Share via

Installation Guide Template - Mailbox Server (Windows Server 2008)

  • Article

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 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

The following Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 installation guide template can be used as a starting point for formally documenting your organization's server build procedures for Exchange 2007 servers that have the Mailbox server role installed.

Executive Summary

The purpose of this document is to explain the installation and configurations required to install the Exchange 2007 Mailbox server role in a stand-alone configuration on the Windows Server 2008 platform.

Business Justification

By having an installation guide, Contoso can ensure standardization across the enterprise, reducing Total Cost of Ownership, and easing troubleshooting steps.

Scope

The scope of this document is limited to installation of an Exchange 2007 Mailbox server for Contoso on the Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition operating system platform.

Prerequisites

The operator should have working knowledge of Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition concepts, Exchange 2007 concepts, the Exchange Management Console and Exchange Management Shell, the command line, and various system utilities. This document does not elaborate on the details of any system utility except as necessary to complete the tasks within.

In addition, the operator should review the Planning for Mailbox Servers topic in the Exchange 2007 Online Help before they implement the server role.

Assumptions

This document assumes that Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition is installed per company baseline regulations which include the latest approved service pack and hotfixes.

This document assumes that forest and domain preparation steps have been performed per How to Prepare Active Directory and Domains topic in the Exchange 2007 Online Help.

This document assumes that both Exchange 2007 and Windows Server 2008 will be secured following the best practices found in the following documentation:

Important

The procedures within this document should be followed sequentially. If changes are made out of sequence, unexpected results may occur.

Server Configuration

The following media are required for this section.

  • Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition media

  • Exchange 2007 Configuration DVD

Note

For instructions about how to build your Exchange 2007 Configuration DVD, see How to Create a Configuration DVD and Automation Files.

Additional Software Verification

  1. Verify that Remote Desktop is enabled.

  2. As an optional process, install Microsoft Network Monitor.

Network Interfaces Configuration

  1. Log on to the server with an account that has at least local administrative access.

  2. Click Start, Control Panel and double-click Network and Sharing Center.

  3. Click Manage Network Connections.

  4. Locate the connection for the internal network and rename it appropriately.

  5. Right-click the connection and select Properties.

  6. For the TCP/IP Protocol add the following:

    1. Static IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Gateway

    2. DNS Server IP Addresses

    3. Check the box to Append parent suffixes of the primary DNS suffix

    4. WINS IP Addresses (if using WINS)

Drive Configuration

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Click Start, Administrative Tools, and select Computer Management.

  3. Expand Storage and click on Disk Management.

  4. Open the Disk Management Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and format, rename, and assign the appropriate Drive Letters so that the volumes and DVD drive match the appropriate server configuration. At the very least, there should be a D drive for the Exchange binaries and the DVD drive should be configured as the Z drive. Refer to the Database Log logical unit number (LUN) Appendix at the end of this document for the actual drive configuration that should be used.

    Drive configuration

    LUN Drive letter Usage

    1

    C

    Operating system

    2

    D

    Exchange binaries, database

    3

    E

    Exchange transaction logs, tracking logs

    4

    Z

    DVD drive

Windows Server 2008 Hotfix Installation

All hotfixes are installed through a batch file. For a complete list of hotfixes that are installed, see Contoso server build DVD hotfix list. A sample hotfix list can be seen at Server Build DVD - Sample Hotfix List.

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and has been delegated local Administrator access.

  2. Insert the Exchange 2007 Configuration DVD.

  3. Browse to \W2K8-HotFix\ and double-click W2K8-hotfix.bat.

  4. Click Yes for any Digital Signature not Found dialog boxes that may appear.

    Note

    These dialog boxes will not appear in environments that have not deployed the Windows Security templates.

  5. Wait for all file copies to complete and restart the server.

Domain Membership Configuration

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Click Start, right-click My Computer and select Properties.

  3. Under the Computer Name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change Settings.

  4. Click Change.

  5. Choose the Domain radio button and enter the appropriate Domain name.

  6. Enter the appropriate credentials.

  7. Click OK and OK.

  8. Click OK to close the System Properties.

  9. Restart the server.

Local Administrators Verification

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Verify (or add if not already there) that the following accounts are members of the local administrators group on this server.

    Local administrators

    Item Account Description Role

    1

    Domain Admins

    Domain Administrative Global Group

    Administrator

    2

    Root Domain\Exchange Organization Administrators

    Exchange Administrators

    Administrator

  3. Verify that your user account is a member of a group which is a member of the local administrators group on the Windows Server 2008 server. If it is not, use an account that is a member of the local administrators group before continuing.

Local Administrator Account Password Reset

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Click Start, right-click Computer and select Manage.

  3. Expand the nodes to find Configuration\Local Users and Groups\Users.

  4. Right-click Administrator and select Set Password. Change the password so that it meets strong complexity requirements.

  5. As an optional step, right-click Administrator and select Rename. Rename the account according to company regulations.

Tools Installation

This section installs several useful tools that will aid administrators in Exchange administration and in troubleshooting support issues.

