Using the Toolbox
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.
Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3
The Toolbox is a collection of tools that are installed with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. The Toolbox provides a central location for diagnostic, troubleshooting, and recovery activities using various Exchange tools. The tools available in the Toolbox work center are divided into two categories:
Dedicated Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0 Some tools, such as Queue Viewer, are self-hosted in an MMC console. The Exchange Management Console does not have to be running to use the MMC tools.
Independent tools Independent tools, such as the Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool, are not integrated with the Exchange Management Console and function as separate executable files when run from the Toolbox. These tools have their own Help file content. For more information about how to use the tools, refer to the individual tool Help file.
Configuration Management Tools
In the release to manufacturing (RTM) version of Exchange 2007, the following configuration management tool is available in the Toolbox:
Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer The Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer automatically examines an Exchange Server deployment and determines whether the configuration is in line with Microsoft best practices. We recommend running the Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer after you install a new Exchange server, upgrade an existing Exchange server, or make configuration changes.
For more information, see Microsoft Exchange Analyzers.
In addition to the Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer, Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) provides the following configuration management tools:
Details Templates Editor The Details Templates Editor allows you to control the appearance of the object properties that are accessed by using address lists in MAPI 32-bit client applications, such as Microsoft Outlook. For example, when a user opens an address list in Outlook, the properties of the recipients in that address list are displayed in accordance with the details template that exists in your Exchange organization.
For more information, see Managing Details Templates.
Public Folder Management Console The Public Folder Management Console is an MMC 3.0-based interface that provides administrators with a graphical user interface (GUI) for creating, configuring, and managing public folders.
For more information, see Using the Public Folder Management Console.
Disaster Recovery Tools
The following disaster recovery tools are available in the Toolbox:
Database Recovery Management
Database Troubleshooter
The Database Recovery Management and Database Troubleshooter tools utilize the same engine as the Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant (ExTRA) to programmatically execute a set of troubleshooting steps to identify the database issues and attempt to recover data. The Database Recovery Management tool and the Database Troubleshooter provide a GUI for many of the command-line tools used to troubleshoot Exchange databases. The wizards use information from Microsoft Product Support Services, the Exchange product team, and best practices from the industry. You can use the wizards to recover from a database disaster, work with a recovery storage group, or recover a mailbox from a backup.
For more information, see Database Recovery Management and Database Troubleshooter Tools.
Mail Flow Tools
In Exchange 2007 RTM, the following analysis, mail flow, and diagnostic tools are available in the Toolbox:
Mail Flow Troubleshooter Mail Flow Troubleshooter assists you in troubleshooting common mail flow problems. You can diagnose a problem by selecting the symptoms observed. Based on the symptoms, the tool walks you through the correct troubleshooting path. It shows an analysis of possible root causes and provides suggestions for corrective actions.
Message Tracking Message tracking is a detailed log of all message activity as messages are transferred to and from an Exchange 2007 server that has the Hub Transport server role, the Mailbox server role, or the Edge Transport server role installed. Exchange servers that have the Client Access server role or Unified Messaging server role installed do not have message tracking logs. Message tracking logs can be used for message forensics, mail flow analysis, reporting, and troubleshooting. For more information, see How to Search Message Tracking Logs.
Queue Viewer Queue Viewer allows you to monitor mail flow and inspect queues and messages. You can also perform actions to the queuing databases such as suspending or resuming a queue, or removing messages. For more information, see Using the Queue Viewer to Manage Queues.
In addition to the preceding tools, Exchange 2007 SP1 provides the following tool:
Routing Log Viewer Routing Log Viewer allows you to open a routing log file that contains information about the routing topology. You can also open a second routing log and compare it to the first log opened. The tool consists of a parser and a public user interface.
To use Routing Log Viewer to view logs of routing table configuration changes, you must connect to an Exchange 2007 server that has the Hub Transport or the Edge Transport server role installed.
For more information about Routing Log Viewer, see Using the Routing Log Viewer.
Performance Tools
The following performance tools are available in the Toolbox:
Performance Monitor Performance Monitor is a tool you can configure to collect information about the performance of your messaging system. Specifically, you can use it to monitor, create graphs, and log performance metrics for core system functions. You can also use Performance Monitor to monitor Exchange-specific parameters, such as the number of inbound or outbound messages per hour or the number of directory lookups performed by Exchange. Performance Monitor is commonly used to view key parameters while troubleshooting performance problems. It is also used to gather baseline performance data to perform historical trend analysis and measure the impact of changes to your Exchange environment.
Performance Troubleshooter Performance Troubleshooter helps you to locate and identify performance-related issues that could affect an Exchange server. You can diagnose a problem by selecting the symptoms observed. Based on the symptoms, the tool walks you through the correct troubleshooting path. Performance Troubleshooter identifies possible bottlenecks and suggests corrective actions.
For more information about how to use the performance tools, refer to the System Monitor Help with the tool.
For More Information
For more information, see the following topics: