Change database size warning levels in Exchange 2003 SP2

by Scott Lowe MCSE | Apr 28, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Scott Lowe MCSE, Service Pack 2, information store, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesMSExchangeI, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, E-mail Administration Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: Exchange 2003 provides you with the ability to determine at what point a warning message is written to the log files regarding available space in the information store.

Exchange 2003 provides you with the ability to determine at what point a warning message is written to the log files regarding available space in the information store. While this tip applies to both the Standard and Enterprise Editions of Exchange, you probably won't need to worry too much about available space under the Enterprise Edition since it provides an 8TB limit.

By default, Exchange writes a message to the logs when you are within 10% of the maximum space allowed in the information store. When you get to these high limits, you can take such action as increasing the size of the store (if possible), or cleaning out your store, or whatever it takes. If you don’t want to wait until it gets that bad, set a different limit.

To do so:

1. Start the registry editor.
2. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\[ServerName]\[GUID of private store] or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\[Servername]\<GUID of public store>
3. Choose Edit > New > DWORD Value.
4. Name the new value "Database Size Buffer Warning"
5. Edit the new value and give it a size between 1 and 100%. (i.e. set to 75 if you want to be warned when you’ve used up 75% of the space in the store)
6. Restart the Information Store service.