Note

Debugging Tools for Windows will allow administrators to debug processes that are affecting service and determine root cause. For more information, see Install Debugging Tools for Windows 32-bit Version.

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Insert the Exchange 2007 Configuration DVD.

  3. Open a command prompt and navigate to the \Support folder.

  4. Run the following command where DVDROM-Drive is the DVD drive: W2K8Toolsinstall.cmd DVDROM-Drive (ex: W2K8Toolsinstall.cmd Z:).

  5. Right-click the c:\Tools folder and select Properties.

  6. Click the Security tab.

  7. Click the Advanced button.

  8. Uncheck Inheritance and copy the permissions.

  9. Remove the Everyone (and if listed, the Authenticated Users) security principal.

  10. Add the following groups, granting FULL CONTROL:

    1. SYSTEM

    2. The local Administrators group

    3. Creator Owner

Page File Modifications

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Click Start, right-click Computer and select Properties.

  3. Select the Advanced System Settings.

  4. Under Startup and Recovery, click the Settings button.

    1. Under Write Debugging Information, change the memory dump drop-down list to Kernel Memory Dump.

    2. Click OK.

  5. Under Performance, click the Settings button.

  6. Click the Advanced tab.

  7. Under Virtual Memory, click the Change button.

  8. On servers that have a dedicated page file drive, follow these steps:

    1. In the Drive list, click C:, and then click Custom size.

    2. For the C: drive, set the Initial Size (MB) value to a minimum of 200 MB. (Windows requires between 150 MB and 2 GB page file space, depending on server load and the amount of physical RAM that is available for page file space on the boot volume when Windows is configured for a kernel memory dump. Therefore, you may be required to increase the size.)

    3. For drive C, set the Maximum Size (MB) value to that of the Initial Size.

    4. In the Drive list, select the page file drive (for example, the P: drive), and then click Custom size.

    5. In the Initial Size (MB) box, type the result of one of the following calculations:

      If the server has less than 8 GB of RAM, multiply the amount of RAM times 1.5,.

      If the server has 8 GB of RAM or more, add the amount of RAM plus 10 MB.

    6. In the Maximum Size (MB) box, type the same amount that you typed in the Initial Size box.

    7. Delete all other page files.

    8. Click OK.

  9. On servers that do not have a dedicated page file drive, follow these steps:

    1. In the Drive list, click C:, and then click Custom size.

    2. For drive C, type the result of one of the following calculations in the Initial Size (MB) box:

      If the server has less than 8 GB of RAM, multiply the amount of RAM times 1.5.

      If the server has 8 GB of RAM or more, add the amount of RAM plus 10 MB.

    3. Delete all other page files.

    4. Click OK.

  10. Click OK two times to close the System Properties dialog box.

  11. Click No if you are prompted to restart the system.

    Note

    For more information about Page File recommendations, see the following articles: How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP; and Overview of memory dump file options for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000.

Drive Permissions

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Click Start and select Computer.

  3. Right-click the D Drive and select Properties.

  4. Click the Security tab.

  5. Click Edit.

  6. Click Add and select the local server from Locations.

  7. Grant the following rights as outlined in the following table.

    Drive permissions

    Account Permissions

    Administrators

    Full Control

    SYSTEM

    Full Control

    Authenticated Users

    Read and Execute, List, Read

    CREATOR OWNER

    Full Control

  8. Click the Advanced button.

  9. Select the CREATOR OWNER permission entry and click View/Edit.

  10. Select Subfolders and Files Only from the drop-down list.

  11. Click OK two times.

  12. Click OK to close the drive properties.

  13. Repeat steps 3-12 for each additional drive (other than the C drive).

Verification Steps

Organizational Unit Verification

Submit a change request and have the computer object moved to the appropriate organizational unit (OU). If following the recommendations in the Exchange 2007 Security Guide, the OU will be \Member Servers\Exchange Backend Servers\Exchange Mailbox Servers.

Active Directory Site Verification

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Open a command prompt.

  3. Verify that the server is in the correct domain and Active Directory site. At the command line type:

    NLTEST /server:%COMPUTERNAME% /dsgetsite

  4. The name of the Active Directory site to which the server belongs will be displayed. If the server is not in the correct Active Directory site, submit a change request to the appropriate operations group and have the server moved to the appropriate Active Directory site.

Domain Controller Diagnostics Verification

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Open a command prompt and change paths to the C drive.

  3. Type the following command:

    dcdiag /s:<Domain Controller> /f:c:\dcdiag.log

    Note

    Change <domain Controller> to a domain controller contained within the same Active Directory site as the Exchange server.

  4. Review the output of C:\dcdiag.log file and verify that there are no connectivity issues with the local domain controller.

  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each domain controller in the local Active Directory site.

    Note

    Domain Controller Diagnostics (DCDiag) is a Windows support tool that tests network connectivity and DNS resolution for domain controllers. If the account being used does not have administrative privileges, several tests under the Doing primary tests heading may not pass. These tests can be ignored if the connectivity tests pass. In addition, the log file may report that some service validation tests did not pass. These messages can be ignored if the services do not exist on the domain controller.

