the messaging environment, and to identify possible areas of concern. A customer can also use this to help document the Exchange Server topology.

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Assumptions

Microsoft has some limitations and underlying assumptions in how it approaches The Exchange Health Check. These are:

Exchange Servers are already deployed in the environment
That Microsoft�s staff will make a read-only pass through the data you provide about your Exchange environment. Any issues that are found or suggestions that are made will be pursued by the Administrator outside of the billable hours of the Exchange Health Check case.
That ten or fewer Exchange Servers will be assessed
That you are not experiencing a major outage or server stability problem. If you have a server that is down please call Microsoft Support for help restoring the server to functionality before starting on the Exchange Health Check
Microsoft perform a read only collection of data and will provide you with a report on the problems found in the data collected. The report is not a validation of the current configuration, but is considered a tool for the administrator to improve their environment and make it more resistant to future problems.
Data collection will not include the use of tools such as JetStress, LoadGen and Mailstorm.
There will be no on site presence from Microsoft Staff or contractors. If you would like your site to be attended by Microsoft staff please make appropriate arrangements with your Microsoft Technical Account Manager.

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Microsoft advisory services engagement

Topology Concerns

The first step in understanding the health of an Exchange organization is to understand the layout. This means we need to review both the physical structure and the logical structure of the Organization. For the physical layout the best way to start is a diagram showing:

Cities
Locations and IP addresses of firewalls, Domain Controllers and Exchange Servers
Bandwidth and latency of site links
Subnets

For the logical structure a similar diagram that shows the:

Active Directory topology (domain names, forest names, AD Sites, and trusts)
Domain Controllers
Exchange servers and Exchange Virtual Servers (for clusters)
Site link costs
Number of users

Once you have the diagrams they can be used to determine what challenges exist in the environment.

Exchange Hardware and Load Concerns

The next step is to look at the hardware installed in the Exchange Server(s) to determine whether it can take the load that is placed on it. To determine this you will need to document:

Number of mailboxes
Usage patterns of the mailboxes (heavy, light, medium)
Exchange Server version, service pack and rollup level
Are the most recent drivers installed for all devices?
Item counts in mailbox folders (the higher the item counts the greater the load associated with displaying the folder)
Number of hard drive spindles and controllers? How are the drives connected? SCSI, iSCSI, SATA, JBOD, SAS, SAN are all possible options.
Where are the databases, log files and Operating System files placed?
How much RAM is installed on the Exchange server?
What other products or roles are installed on the Exchange server?
What Exchange roles are installed on the server?
Is the server behind a firewall or is it installed in a perimeter network?

Backup Concerns

Do you have a high availability solution? If so which one (CCR/SCR)?
Do you back up your Exchange databases regularly?
How long does the backup take?
Can the backup be restored in the time allowed by your Service Level Agreement with your users and/or management?
Do you test your ability to restore and rebuild the server periodically?

Exchange Server questions

What is the version of the operating system including Service Pack level?
How many Administrative Groups (for Exchange 2003)?
What is the name of the Exchange Server(s)?
What is hardware manufacturer & model of the server(s)?
What kind of Anti-Virus software is installed?
How many Exchange Server 2003 Front End servers?
How many Exchange Server 2003 Back End servers?
How many Exchange Server 2007 Edge role servers?
How many Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox roles servers?
How many Exchange Server 2007 CAS role servers?
How many High Availability solutions have been deployed?
What kind of High Availability solutions are deployed?

Client-side questions

What is(are) the Outlook client version(s) & service pack(s)? Is Outlook running in Exchange cached mode or online mode?
Are there any 3rd party add-ins enabled in Outlook?

Networking related questions

Are all the Exchange servers on the same network or separated by a WAN (remote)?
Are there any network devices between the Exchange servers, i.e. routers, firewall, etc.?
What network card and driver is installed on the Exchange servers?
Are any NICs teaming?

Software related questions

Have there been any recent changes in the environment including servers removed, network changes, group policy changes, software updates, security patches, etc.?
Do Exchange administrators have the ability to install software on the Exchange server?

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Self-help resources for this scenario

Below is a list of self-help resources for this scenario. Microsoft Support Engineers may also use these resources during an Advisory Services engagement.