How to Configure Messaging Records Management Logging

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

This topic explains how to use the Exchange Management Shell to configure messaging records management (MRM) logging in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Regularly monitoring log files is good practice because it helps you to track system performance, correct any problems that may arise, anticipate issues before they occur, and plan for improvements to your Exchange organization.

You can use the Set-MailboxServer cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell to:

• Configure the location of the MRM log directory with the LogPathForManagedFolders parameter. The MRM log directory (named Managed Folder Assistant by default) is the directory where MRM log files are stored.

• Configure the maximum size of the MRM log directory with the LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders parameter.

• Configure the maximum size of MRM log files with the LogFileSizeLimitForManagedFolders parameter.

• Configure the maximum age of MRM log files with the LogFileAgeLimitForManagedFolders parameter.

• Enable or disable retention log entries with the RetentionLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter.

• Enable or disable MRM journaling log entries with the JournalingLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter.

• Enable or disable folder log entries with the FolderLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter.

• Enable or disable e-mail message subject line logging with the SubjectLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter.

Before You Begin

To perform the following procedures, the account you use must be delegated the following:

• Exchange Organization Administrator role

To perform the following procedures on a computer that has the Mailbox server role installed, you must log on by using an account that is a member of the local Administrators group on that computer.

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange 2007, see Permission Considerations.

Also, before you perform the procedures in this topic, be aware of the following:

• To perform the configuration tasks in this topic, you use the Set-MailboxServer cmdlet. For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer reference topic.

  Note

  In addition to setting logging settings, you can also use the Set-MailboxServer cmdlet to schedule the managed folder assistant by using the ManagedFoldedAssistantSchedule parameter.

• To view the current MRM logging settings, use the Get-MailboxServer cmdlet. For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Get-MailboxServer reference topic.

Log File Format and Data

MRM log files are in tab-delimited format. Files in this format can be imported into most database and spreadsheet applications, such as Microsoft Excel.

Each log entry contains the following information:

• Current date and time

• MRM action type (retention, journal, administratively initiated folder provisioning, and user-initiated folder provisioning)

• Full path of folders (root level folder and subfolders)

• Mailbox owner (domain\alias)

The following items are logged for retention and journal operations only:

• Message subject

• Message received date (Message sent date for sent items)

• Message sender (If the item was sent on behalf of someone, both the actual sender and the person on whose behalf the item was sent are included.)

• Internet message ID (This is useful for locating a specific item when several have the same subject and sender.)

• Message class

• Retention action taken (for items beyond their retention settings only)

• Journal destination address (for journaled items only)

Enabling MRM Logging

Because MRM logging is not enabled by default, you must first enable it before you can perform configuration tasks.

To enable MRM logging

1. Configure MRM on the server. For more information about setting up MRM, see Understanding Messaging Records Management.

2. Use the Set-MailboxServer cmdlet to set at least one of the following parameters to $true:

   • RetentionLogForManagedFoldersEnabled (default setting is $false)

   • JournalingLogForManagedFoldersEnabled (default setting is $false)

   • FolderLogForManagedFoldersEnabled (default setting is $false)

   • SubjectLogForManagedFoldersEnabled (default setting is $false)

For more information, see the sections about enabling MRM logging later in this topic.

1. Use the Get-MailboxServer cmdlet to verify that the following parameter settings are in-range:

   • LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders greater than 0 (default setting is Unlimited)

   • LogFileSizeLimitForManagedForManagedFolders greater than 0 (default setting is 10 megabytes (MB))

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer and the Get-MailboxServer reference topics.

Configuring the Location of the MRM Log Directory

By default, the MRM logs are stored in the <Exchange installation path>\Logging\Managed Folder Assistant directory. The directory must be local to the Exchange 2007 computer.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to set the location of the MRM log directory

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -LogPathForManagedFolders <MRM folder path>
  

  For example, to set the MRM log path to C:\Example\Managed Folder Assistant on an Exchange 2007 computer that is named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 -LogPathForManagedFolders "C:\Example\Managed Folder Assistant"
  

Configuring the Maximum Size of the MRM Log Directory

To specify the size limit for all managed folder log files from a single message database, you can use the LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders parameter. By default, there is no size limit for the MRM log directory. If you set a size limit for this directory and the size limit is reached for a set of MRM log files from a message database, the oldest files are deleted to make room for new files.

The size of the managed folder log files is calculated as the total size of all log files that have the same name prefix. For example, for a file with the name Managed_Folder_Assistant[Storage Group 01][Mailbox Database 01]20061018-1.log, the prefix is Managed_Folder_Assistant[Storage Group 01][Mailbox Database 01]. If you rename log files or copy other files into the managed folder log directory, these files are not counted in the log files size calculation. The managed folder log files for each message database have a unique name prefix. Therefore, this limit applies to the log files for each message database, not to all the log files in the directory. If you have more than one message database, the maximum size of the managed folder log directory is not the size specified in the LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders parameter because the managed folder log files that are generated by different databases have different name prefixes. The maximum size of the managed folder log directory will be n times the specified value if you have n message databases.