Exchange Best Practices Analyzer Verification

  1. Connect to a server in the environment that either has the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer or the Exchange 2007 Management tools installed through Remote Desktop, and log on by using an account that has local administrative access. Depending on the configuration, do the following:

  2. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange and select Best Practices Analyzer.

  3. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and select Exchange Management Console.

  4. Click Toolbox.

  5. Double-click Best Practices Analyzer.

  6. Check and apply any updates for the Best Practices Analyzer engine.

  7. Provide the appropriate information to connect to Active Directory and then click Connect to the Active Directory server.

  8. In the Start a New Best Practices Scan, select Exchange 2007 Readiness Check and then click Start Scanning.

  9. Review the report and take action on any errors or warnings that are reported by following the resolution articles that are provided within the Best Practices Analyzer.

    Note

    The Microsoft Exchange Analyzers help Microsoft Exchange Server administrators troubleshoot various operational support issues.

Exchange Server Role Installation

The following CD media are required for this section.

  • Microsoft Exchange 2007 DVD

  • Exchange 2007 Configuration DVD

Exchange 2007 Prerequisites Installation

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Open an administrative command prompt window.

  3. Type the following command where <path> references the E2K7 CONFIG DVD \E2K7-PreReqs folder:

    ServerManagerCmd -ip <path>\Exchange-Base.XML

  4. Install the Microsoft Filter Pack. For more information, see 2007 Office System Converter: Microsoft Filter Pack.

  5. Type the following command, where <path> represents the actual E2K7 CONFIG DVD \E2K7-PreReqs folder and <Exchange-role> represents the appropriate role XML file:

    ServerManagerCmd -ip <path>\<Exchange-role>.XML

  6. Restart the server, if it is necessary.

Exchange 2007 Installation

Though this document uses the command line method for installing the Exchange roles, the GUI can also be used. For more information about how to use the setup GUI to install an Exchange role, see the Exchange 2007 Online Help topic How to Perform a Custom Installation Using Exchange 2007.

Important

If this is the first Mailbox server role being installed into a green-field Exchange 2007 organization, then you should specify the optional setup parameter /EnableLegacyOutlook if you will have client computers that are running Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or earlier.

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and was delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role (or higher) if the server was pre-created.

  2. Follow the procedure from the Exchange 2007 Online Help topic How to Install Exchange 2007 in Unattended Mode. For example, setup.com /r:MB /t:d:\exchsrvr.

  3. Restart the server if required.

Exchange Server 2007 Post-SP1 Roll-up Installation

All hotfixes are installed through a batch file. For a complete list of hotfixes that are installed, see Contoso server build DVD hotfix list. A sample hotfix list can be seen at Server Build DVD - Sample Hotfix List.

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and was delegated local Administrator access.

  2. Insert the Exchange 2007 Configuration DVD.

  3. Browse to \E2K7-PostSP1\ and double-click E2K7-postsp1.bat.

  4. Click Yes for any Digital Signature not Found dialog boxes that may appear

    Note

    These dialog boxes will not appear in environments that have not deployed the Windows Security templates.

  5. Wait for all file copies to complete and restart the server.

Exchange Search Configuration

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop, and then log on by using an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Follow the instructions that are in How to Register IFilters 2.0 with Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010.

  3. If you want to search through PDF files, install the Adobe PDF iFilter 9 for 64-bit platforms, and then follow the instructions that are mentioned in the Adobe document Configuring PDF iFilter for MS Exchange Server 2007.

The third-party Web site information in this topic is provided to help you find the technical information you need. The URLs are subject to change without notice.

Product Key Configuration

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and was delegated the Exchange Organization Administrator role.

  2. Follow the procedure outlined in the Exchange 2007 Online Help topic How to Enter the Product Key.

Security Configuration Wizard

This section is optional and may be skipped.

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Follow the procedures from the Exchange 2007 Online Help topic How to Install the Security Configuration Wizard to install the Security Configuration Wizard.

  3. Follow the procedures from the Exchange 2007 Online Help topic How to Register Exchange Server Role SCW Extensions to register the Exchange 2007 Server SCW extension.

  4. Follow the procedures from the Exchange 2007 Online Help topic How to Create a New Exchange Server Role SCW Policy to configure and apply the policy.

System Performance Verification

By default, Exchange 2007 optimizes the server’s memory management for programs, which configures the server’s system cache as the default size. Mailbox servers will benefit from this configuration.

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access.

  2. Click Start, right-click Computer and select Properties.

  3. Select the Advanced System Settings.

  4. Under Performance, click the Settings button.

    1. Click the Advanced tab.

    2. Verify that the Processor Scheduling is set to Background Services.

  5. Click OK.

Test Mailbox Creation

Several of the diagnostics tasks used to monitor Exchange require test mailboxes to be created on the mailbox servers. For more information about how to use the Test script to create the test mailboxes, see the Monitoring for Agentless Servers topic in the Exchange 2007 Online Help.

  1. Connect to the Exchange 2007 Mailbox server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and was delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role (or higher).

  2. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and select Exchange Management Shell.

