Module 11

Maintaining Microsoft®

Exchange Server 2010

Module Overview

• Monitoring Exchange Server 2010

• Maintaining Exchange Server 2010

• Troubleshooting Exchange Server 2010

Lesson 1: Monitoring Exchange Server 2010

• Why Is Performance Monitoring Important?

• Tools for Monitoring Exchange Server

• Collecting Performance Data for the Exchange Server

• Collecting Performance Data for the Mailbox Server

• Collecting Performance Data for the Hub Transport and Edge Transport Servers

• Collecting Performance Data for the Client Access Server

• Using the Collected Performance Data

Why Is Performance Monitoring Important?

Performance monitoring can help you:

• Identify performance issues

• Identify growth trends to improve plans for upgrades

• Measure performance against service level agreements

• Identify security issues and denial-of-service attacks

Tools for Monitoring Exchange Server

The following tools can help you monitor system health:

• System Center Operations Manager or System Center Essentials (with Exchange Server 2010 Management Pack)

• Third-party monitoring products

• Performance and Reliability Monitor

Collecting Performance Data for the Exchange Server

Suggested performance counters for all Exchange Server roles:

Processor:

• _Total\% Processor Time

• _Total\% User Time

• _Total\% Privilege Time

System:

• Processor Queue Length

MSExchange ADAccess Domain Controllers:

• LDAP Read Time• LDAP Search Time• LDAP Searches time

out per minute• Long running LDAP

operations/min

Memory:

• Available Mbytes

• Pool Paged Bytes

• Transition Pages Repurposed/sec

• Page Reads/sec

• Pages/sec

• Page Input/sec

• Pages Output/sec

Collecting Performance Data for the Mailbox Server

Suggested performance counters for all Mailbox server roles:

LogicalDisk:

• Avg. Disk sec/Read

• Ave. Disk sec/Write

• Avg. Disk sec/Transfer

MSExchangeIS Mailbox:

• Messages Queued for Submission

MSExchangeIS:

• RPC Requests

• RPC Averaged Latency

• RPC Operations/sec

• RPC Num Slow Packets

• RPC Average Latency

MSExchangeIS Public:

• Messages Queued for Submission

Collecting Performance Data for the Hub Transport and Edge Transport Servers

Suggested performance counters for the Hub Transport and Edge Transport server roles:

LogicalDisk:

• Avg. Disk sec/Read

• Avg. Disk sec/Write

• Avg. Disk Queue Length

MSExchange Database ==> Instances:

• Log Generation Checkpoint Depth

• Version buckets allocated

• Log Record Stalls/sec

MSExchangeTransport Queues:

• Aggregate Delivery Queue Length (All Queues)

• Active Report Delivery Queue Length

• Active Mailbox Delivery Queue Length

• Retry Mailbox Delivery Queue Length

• Unreachable Queue Length

• Largest Delivery Queue Length

• Poison Queue Length

Collecting Performance Data for the Client Access Server

Suggested performance counters for the Client Access server role:

LogicalDisk:

• Avg. Disk sec/Read

• Ave. Disk sec/Write

ASP.NET:

• Application Restarts

• Worker Process Restarts

• Requests Current

• Request Wait Time

MSExchange OWA:

• Average Response Time

• Average Search Time

MSExchange ActiveSync:

• Average Request Time

MSExchangeFS OAB:

• Download Task Queued

RPC/HTTP Proxy:

• Number of failed back-end connection attempts per second

ASP.NET Applications:

• Requests in Application Queue

MSExchange Availability Service:

• Average Time to Process a Free Busy Request

Using the Collected Performance Data

To use the collected performance data:

Create a baseline:• Monitor performance for a full business cycle• Note any peaks or troughs in the data

Set warning and error level thresholds

Review growth trends regularly to:• Adjust threshold• Adjust server configuration

Lesson 2: Maintaining Exchange Server 2010

• Discussion: What Is Change Management?

• Considerations for Managing Change

• Discussion: What Are Software Updates?

• Process for Deploying Software Updates

• Determining the Need for Hardware Upgrades

• Process for Implementing Hardware Upgrades

Discussion: What Is Change Management?

• How does your organization address change management?

• Are there some situations where change management is more important than others?

• What are the benefits of having a formal change management process?

• Are there situations in which you cannot follow the normal change process?

Considerations for Managing Change

• Define a process and use it consistently

• Support the change management process

• Use a process model like MOF to describe a system life cycle

Discussion: What Are Software Updates?

• What is the difference between a hotfix and an update?

• Why should your organization deploy software updates?

Process for Deploying Software Updates

You can manage software updates by using WSUSYou can manage software updates by using WSUS

Determine which updates are needed11

Test and document the back-out plan33

Backup the server44

Schedule and install the software update55

Verify and monitor the software update installation66

Test and document the update in a compatible environment

22

Determining the Need for Hardware Upgrades

• Investigate causes of poor user experiences

• Monitor processor counters

• Monitor memory counters

• Monitor disk counters

• Monitor network counters

Process for Implementing Hardware Upgrades

Determine which upgrades are needed11

33

Backup the server 44

Schedule and install the hardware upgrade55

Verify and monitor the hardware upgrade66

Test and document the upgrade in a test environment22

Test and document the back-out plan

Lesson 3: Troubleshooting Exchange Server 2010

• Developing a Troubleshooting Methodology

• Troubleshooting Tools

• Discussion: Troubleshooting Mailbox Servers

• Discussion: Troubleshooting Client Access Servers

• Discussion: Troubleshooting Message Transport Servers

Developing a Troubleshooting Methodology

Clearly define the problem11

List the probable cause of the problem33

Rank the cause by probability and define solutions 44

Rank solutions by ease of resolution and impact to complete55

Try the most probable and easily implemented resolution until the problem is resolved66

Gather information related to the problem• Turn up logging• Review logs• Try to reproduce the problem

22

Reduce logging to normal77

Document resolution and root cause for future reference88

Troubleshooting Tools

All Exchange servers:• Best Practices Analyzer • Performance Troubleshooter• Network Monitor• Performance and Reliability Monitor• Test cmdlets

Hub Transport and Edge Transport servers:• Mail Flow Troubleshooter• Message tracking• Queue Viewer• Routing Log Viewer• Telnet

Discussion: Troubleshooting Mailbox Servers

A database has gone offline. What process can you use to troubleshoot the problem?

Discussion: Troubleshooting Client Access Servers

Outlook users no longer can connect to the system. What process can you use to troubleshoot the problem?

Discussion: Troubleshooting Message Transport Servers

Users are reporting undeliverable and slow-to-deliver outbound e-mail. What process can you use to troubleshoot the problem?

Lab: Maintaining Exchange Server 2010

• Exercise 1: Monitoring Exchange Server 2010

• Exercise 2: Troubleshooting Database Availability

• Exercise 3: Troubleshooting Client Access Servers

Logon information

Estimated time: 60 minutes

Virtual machines 10135A-VAN-DC1 10135A-VAN-EX1

User name Administrator

Password Pa$$w0rd

Lab Scenario

You are the messaging administrator at A. Datum Corporation. You need to configure basic monitoring by using the Performance and Reliability Monitor. You also must troubleshoot issues with a mailbox database and a Client Access server.

Lab Review

• Was the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer helpful in troubleshooting the database error? When might using Exchange Best Practices Analyzer be a better fit?

• Why do you need to run IISReset after reconfiguring Outlook Web App?

Module Review and Takeaways

• Review Questions

• Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips

• Real-World Issues and Scenarios

• Best Practices