hello, we have exchange 2007 sp2 with a 46GB mailbox database.edb and 9GB tmp.edb. I have archived mail in all mailboxes but the size has increased from 40gb to 46gb. should I be concerned about this?`joe prior

The database size never decreases on its own. A 46GB database isn't anything to be concerned about. So I can't say that you have anything to be concerned about.Ed Crowley MVP "There are seldom good technological solutions to behavioral problems."

The database size never decreases on its own. A 46GB database isn't anything to be concerned about. So I can't say that you have anything to be concerned about.Ed Crowley MVP "There are seldom good technological solutions to behavioral problems."

Check the app event log and look for event 1221. That will tell you how much free space is avail in the database. After you remove a message from a mailbox, it retained in the dumpster for the set deleted item retention time that is defined at the database or mailbox level.

after archiving more mail the edb size is now 52gb. Can you tell me why reducing mailbox sizes cause the database to increase in size?`joe prior

Check the app event log and look for event 1221. That will tell you how much free space is avail in the database. After you remove a message from a mailbox, it retained in the dumpster for the set deleted item retention time that is defined at the database or mailbox level.

Hi Josh2009, Any updates? For more information about Event ID 1221, please see: Eseutil /D Defragmentation Mode http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997972(v=exchg.80).aspx Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact tnmff@microsoft.com.Frank Wang TechNet Community Support

Hi Josh2009, Any updates? For more information about Event ID 1221, please see: Eseutil /D Defragmentation Mode http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997972(v=exchg.80).aspx Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact tnmff@microsoft.com.Frank Wang TechNet Community Support

event id report 99mb free after defrag. apologies I forgot to mention that I imported archived mail into various mailboxes before archiving again. This would explain the edb size increase. However, after archiving, the individual mailbox sizes are reduced, but the edb file has not. I see that it will not reduce on it's own but I would have expected a few gb at least of free space, not just 99mb.`joe prior

Not until the deleted item retention period, which is 14 days by default, expires because the content is retained in the "dumpster".Ed Crowley MVP "There are seldom good technological solutions to behavioral problems."

thanks for clarifying that. when I run the command Get-TransportConfig, the maxdumpstersizeperstoragegroup is 18mb. does this mean that only 18mb is stored in deleted items? can you also tell me what is the size limit for an exchange 2007 sp2 mailbox database.edb. `joe prior

That setting is not related. Check the properties of the mailbox database. That is where the deleted item retention time is set. THe size limit for Enterprise is "unlimited" . For Exchange 2007 standard, see: How to Modify a Database Size Limit

And it's a time, not a maximum size.Ed Crowley MVP "There are seldom good technological solutions to behavioral problems."

I have exchange 2007 standard and the database is 53GB. Will the database dismount if I don't increase the limit in the registry?`joe prior

I have edited the registry to allow a 75GB limit. I would say there is a lot of unused space in the existing edb file so I am considering creating a new one and moving the mailboxes rather than an offline defrag which is risky I believe. `joe prior The risk is low, but it requires downtime so moving the mailboxes to a new store is always recommended over doing an offline defrag. If this is the first database, restart the System Attendant service after removing the database to recreate the SA mailbox in the new store.

I have exchange 2007 standard and the database is 53GB. Will the database dismount if I don't increase the limit in the registry? `joe prior Yes. There will be events in the logs warning that the database will be dismounted as well.

Agreed. And you can temp enable circular logging for both databases during the mailbox move otherwise large amount of Transaction Logs will be created. Understanding Transaction Logging http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb331951(v=exchg.80).aspx Frank Wang TechNet Community Support

But understand that doing so will impact your recoverability in the event of a failure. Depending on your SLAs and tolerance for lost data, you may consider it a better option to run frequent backups to keep the log files truncated. Ed Crowley MVP "There are seldom good technological solutions to behavioral problems."

I have edited the registry to allow a 75GB limit. I would say there is a lot of unused space in the existing edb file so I am considering creating a new one and moving the mailboxes rather than an offline defrag which is risky I believe.`joe prior

Agreed. Enabling the circular logging is just for moving mailboxes at the moment. @Josh, Any updates?Frank Wang TechNet Community Support

will postpose creating a new edb file for the moment.`joe prior