  3. Change the directory path to <Exchange Server Install Path>\Scripts.

  4. Type New-TestCasConnectivityUser.ps1 and press Enter.

  5. Enter a temporary password and follow the prompts to create the test mailboxes.

Exchange Server Role Configuration

First Storage Group Configuration

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and has been delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role (or higher).

  2. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and select Exchange Management Shell.

    Important

    The values in the following table are example values, not recommended values. These values must be updated to reflect the actual values for your organization.

    First storage group configuration

    Old New example

    Storage Group Name

    First Storage Group

    SG1

    Database Name

    Mailbox Database

    <ServerName> MBX Store 1

    Storage Group Path

    %Program Files%\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Mailbox\First Storage Group

    L:\LOG01

    Database Path

    %Program Files%\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Mailbox\First Storage Group

    E:\MDB01

    Database Filename

    Mailbox database.edb

    Priv01.edb

    Copy Database Path

    --

    F:\COPYMDB01

    Copy Transaction Log Path

    --

    M:\COPYLOG01

  3. To dismount the database, run the following command where <ServerName> is the name of the mailbox server:

    Dismount-Database "<ServerName>\First Storage Group\Mailbox Database"

  4. To change the Storage Group name from “First Storage Group” to “SG1”, run the following command where <DCName> is the name of a domain controller:

    Set-StorageGroup "<ServerName>\<Old SG Name>" -Name <New SG Name> -DomainController <DCName>

  5. To change the mailbox database name from “Mailbox Database” to “<ServerName> MBX Store 1”, run the following command:

    Set-MailboxDatabase "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>\<Old DB Name>" -Name "<New DB Name>" -DomainController <DCName>

  6. To change the location of the storage group’s transaction logs, run the following command:

    Move-StorageGroupPath "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>" -LogFolderPath:<New SG Location> -SystemFolderPath:<New SG Path> -DomainController <DCName>

  7. To change the location of the mailbox database, run the following command:

    Move-DatabasePath "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>\<New DB Name>" -EdbFilePath:<New DB Path\New DB FileName> -DomainController <DCName>

  8. To mount the database, run the following command:

    Mount-Database "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>\<New DB Name>" -DomainController <DCName>

  9. If local continuous replication (LCR) is required, run the following command to enable LCR for the database:

    Enable-DatabaseCopy "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>\<New DB Name>" -CopyEDBFilePath:<FullPathIncludingDatabaseFileName> -DomainController <DCName>

  10. If LCR is required, run the following command to enable LCR for the storage group:

    Enable-StorageGroupCopy "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>" -CopyLogFolderPath:<FullPath> -CopySystemFolderPath:<FullPath> -DomainController <DCName>

Second Storage Group Configuration

If a public folder store was created during the installation of the Mailbox server role, then the public folder still will be placed in the Second Storage Group. If there is no Second Storage Group, this section can be skipped.

  1. Connect to the server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and was delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role (or higher).

  2. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and select Exchange Management Shell.

    Important

    The values in the following table are example values, not recommended values. These values must be updated to reflect the actual values for your organization.

    Second storage group configuration

    Old New example

    Storage Group Name

    Second Storage Group

    SG2

    Database Name

    Public Folder Database

    <ServerName> PUB Store 2

    Storage Group Path

    %Program Files%\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Mailbox\Second Storage Group

    L:\LOG02

    Database Path

    %Program Files%\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Mailbox\Second Storage Group

    E:\MDB02

    Database Filename

    Public Folder database.edb

    Pub02.edb

  3. To unmount the database, run the following command where <ServerName> is the name of the mailbox server:

    Dismount-Database "<ServerName>\First Storage Group\Mailbox Database"

  4. To change the Storage Group name from “Second Storage Group” to “SG2”, run the following command where <DCName> is the name of a domain controller:

    Set-StorageGroup "<ServerName>\<Old SG Name>" -Name <New SG Name> -DomainController <DCName>

  5. To change the public folder database name from “Public Folder Database” to “<ServerName> PUB Store 2”, run the following command:

    Set-MailboxDatabase "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>\<Old DB Name>" -Name "<New DB Name>" -DomainController <DCName>

  6. To change the location of the storage group’s transaction logs, run the following command:

    Move-StorageGroupPath "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>" -LogFolderPath:<New SG Location> -SystemFolderPath:<New SG Path> -DomainController <DCName>

  7. To change the location of the public folder database, run the following command:

    Move-DatabasePath "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>\<New DB Name>" -EdbFilePath:<New DB Path\New DB FileName> -DomainController <DCName>

  8. To mount the database, run the following command:

    Mount-Database "<ServerName>\<New SG Name>\<New DB Name>" -DomainController <DCName>

Records Management Server Configuration

This section can be skipped if messaging records management (MRM) will not be enabled in the environment. For more information about how to deploy MRM, see the Deploying Messaging Records Management topic in the Exchange 2007 Online Help.

  1. Connect to an Exchange 2007 server through Remote Desktop, and then log on by using an account that has local administrative access and was delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role (or higher).

  2. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and select Exchange Management Shell.

