The Microsoft Exchange Server Quota Message Service

Collapse All

Topic Last Modified: 2007-06-26

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Quota Message Service (QMS) is a tool that enables custom quota messages to be generated without modifying DLLs or using an event sink. These messages inform users that they have exceeded their message quotas.

Quota Message Service is a mailbox agent, and uses template messages to format the body of quota messages it generates.

Important:
The Quota Message Service is not supported on a cluster.

Supported Versions of Exchange Server

The Quota Message Service is supported on the following versions of Exchange Server:

Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later versions
Exchange 2000 Server. Must have Hotfix 225595_enu_i386.exe or a later version installed on the Exchange server before running the Quota Message Service.

Installing Quota Message Service

Installation occurs in two stages. The first stage is preparing the service mailbox and populating the quota messages. The second stage is installing and configuring the service.

Server Mailboxes

You must have an account for the Quota Message Service with an associated mailbox on each server. This mailbox should be monitored so that responses to quota messages can be viewed, or the quota message template should clearly instruct the user not to respond or reply. Limitations must be set on this mailbox so that no messages can be sent to it.

Create a mailbox and populate quota messages

Run Active Directory Users and Computers, open the Quota Message Service account properties, and set the associated external account to yourself if you intend to disable the user object.

Note:
If you are using Microsoft Windows® 2000 Server, you also need to go to the Advanced Features tab and set Mailbox rights to grant SYSTEM full mailbox rights. For Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, you do not have to grant permissions when Quota Message Service will be run as a local service.

This step applies only to Microsoft Windows® 2000 Server. On the Advanced Features tab, set Mailbox rights to grant SYSTEM full mailbox rights. Set the associated external account to yourself if you intend to disable the user object.
Configure a client profile to log on to the quota service mailbox.
Copy the folders in quotamsg.pst to the mailbox used by the service. The QuotaMessages folder must be at the root, not a subfolder of Inbox.

Note:
The quotamsg.pst is currently part of the installation (.msi). You will have to have installed the Exchange Quota Message Service to get this file.
Customize quota messages. For information about how to do this, see “Customizing Quota Messages” later in this topic.
Optional – To modify the From: field used for quota messages, see “Modifying the From: field on Quota Messages” later in this topic.

Note:
The quotamsg.pst is currently part of the installation (.msi). You will have to have installed the Exchange Quota Message Service to get this file.

Downloading and Installing the Quota Message Service

Download the Quota Message Service from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=55032 to a directory of your choice.

Double-click ExQMS.msi and follow the instructions in the Exchange Quota Message Service Setup Wizard. You can install the Quota Message Service on any location on the Exchange server.

Setting the Registry Entries

When setup is complete, you must set two additional registry entries to fully configure the service.

Caution:
Incorrectly editing the registry can cause serious problems that may require that you reinstall the operating system. Problems that results from editing the registry incorrectly may not be able to be resolved. Before editing the registry, back up any valuable data.

Set the registry entries

Start Registry Editor (regedit).
Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIs\<servername>\<mdb guid>.
Create a REG_DWORD value named Local System Ignores Quota and set the value to 1. This value must be set on each <mdb guid> entry. Without this, the quota service will be unable to save messages to users who are over shutoff (prohibit send and receive) quotas. If the Exchange server does not use shutoff quotas, this value can be set to 0, or omitted.
Click OK.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIs\<servername>\<mdb guid>.
Create a REG_DWORD value named Disable Quota Messages and set the value to 1. This value must be set on each <mdb guid> entry. This value prevents the MSExchangeIS process from generating internal quota messages.
Click OK.
Restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service. Open a command prompt and type NET STOP MSExchangeIS, and then type NET START MSExchangeIS. Or, you can use the Services snap-in.
Start the Quota Message Service through the Services panel or the command line (NET Start MSExchangeQuotaSvc).

Using the Quota Message Service

With the Quota Message Service, you can perform tasks such as start a manual quota run, customize quota messages, and modify the From: field on quota messages.

Starting a Manual Quota Run

When the Quota Message Service is installed, a quota maintenance option is added to the shortcut menu of the Server object in Exchange System Manager (ESM). To start a manual quota run, follow these steps.

Start a manual quota run from ESM

Right-click the server object in Exchange System Manager (ESM). From the All Tasks menu, select Start Quota Maintenance.
Doing a manual run resets the run interval so that the next run will occur at the completion time plus the scheduled run interval, which defaults to 24 hours. Therefore, if you start the service at 4:00 in the afternoon, it will run immediately, and then wait for the scheduled run interval before the next run. If two hours later you run the quota service manually from admin, the next run will be at the run interval plus whatever time that the current pass finishes.

Customizing Quota Messages

Quota template messages are stored under a folder named QuotaMessages at the root of the mailbox. Each folder under QuotaMessages is named with the decimal value of an lcid. To create localized quota messages, create a folder that has the appropriate lcid name and copy quota template messages to it. Customize these messages to change the text for a language.

The parent messages for quota template messages have the subjects Warning, NoSend, and NoSendReceive.

The embedded message in each of these is the quota template message which will be used to populate properties of the generate quota messages.

The body of the quota message template can contain references to insertion strings that will be replaced with information about a mailbox.

%1 - current mailbox size

%2 - size at which mailbox will receive warning messages

%3 - size at which the mailbox will no longer be able to send

%4 - size at which the mailbox can no longer send or receive

%5 - difference if any between warning threshold and current mailbox size

%6 - difference if any between send prohibited threshold and current mailbox size

%7 - difference if any between send and receive prohibited threshold and current mailbox size

If a limit is not set, do not reference it in the quota message template. No limit is displayed as -1.

Modifying the From: field on Quota Messages

Modify the From: field

Log on the mailbox that you want to appear in the From: field.
Compose a new message.
Blind-carbon-copy (Bcc:) the sender.
Set the subject that you want for the quota message template.
Set the body that you want by using the insertion strings previously listed to fill in mailbox details. Do not reference inserts other those documented earlier, or the service could crash.
Send the mail and wait for it to be delivered.
Embed the message as delivered in the appropriate quota message template.
Restart the quota service.

Limitations of the Quota Message Service

The Quota Message Service does not provide quota messages for Public Folders.