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Queue filters

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Applies to: Exchange Server 2013

Filtering generates different views of queues. You use the queue properties as filter options. By specifying filter criteria, you can quickly locate queues and take action on them. The following scenarios are examples of how you might use queue filtering to manage mail flow:

  • You receive a message from the Microsoft System Center Operations Manager that indicates that a queue length has exceeded the established threshold. You want to investigate whether a server-wide mail flow problem exists.

    You can create a filter to view all the queues that have a message count that exceeds what you consider typical. If a mail flow problem is indicated, you can select all the queues in the filter results and suspend the queues while you continue to investigate.

  • You suspend several queues to investigate the cause of mail flow problems. You determine that the problem was caused by an incorrect connector configuration and is now fixed.

    You can create a filter to view all the queues that have a status of Suspended, and then select all the queues in the filter results and resume the queues.

Queue properties to use when filtering queues

You can use the queue properties to create a filter and locate queues that meet specified criteria. You can create filters in Queue Viewer, or by using the Filter parameter on the queue management cmdlets. Note that the queue management cmdlets support more filterable properties than the Queue Viewer. The following table lists the queue properties by which you can filter and the valid values for those properties.

Queue Viewer queue property Shell queue property Description
n/a DeferredMessageCount This property identifies the number of messages that were returned to the Submission queue because of transient errors that were encountered during recipient resolution. For more information about deferred messages, see Recipient resolution.
Delivery Type DeliveryType The valid values for DeliveryType are explained in the "NextHopSolutionKey" section in the Queues topic.
n/a Identity This property is the identity of the queue in the form of <Server>\<Queue>. For more information see the "Queue identity" section in the Queues topic.
n/a IncomingRate This property is a calculated number that indicates how quickly messages are entering the queue. For more information, see "IncomingRate, OutgoingRate, and Velocity" section in the Queues topic.
Last Error LastError This property indicates the text string of the last error that was recorded for the queue.
Last Retry Time LastRetryTime This property indicates the date/time of the last connection attempt for a queue that has a status of Retry.
n/a LockedMessageCount This property is reserved for internal Microsoft use, and isn't used in on-premises Exchange 2013 organizations.
Message Count MessageCount This property indicates the number of messages in the queue.
n/a NextHopCategory This property designates the next hop of the queue as Internal or External and is based on the value of the DeliveryType property of the queue. For more information, see the "NextHopSolutionKey" section in the Queues topic.
n/a NextHopConnector This property is the GUID of the next hop and is based on the value of the DeliveryType property of the queue. For more information, see the "NextHopSolutionKey" section in the Queues topic.
Next Hop Domain NextHopDomain This property is the name of next hop and is based on the value of the DeliveryType property of the queue . For more information, see the "NextHopSolutionKey" section in the Queues topic.
Next Retry Time NextRetryTime This property indicates the date/time of the next connection attempt for a queue that has a status of Retry.
n/a OutgoingRate This property is a calculated number that indicates how quickly messages are leaving the queue. For more information, see "IncomingRate, OutgoingRate, and Velocity" section in the Queues topic.
n/a RiskLevel This property is reserved for internal Microsoft use, and isn't used in on-premises Exchange 2013 organizations.
Status Status This property indicates the current queue status. A queue can have one of the following status values Active, Connecting, None, Suspended, Ready, or Retry. For more information, see the "Queue status" section in the Queues topic.
n/a TlsDomain This property contains the FQDN of the destination domain if the domain is configured for Domain Security.
n/a Velocity This property contains a calculated number that indicates how effectively the queue is draining. For more information, see "IncomingRate, OutgoingRate, and Velocity" section in the Queues topic.