  3. To enable the managed folder assistant, run the following command where <ServerName> is the name of the mailbox server and <DCName> is the name of a domain controller:

    Set-MailboxServer <ServerName> -LogPathForManagedFolders <LogPath> -ManagedFolderAssistantSchedule <AssistantSchedule> -LogFileAgeLimitForManagedFolders <LogFileAgeLimit> -LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders <LogDirSizeLimit> -LogFileSizeLimitForManagedFolders <LogFileSizeLimit> -FolderLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <LogFolderEnabled> -SubjectLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <SubjectLogEnabled> -RetentionLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <RetentionLogEnabled> -JournalingLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <JournalLogEnabled> -DomainController <DCName>

Note

Use the appropriate table from Server Configuration Appendix at the end of this document for the information that you need for the commands.

Message Tracking Server Configuration

This section can be skipped if the default Message Tracking parameters are appropriate for the environment.

  1. Connect to an Exchange 2007 server through Remote Desktop and log on with an account that has local administrative access and was delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role (or higher).

  2. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and select Exchange Management Shell.

  3. To configure message tracking settings, use the following command where <ServerName> is the name of the mailbox server and <DCName> is the name of a domain controller.

    Set-MailboxServer <ServerName> -MessageTrackingLogPath <LogPath> -MessageTrackingLogMaxAge <MaxAge> -MessageTrackingLogMaxDirectorySize <LogDirSize> -MessageTrackingLogMaxFileSize <LogFileSize> -MessageTrackingLogSubjectLoggingEnabled <SubjectLogEnabled> -DomainController <DCName>

Note

Use the appropriate table from the Server Configuration Appendix at the end of this document for information that you need for the commands.

Additional Storage Groups

  1. Connect to an Exchange 2007 server through Remote Desktop, and then log by using with an account that has local administrative access and was delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role (or higher).

  2. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and select Exchange Management Shell.

  3. Use the appropriate table from Database / Log LUN Appendix and Database Configuration Appendix at the end of this document for information that you need for the commands.

  4. To create the Storage Group, run the following command where <ServerName> is the name of the mailbox server and <DCName> is the name of a domain controller:

    1. To create a storage group that does not use LCR, run the following command:

      New-StorageGroup -Server <ServerName> -Name <SG> -LogFolderPath <Transaction Log Location> -SystemFolderPath <Transaction Log Location> -DomainController <DCName>

    2. To create a storage group using LCR, run the following command:

      New-StorageGroup -Server <ServerName> -Name <SG> -LogFolderPath <Transaction Log Location> -SystemFolderPath <Transaction Log Location> -DomainController <DCName> -HasLocalCopy:$true -CopyLogFolderPath <PathforLCRLogFiles> -CopySystemFolderPath <PathforLCRSystemFiles>

  5. To create the database that resides within the storage group, run the following command:

    • To create the database for use without LCR, run the following command:

      New-MailboxDatabase -StorageGroup "<ServerName>\<SG Name>" -Name "<DB Name>" -DomainController <DCName> -EdbFilePath:<FullPathIncludingDatabaseFileName> -OfflineAddressBook <OfflineAddressBook> -PublicFolderDatabase <PFDatabase> | Set-MailboxDatabase -IssueWarningQuota <WarningQuota> -ProhibitSendQuota <SendQuota> -ProhibitSendReceiveQuota <SendReceiveQuota> -MailboxRetention <dd.hh:mm:ss> -DeletedItemRetention <dd.hh:mm:ss> -MaintenanceSchedule <MaintenanceSchedule> -QuotaNotificationSchedule <QuotaSchedule> -RetainDeletedItemsUntilBackup <RetainDeletedItemsUntilBackup>

    • To create the database for use with LCR, run the following command:

      New-MailboxDatabase -StorageGroup "<ServerName>\<SG Name>" -Name "<DB Name>" -DomainController <DCName> -HasLocalCopy:$true -EdbFilePath:<FullPathIncludingDatabaseFileName> -CopyEdbFilePath:<FullPathIncludingDatabaseFileName> -OfflineAddressBook <OfflineAddressBook> -PublicFolderDatabase <PFDatabase> | Set-MailboxDatabase -IssueWarningQuota <WarningQuota> -ProhibitSendQuota <SendQuota> -ProhibitSendReceiveQuota <SendReceiveQuota> -MailboxRetention <dd.hh:mm:ss> -DeletedItemRetention <dd.hh:mm:ss> -MaintenanceSchedule <MaintenanceSchedule> -QuotaNotificationSchedule <QuotaSchedule> -RetainDeletedItemsUntilBackup <RetainDeletedItemsUntilBackup>

  6. To mount the database, run the following command:

    Mount-Database "<ServerName>\<SG>\<Database Name>" -DomainController <DCName>

  7. Repeat steps 4-6 for each database that needs to be created.

Server Configuration Appendix

Records Management Configuration

The following table is an example configuration that can be applied to the Mailbox server, depending on requirements.

Important

The values in the following table are example values, not recommended values. These values must be updated to reflect the actual values for your organization.

