This article describes how to change the location of the message tracking log files in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.When message tracking is enabled on a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 computer, the tracking logs are written to the following default location:
C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\ServerName.log
In this scenario, C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr represents the folder where Exchange Server 2003 is installed and ServerName is the host name of the Exchange Server computer.

This document covers what to capture with Performance Monitor to troubleshoot Exchange performance problems.  Section 1 lists the Performance Objects & Counters used when analyzing a performance problem with an Exchange Server.  Section 2 explains what data is gathered by the counters and some values to look for.

If you mistakenly delete a mail-enabled user account, you can recreate that user object and then, by default, reconnect that mailbox for a period of 30 days. This is because when you delete a user, Exchange retains a users mailbox for a specified period.

You configure Exchange to retain a user’s mailbox in the way that you specify how many days Exchange retains mail that a user deletes. You configure a deleted-mailbox retention period at the mailbox store object level.

When restoring a mailbox to an Exchange 5.5 recovery server, install Exchange on the recovery server by using the same logical organization and site names. The server names and service accounts do not have to match, unless you are restoring the directory service database. Exchange 5.5 servers on a site become aware of each other during the installation process, specifically, when you join a new server to a site.

Recovering an Exchange 2000 mailbox is somewhat different from recovering an Exchange 5.5 mailbox. There is no dedicated Exchange directory database in Exchange 2000 because Exchange directory information is now stored in Active Directory. Therefore, install both Exchange 2000 and Active Directory on your recovery server.

To sufficiently isolate the recovery server from other Exchange servers in the production organization, you must install Active Directory as the root of a separate forest. It may also be necessary to configure the recovery server as a Domain Name System (DNS) server if the corporate DNS server’s permissions model denies you the rights to create necessary service records in it.

On Nov. 15th 2005, Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 was awarded the Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 4 (EAL 4+) certification, the highest level awarded to a messaging product as defined by the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (CCITSE). The Common Criteria (CC) certification is a globally accepted standard for evaluating the security features and capabilities of information technology products and enables IT consumers to make informed decisions about the security capabilities of IT products. Microsoft submitted Exchange Server 2003 SP1 to the CC certification evaluation process to ensure that customers would have an independent, standard validation of the security features in this product.  Achieving CC certification demonstrates a milestone toward Microsoft's commitment to provide global customers with a secure email infrastructure. 

It has been increasingly challenging to track the capabilities of various IT services. As a matter of fact, the executives in the company think IT Department is "constantly becoming a Cost Center". The fact is in most of the organization, IT is "Power to Connect" their enterprise. This myth continues until such time we produce the value of having competent skilled staff, quality of the software, tools & hardware as an integral part of the IT Department.

This article is enlightening some areas we come across in our daily jobs as Exchange Administrators or Systems Engineers. Many a time we noticed that Exchange itself is not a problem; however exchange is installed in a sub-par system. Either Server hardware is not a true enterprise class server or minimum hardware requirements weren't addressed. Read more...

Microsoft has refreshed Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer v2.1 package to v2.1a. This can be found here http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/downloads/2003/exbpa/default.mspx. You can do in-place upgrade from v2.1 to v2.1a. Please note the application version number differences:

• ExBPA v2.1 2.1.7599.0
• ExBPA v2.1a 2.1.7599.4

Here is the list of bugs fixed with v2.1a:

1. MSI always sets the 'DataDirectory' registry value to the default setting even when the user has specified a different folder.
2. Output XML files are placed in the wrong folder when run under the scheduler.
3. Scheduling functionality does not work on Windows 2000 computers.
4. Date and numeric values are not interpreted correctly when running on a computer with non-U.S. English regional settings.

In addition, the latest Config XML (2.5.0.1) is included with the package. Short list of changes from the previous Config XML (2.4.0.1):

This guide provides information about working with Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 and client access. It describes the features for Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003, in addition to improvements in Outlook Web Access 2003. It contains configuration information, such as how to secure your messaging environment, deploy the server architecture, and configure Exchange servers for your supported client access methods. This guide also describes how to manage protocols, Exchange Virtual Server, Outlook Web Access, Exchange ActiveSync®, and Outlook Mobile Access.