Mailbox Databases Test

A mailbox database consists of one/more mailboxes. Very often, administrators may have to quickly identify which database has the maximum free space in it, which database is running out of space, and which mailbox has too many mailboxes already, so that they know where more mailboxes/users can be created and where no new mailboxes can be added. The Mailbox Databases test assists administrators in this exercise. This test auto-discovers the mailbox databases on the Exchange server. For each mailbox database so discovered, the test reports the current database size, the number of mailboxes in that database, and the mount status of the database. Using this information, administrators can accurately identify the database with the maximum space, the database with very few mailboxes, and that which is mounted and ready for use, so that they are able to determine where more mailboxes can be created.

Target of the test : A Microsoft Exchange 2013/2016 server

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each mailbox database on the Exchange 2013/2016 server

Configurable parameters for the test
Test period - How often should the test be executed Host - The host for which the test is to be configured. port – The port at which the host listens. xchgextensionshellpath - The Exchange Management Shell is a command-line management interface, built on Windows PowerShell which enables you to administer every part of Microsoft Exchange. This test uses the Exchange management shell to run scripts and collect the desired performance metrics from the Exchange server. By default, the test auto-discovers the location of the Exchange management shell and thus, automatically loads the Exchange management shell snap-in (exshell.psc1) for script execution. This is why, the xchgextensionshellpath is set to none by default. dd frequency- Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against dd frequency. To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option. The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled: The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement

Description

Measurement Unit

Interpretation

Database size:

Indicates the current size of this mailbox database.

Compare the value of this measure across databases to know which databases are of a very small size. Such databases are candidates for the inclusion of more mailboxes.

To know the full path to the .edb file that corresponds to a mailbox database and the server on which it is mounted, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure.

White space space:

Indicates the size of the white space in this database.

Whenever emails/mailboxes are deleted, or any other cleanup functionality takes place, database space is freed for use, The free space so created is called white space. The whitespace is eventually used by new data, so the mailbox database size does not grow until it has to because it has used the whitespace. Administrators can compare the value of this measure across databases to know which database has the maximum white space. When administrators plan to create more mailboxes, such databases can be considered for use first, before attempting to expand database space or delete mailboxes to make more space.

Is mailbox database mounted?:

Indicates the mount status of this database.

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are listed hereunder:

Measure Value	Numeric Value
Mounted	1
Dismounted	0

Note:

By default, this measure reports one of the Measure Values listed in the table above. In the graph of this measure however, the mount status is indicated by the corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Mailbox count:

Indicates the number of mailboxes in this database.

Number

Compare the value of this measure across databases to know which database has the least number of mailboxes. This database can be configured with more mailboxes, if and when the need arises.

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know which mailboxes are stored in this database, the email ID of each mailbox, and which features – i.e., ActiveSync, OWA, POP3, IMAP4, MAPI, and OMA - are enabled for every mailbox and which ones are disabled.

Is backup in progress?

Indicates whether/not this database is in the process of being backed up.

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are listed hereunder:

Measure Value	Numeric Value
Yes	0
No	1

Note:

By default, this measure reports one of the Measure Values listed in the table above. In the graph of this measure however, the backup status is indicated by the corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Replication type:

Indicates the current replication status of this database.

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are listed hereunder:

Measure Value	Numeric Value
Remote	0
None	1

Note:

By default, this measure reports one of the Measure Values listed in the table above. In the graph of this measure however, the database replication status is indicated by the corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Using the detailed diagnosis of the Database size measure you can know the the full path to the .edb file that corresponds to a mailbox database and the server on which it is mounted.

Figure 8 : Figure 1.7: The detailed diagnosis of the Database size measure