Records management configuration

Default value Example value

Server Name

<ServerName>

<ServerName>

Log Path For Managed Folders

<Exchange Install Path>\Logging\Managed Folder Assistant

D:\Exchsrvr\Logging\Managed Folder Assistant

Log File Age Limit For Managed Folders

00:00:00

7.00:00:00

Log Directory Size Limit For Managed Folders

unlimited

5 GB

Log File Size Limit For Managed Folders

10 MB

10 MB

Retention Log For Managed Folders Enabled

False

True

Journaling Log For Managed Folders Enabled

False

False

Folder Log For Managed Folders Enabled

False

True

Subject Log For Managed Folders Enabled

False

True

Managed Folder Assistant Schedule

Never Run

“Sun.6:00 PM-Sun.7:45 PM”, “Mon.6:00 PM-Mon.7:45 PM”, “Tue.6:00 PM-Tue.7:45 PM”, “Wed.6:00 PM-Wed.7:45 PM”, “Thu.6:00 PM-Thu.7:45 PM”, “Fri.6:00 PM-Fri.7:45 PM”, “Sat.6:00 PM-Sat.7:45 PM”

Message Tracking Configuration

The following table is an example configuration that can be applied to the Mailbox server, depending on requirements.

Important

The values in the following table are example values, not recommended values. These values must be updated to reflect the actual values for your organization.

Message tracking configuration

Default value Example value

Server Name

<ServerName>

<ServerName>

Message Tracking Log Path

<Exchange Install Path>\TransportRoles\Logs\MessageTracking

d:\exchsrvr\MessageTracking

Message Tracking Log Enabled

True

True

Message Tracking Log Max Age

30.00:00:00

10.00:00:00

Message Tracking Log Max Directory Size

250 MB

20 GB

Message Tracking Log Max File Size

10 MB

10 MB

Message Tracking Log Subject Logging Enabled

True

True

Database / Log LUN Appendix

With continuous replication, you do not have to perform daily full backups as the storage group copy provides the first line of defense against corruption and data loss. Therefore, there are two approaches to how backups can be performed in a continuous replication environment.

  • Use streaming backup to perform a full backup of 1/7th of the databases, and incremental or differential backups for the rest.

  • Use Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to perform backups.

As a result of the backup methodology selected, the LUN layout has to be altered.

Database / LUN Layout

Exchange 2007 uses VSS included in Windows Server 2003 to take volume shadow copies of Exchange 2007 databases and transaction log files. For the basics on VSS, including both clone and snapshot techniques, review the white paper, Best Practices for Using Volume Shadow Copy Service with Exchange Server 2003.

The new feature in Exchange 2007 when you use continuous replication is the ability to run a software VSS snapshot not only on the active copy, but on the passive copy also. Taking a VSS snapshot on the passive copy offloads the disk I/O from the active LUN during both the checksum integrity (ESEUTIL), and subsequent copy to tape or disk. This also frees more time on the active LUNs to run online maintenance, MRM, and other tasks.

Creating two LUNs (log and database) for a storage group is the standard best practice for Windows Server 2003. In Exchange 2007, in the maximum case of 50 storage groups, the number of LUNs you provision will depend on your backup strategy. If your recovery time objective (RTO) is very small, or if you use VSS clones for fast recovery, it may be best to place each storage group on its own transaction log LUN and database LUN. Because doing this will exceed the number of available drive letters, volume mount points must be used.

Some benefits of this strategy include the following:

  • Enables hardware-based VSS at a storage group level, providing single storage group backup and restore.

  • Flexibility to isolate the performance between storage groups when not sharing spindles between LUNs.

  • Increased reliability: A capacity or corruption problem on a single LUN will only affect one storage group.

Some concerns with this strategy include the following:

  • 50 storage groups using continuous replication could require 200 LUNs which would exceed some storage array maximums. Cluster continuous replication (CCR) solutions could have 100 LUNs on each node, while LCR could have all 200 LUNs presented to a single server.

  • A separate LUN for each storage group causes more LUNs per server increasing the administrative costs and complexity.

    Note

    In the following table, the reference to MP stands for Mount Point.
    SG2 may contain either a mailbox database or a public folder database, depending on the configuration.

VSS approach LUN design

SG name Database name Database location Database file name Transaction log location Copy database location Copy transaction log location