You must specify either an integer or unlimited for the LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders parameter. When you enter a value, qualify the value with one of the following units:

• B (bytes)

• KB (kilobytes)

• MB (megabytes)

• GB (gigabytes)

• TB (terabytes)

Unqualified values are treated as bytes.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to configure the maximum size of the MRM log directory

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders <size>
  

  For example, to set the MRM log directory size limit to 1 GB on a server named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 -LogDirectorySizeLimitForManagedFolders "1 GB"
  

Configuring the Maximum Size of MRM Log Files

By default, the maximum size of each MRM log file is 10 MB. When an MRM log file reaches its maximum size, Exchange 2007 opens a new MRM log file. This process continues until either of the following conditions is true:

• The MRM log directory reaches its specified maximum size. In this case, new log files will continue to be created but older ones will be deleted. For more information about how the maximum size is measured and how to change the maximum size of the MRM log directory, see "Configuring the Maximum Size of the MRM Log Directory" earlier in this topic.

• An MRM log file reaches its specified maximum age. In this case, the log file that has reached its maximum age is deleted, and new log files continue to be created. For more information about how to change the maximum age for a MRM log file, see "Configuring the Maximum Age of MRM Log Files" later in this topic.

After the maximum size or age limit is reached, circular logging deletes the oldest MRM log files.

When you enter a value, qualify the value with one of the following units:

• B (bytes)

• KB (kilobytes)

• MB (megabytes)

• GB (gigabytes)

• TB (terabytes)

Unqualified values are treated as bytes.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to configure the maximum size of MRM log files

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -LogFileSizeLimitForManagedFolders <size>
  

  For example, to set the MRM log file size limit to 20 MB on a server named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 -LogFileSizeLimitForManagedFolders "20 MB"
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer reference topic.

Configuring the Maximum Age of MRM Log Files

By default, the maximum age for any MRM log file is 30 days. MRM log files are deleted if either of the following conditions is true:

• The MRM log directory reaches its specified maximum size.

• An MRM log file reaches its specified maximum age.

To specify a log file age, enter it as a time span: dd.hh:mm:ss where d = days, h = hours, m = minutes, and s = seconds. For example, to specify a 30-day interval, enter 30.00:00:00.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to configure the maximum age of MRM log files

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -LogFileAgeLimitForManagedFolders dd.hh:mm:ss
  

  For example, to set the MRM log file age limit to two weeks on a server named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 - LogFileAgeLimitForManagedFolders 14.00:00:00
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer reference topic.

Enabling or Disabling Message Retention Log Entries

You can use the RetentionLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter to record whether the managed folder assistant logs information about messages that have reached their retention limits. The two possible values for this parameter are $true or $false. If you specify $true, information about messages that have been processed because they have reached their retention limits will be logged. The default value is $false.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable retention log entries

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -RetentionLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <true/false>
  

  For example, to enable logging of information about messages that have reached their retention limits on a server named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 -RetentionLogForManagedFoldersEnabled $true
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer reference topic.

Enabling or Disabling Journaling Log Entries

Journaling log entries record when information in a managed folder is journaled to another location. You can use the JournalingLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter to specify whether MRM journaling log entries are enabled. The two possible values for this parameter are $true or $false. If you specify $true, information about journaled information is logged. The default value is $false.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable journaling log entries

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -JournalingLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <true/false>
  

  For example, to enable logging of journaling information on a server named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 -JournalingLogForManagedFoldersEnabled $true
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer reference topic.

Enabling or Disabling MRM Folder Log Entries

Folder log entries record when managed folders are created or deleted by the managed folder assistant. You can use the FolderLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter to specify whether MRM folder log entries are enabled. The two possible values for this parameter are $true or $false. If you specify $true, information about folders that have managed folder mailbox policies applied to them is logged. The default value is $false.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable MRM folder log entries

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -FolderLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <true/false>
  

  For example, to enable folder logging on a server named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 -FolderLogForManagedFoldersEnabled $true
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer reference topic.

Enabling or Disabling E-Mail Message Subject Line Log Entries

You can use the SubjectLogForManagedFoldersEnabled parameter to specify whether logging of subject lines of e-mail messages is enabled. When enabled, the subject lines of e-mail messages that are being processed by the managed folder assistant are logged. The two possible values for this parameter are $true or $false. If you specify $false, the subject of messages will be blank in the managed folder logs. The default value is $false.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable e-mail message subject line log entries

• Run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity <server> -SubjectLogForManagedFoldersEnabled <true/false>
  

  For example, to enable logging of e-mail message subject lines on a server named Exchange01, run the following command:

  Set-MailboxServer -Identity Exchange01 -SubjectLogForManagedFoldersEnabled $true
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailboxServer reference topic.

For More Information

To learn more about MRM, see Understanding Messaging Records Management.

To learn more about journaling, see Overview of Journaling.

For more information about using the Exchange Management Shell, see Using the Exchange Management Shell.