Hello, I recently had an Information Store dismount because the database limit had been exceeded (I had change the default limit from 18GB to 50GB but we still managed to hit 54GB). To be safe, I followed http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912375 and increased the limit to 60 GB. also I had everyone clear out their mailboxes and archive to psts - however the event viewer still shows the database size as being 54GB. I am a little confused, I am sure that I have removed at least 5 GB worth of mail from the Exchange server yet it is saying that it is still 54GB, is there anything I have missed?

This is expectedbehaviorbecause once physical database size is increased, it won't decreaseeven thoughyouclear upthe space in mailboxes. Exchange onlinemaintainablejust mark as a white space and will be reused. Suggest you to go through below article to understand Exchange database disk consumption further in detail... Understanding Exchange Databases Disk Consumption http://www.msexchange.org/articles/Exchange-Databases-Disk-Consumption.html Where as offline defragmentation with eseutil utility is the only thing to reduce the physical size of database but it requires more downtime so I wouldn't suggest you to go for it... Refer below article on how to defrag DB. You can use /t switch to give temporary path of your shared network drive foroutput filesince you don't have 110% of free space on the derive where current DB sits. How to defragment with the Eseutil utility (Eseutil.exe) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/192185 Before running offline defrag make sure that onlinemaintenancecleaned up the space and you have enough white space to to reduce. White space shows in 1221 is the approx amount of space you can reduce with offline defrag. Online defragmentation has completed a full pass on the database; Review the Application log for event 1221 to make sure that online maintenance finished successfully http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb217852.aspx Why you shouldn't consider it as regularmaintenance. Is offline defragmentation considered regular Exchange maintenance? http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2004/07/08/177574.aspx Amit Tank | MVP Exchange Server | MCITP: EMA | MCSA: M | http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com