Anchor LUN

--

E:\

--

L:\

F:\

M:\

SG1

<ServerName> MBX Store 1

MP:\MDB01

Priv01.edb

MP:\LOG01

MP:\COPYMDB01

MP:\COPYLOG01

SG2

<ServerName> MBX Store 2

MP:\MDB02

Priv02.edb

MP:\LOG02

MP:\COPYMDB02

MP:\COPYLOG02

<ServerName> PUB Store 2

MP:\MDB02

Pub02.edb

MP:\LOG02

--

--

SG3

<ServerName> MBX Store 3

MP:\MDB03

Priv03.edb

MP:\LOG03

MP:\COPYMDB03

MP:\COPYLOG03

SG4

<ServerName> MBX Store 4

MP:\MDB04

Priv04.edb

MP:\LOG04

MP:\COPYMDB04

MP:\COPYLOG04

SG5

<ServerName> MBX Store 5

MP:\MDB05

Priv05.edb

MP:\LOG05

MP:\COPYMDB05

MP:\COPYLOG05

SG6

<ServerName> MBX Store 6

MP:\MDB06

Priv06.edb

MP:\LOG06

MP:\COPYMDB06

MP:\COPYLOG06

SG7

<ServerName> MBX Store 7

MP:\MDB07

Priv07.edb

MP:\LOG07

MP:\COPYMDB07

MP:\COPYLOG07

SG8

<ServerName> MBX Store 8

MP:\MDB08

Priv08.edb

MP:\LOG08

MP:\COPYMDB08

MP:\COPYLOG08

SG9

<ServerName> MBX Store 9

MP:\MDB09

Priv09.edb

MP:\LOG09

MP:\COPYMDB09

MP:\COPYLOG09

SG10

<ServerName> MBX Store 10

MP:\MDB10

Priv10.edb

MP:\LOG10

MP:\COPYMDB10

MP:\COPYLOG10

SG11

<ServerName> MBX Store 11

MP:\MDB11

Priv11.edb

MP:\LOG11

MP:\COPYMDB11

MP:\COPYLOG11

SG12

<ServerName> MBX Store 12

MP:\MDB12

Priv12.edb

MP:\LOG12

MP:\COPYMDB12

MP:\COPYLOG12

SG13

<ServerName> MBX Store 13

MP:\MDB13

Priv13.edb

MP:\LOG13

MP:\COPYMDB13

MP:\COPYLOG13

SG14

<ServerName> MBX Store 14

MP:\MDB14

Priv14.edb

MP:\LOG14

MP:\COPYMDB14

MP:\COPYLOG14

SG15

<ServerName> MBX Store 15

MP:\MDB15

Priv15.edb

MP:\LOG15

MP:\COPYMDB15

MP:\COPYLOG15

SG16

<ServerName> MBX Store 16

MP:\MDB16

Priv16.edb

MP:\LOG16

MP:\COPYMDB16

MP:\COPYLOG16

SG17

<ServerName> MBX Store 17

MP:\MDB17

Priv17.edb

MP:\LOG17

MP:\COPYMDB17

MP:\COPYLOG17

SG18

<ServerName> MBX Store 18

MP:\MDB18

Priv18.edb

MP:\LOG18

MP:\COPYMDB18

MP:\COPYLOG18

SG19

<ServerName> MBX Store 19

MP:\MDB19

Priv19.edb

MP:\LOG19

MP:\COPYMDB19

MP:\COPYLOG19

SG20

<ServerName> MBX Store 20

MP:\MDB20

Priv20.edb

MP:\LOG20

MP:\COPYMDB20

MP:\COPYLOG20

SG21

<ServerName> MBX Store 21

MP:\MDB21

Priv21.edb

MP:\LOG21

MP:\COPYMDB21

MP:\COPYLOG21

SG22

<ServerName> MBX Store 22

MP:\MDB22

Priv22.edb

MP:\LOG22

MP:\COPYMDB22

MP:\COPYLOG22

SG23

<ServerName> MBX Store 23

MP:\MDB23

Priv23.edb

MP:\LOG23

MP:\COPYMDB23

MP:\COPYLOG23

SG24

<ServerName> MBX Store 24

MP:\MDB24

Priv24.edb

MP:\LOG24

MP:\COPYMDB24

MP:\COPYLOG24

SG25

<ServerName> MBX Store 25

MP:\MDB25

Priv25.edb

MP:\LOG25

MP:\COPYMDB25

MP:\COPYLOG25

SG26

<ServerName> MBX Store 26

MP:\MDB26

Priv26.edb

MP:\LOG26

MP:\COPYMDB26

MP:\COPYLOG26

SG27

<ServerName> MBX Store 27

MP:\MDB27

Priv27.edb

MP:\LOG27

MP:\COPYMDB27

MP:\COPYLOG27

SG28

<ServerName> MBX Store 28

MP:\MDB28

Priv28.edb

MP:\LOG28

MP:\COPYMDB28

MP:\COPYLOG28

SG29

<ServerName> MBX Store 29

MP:\MDB29

Priv29.edb

MP:\LOG29

MP:\COPYMDB29

MP:\COPYLOG29

SG30

<ServerName> MBX Store 30

MP:\MDB30

Priv30.edb

MP:\LOG30

MP:\COPYMDB30

MP:\COPYLOG30

SG31

<ServerName> MBX Store 31

MP:\MDB31

Priv31.edb

MP:\LOG31

MP:\COPYMDB31

MP:\COPYLOG31

SG32

<ServerName> MBX Store 32

MP:\MDB32

Priv32.edb

MP:\LOG32

MP:\COPYMDB32

MP:\COPYLOG32

SG33

<ServerName> MBX Store 33

MP:\MDB33

Priv33.edb

MP:\LOG33

MP:\COPYMDB33

MP:\COPYLOG33

SG34

<ServerName> MBX Store 34

MP:\MDB34

Priv34.edb

MP:\LOG34

MP:\COPYMDB34

MP:\COPYLOG34

SG35

<ServerName> MBX Store 35

MP:\MDB35

Priv35.edb

MP:\LOG35

MP:\COPYMDB35

MP:\COPYLOG35

SG36

<ServerName> MBX Store 36

MP:\MDB36

Priv36.edb

MP:\LOG36

MP:\COPYMDB36

MP:\COPYLOG36

SG37

<ServerName> MBX Store 37

MP:\MDB37

Priv37.edb

MP:\LOG37

MP:\COPYMDB37

MP:\COPYLOG37

SG38

<ServerName> MBX Store 38

MP:\MDB38

Priv38.edb

MP:\LOG38

MP:\COPYMDB38

MP:\COPYLOG38

SG39

<ServerName> MBX Store 39

MP:\MDB39

Priv39.edb

MP:\LOG39

MP:\COPYMDB39

MP:\COPYLOG39

SG40

<ServerName> MBX Store 40

MP:\MDB40

Priv40.edb

MP:\LOG40

MP:\COPYMDB40

MP:\COPYLOG40

SG41

<ServerName> MBX Store 41

MP:\MDB41

Priv41.edb

MP:\LOG41

MP:\COPYMDB41

MP:\COPYLOG41

SG42

<ServerName> MBX Store 42

MP:\MDB42

Priv42.edb

MP:\LOG42

MP:\COPYMDB42

MP:\COPYLOG42

SG43

<ServerName> MBX Store 43

MP:\MDB43

Priv43.edb

MP:\LOG43

MP:\COPYMDB43

MP:\COPYLOG43

SG44

<ServerName> MBX Store 44

MP:\MDB44

Priv44.edb

MP:\LOG44

MP:\COPYMDB44

MP:\COPYLOG44

SG45

<ServerName> MBX Store 45

MP:\MDB45

Priv45.edb

MP:\LOG45

MP:\COPYMDB45

MP:\COPYLOG45

SG46

<ServerName> MBX Store 46

MP:\MDB46

Priv46.edb

MP:\LOG46

MP:\COPYMDB46

MP:\COPYLOG46

SG47

<ServerName> MBX Store 47

MP:\MDB47

Priv47.edb

MP:\LOG47

MP:\COPYMDB47

MP:\COPYLOG47

SG48

<ServerName> MBX Store 48

MP:\MDB48

Priv48.edb

MP:\LOG48

MP:\COPYMDB48

MP:\COPYLOG48

SG49

<ServerName> MBX Store 49

MP:\MDB49

Priv49.edb

MP:\LOG49

MP:\COPYMDB49

MP:\COPYLOG49

SG50

<ServerName> MBX Store 50

MP:\MDB50

Priv50.edb

MP:\LOG50

MP:\COPYMDB50

MP:\COPYLOG50

Database Configuration Appendix

The following table is an example configuration that can be applied to each database that is created, or customized for each database on the server depending on requirements.

Important

The values in the following table are example values, not recommended values. These values must be updated to reflect the actual values for your organization.

Database configuration

Default value Example value

Database Name

<ServerName> MBX Store xx

<ServerName> MBX Store xx

Offline Address Book

Default Offline Address List

Default Offline Address List

Public Folder Database

<PublicFolderServer> PUB Store xx

<PublicFolderServer> PUB Store xx

Warning Quota

1945 MB

1700000 KB

Send Quota

2 GB

1900000 KB

Send Receive Quota

2355 MB

2090000 KB

Maintenance Schedule

Sun.1:00 AM-Sun.5:00 AM, Mon.1:00 AM-Mon.5:00 AM, Tue.1:00 AM-Tue.5:00 AM, Wed.1:00 AM-Wed.5: 00 AM, Thu.1:00 AM-Thu.5:00 AM, Fri.1:00 AM-Fri.5:00 AM, Sat.1:00 AM-Sat.5:00 AM

“Sun.12:00 AM-Sun.4:00 AM”, “Mon.12:00 AM-Mon.4:00 AM”, “Tue.12:00 AM-Tue.4:00 AM”, “Wed.12:00 AM-Wed.4:00 AM”, “Thu.12:00 AM-Thu.4:00 AM”, “Fri.12:00 AM-Fri.4:00 AM”, “Sat.12:00 AM-Sat.4:00 AM”

Quota Notification Schedule

Sun.1:00 AM-Sun.1:15 AM, Mon.1:00 AM-Mon.1:15 AM, Tue.1:00 AM-Tue.1:15 AM, Wed.1:00 AM-Wed.1:15 AM, Thu.1:00 AM-Thu.1:15 AM, Fri.1:00 AM-Fri.1:15 AM, Sat.1:00 AM-Sat.1:15 AM

“Sun.12:00 AM-Sun.12:15 AM”, “Mon.12:00 AM-Mon.12:15 AM”, “Tue.12:00 AM-Tue.12:15 AM”, “Wed.12:00 AM-Wed.12: 15 AM”, “Thu.12:00 AM-Thu.12:15 AM”, “Fri.12:00 AM-Fri.12:15 AM”, “Sat.12:00 AM-Sat.12:15 AM”

Mailbox Retention

30.00:00:00

30.00:00:00

Deleted Item Retention

14.00:00:00

14.00:00:00

Keep Deleted Items Until Backup

False

True