Tools for Troubleshooting

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

The topics in this section help you identify the appropriate tools for troubleshooting your Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 environment and provide steps you can take to diagnose and resolve problems that you may encounter while using Exchange 2007. The following topics will help you prepare to troubleshoot:

Tools to Manage and Troubleshoot Exchange 2007

In addition to Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins, the Exchange Management Console, the Exchange Management Shell, and Active Directory Users and Computers, you can use many other tools to manage and troubleshoot an Exchange 2007 organization. The following table lists these tools.

Some of these tools are installed with Microsoft Windows, some with Exchange, and others can be found via the links provided in the table below. Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) supports the Exchange tools that you can download from the Download Center. To obtain help or to report a problem with a tool, contact CSS. For more information about how to contact CSS, see Microsoft Help and Support.

Warning

Some tools can cause serious, sometimes irreversible, problems if used incorrectly. Before using tools in your production environment, always familiarize yourself with them on test servers first. Make sure to read the documentation associated with any tool and understand the risks involved.

Tools to manage and troubleshoot an Exchange 2007 organization

Tool name Description Run from Install from

Active Directory Users and Computers

(dsa.msc)

Use this MMC snap-in to manage mail recipients and other Active Directory objects.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.

Installed during Exchange setup.

ADSI Edit

(adsiedit.msc)

Use for low-level editing of Active Directory.

Command prompt

<drive>:\Program Files\Support Tools

Download from the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 CD:

<drive>:\support\tools\suptools.msi

Application Deployment Wizard

(exapppacker.exe)

Use to package and deploy Exchange store applications on the Exchange store.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Exchange SDK, point to Exchange SDK Development Tools, and then click Application Deployment Wizard.

Download from Exchange SDK Development Tools.

Application Security Module

Use to access and modify XML content provided by the security descriptor.

Command prompt

<drive>:\Program Files\Exchange SDK\SDK\Samples\Security

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SDK.

Cluster Administrator

(cluadmin.exe)

Use to configure, control, and monitor clusters.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.

Installed by default with Windows Server 2003.

Disable Certificate Verification

(Certchk.exe)

Use in test environments to disable certificate authentication for Microsoft Outlook Mobile Access.

Note

This tool is not recommended for production environments.

Mobile device

(You can also install on the mobile device.)

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server Disable Certificate Verification.

DNS Resolver (DNSDiag)

(Dnsdiag.exe)

Use to troubleshoot Domain Name System (DNS) issues. The tool simulates the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service's internal code path and prints diagnostic messages that indicate how the DNS resolution is proceeding.

Command prompt

<drive>:\windows\system32\inetsrv

(Dnsdiag.exe must be installed at this location.)

Download from Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools.

DSACLS

(dsacls.exe)

DSACLS is a command-line tool that you can use to query and change permissions and security attributes of Active Directory objects. It is the command-line equivalent of the Security tab in the Windows 2000 Server Active Directory snap-in tools such as Active Directory Users and Computers and Active Directory Sites and Services. For more information about DSACLS, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 281146, How to Use Dsacls.exe in Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000.

Command prompt

Download from the Windows Server 2003 CD:

<drive>:\support\tools\suptools.msi

Error Code Look-up

(Err.exe)

Use to determine error values from decimal and hexadecimal error codes in Windows products.

Command prompt

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server Error Code Look-up.

Event Viewer

(eventvwr.msc)

Use this MMC snap-in to view logged events, such as errors and warnings.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Event Viewer.

Installed during Windows setup.

Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack

(Exchange Management Pack.akm)

Use to monitor the performance, availability, and security of Exchange 2003, alerting you to events that have a direct effect on server availability, while filtering out events that require no action.

Microsoft Operations Manager

Download from Management Pack for Exchange Server 2007 for MOM 2005.

Requires Microsoft Operations Manager. For more information about Microsoft Operations Manager, see Download MOM 2005 Service Pack 1.

Exchange Explorer

(ExchExplorer.exe)

Use to explore Exchange store folders, items, and their property values. Create property and content class definitions and configure their schema scope.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Exchange SDK, point to Exchange SDK Development Tools, and then click Exchange Explorer.

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SDK.

Exchange Server Database Utilities

(Eseutil.exe)

Use to perform offline database procedures, such as defragmentation and integrity checking.

Command prompt

<drive>:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin

Installed during Exchange setup.

Exchange Store Event Sink Wizard

(mxeswiz.dll)

Use to create a Microsoft Visual Basic project for a Component Object Model (COM) class of correctly implemented event interfaces and a module of functions and routines that use event sink support interfaces.

Microsoft Visual Basic development system

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SDK.

(Use the Add-In Manager in Visual Basic to make the Event Sink Wizard available on the Visual Basic Add-Ins menu.)

Exchange Server Jetstress

Use as a benchmarking tool to validate your storage subsystem.

Command prompt

Download from:

Microsoft Exchange Server Jetstress Tool (64 bit)

Microsoft Exchange Server Jetstress Tool (32 bit)

Exchange Profile Analyzer

(epa.msi)

Collect estimated statistical information from a single mailbox store or from across an entire Exchange Server organization. Use the collected data for tasks such as analyzing the performance and health of a server that has mailboxes.

 

Download from:

Microsoft Exchange Server Profile Analyzer (64 bit)

Microsoft Exchange Server Profile Analyzer (32 bit)

For more information about the Server Profile Analyzer tool, see Microsoft Exchange Server Profile Analyzer.

Exchange Store TreeView Control

(Extreeview.ocx)

Use to display a hierarchical list of node objects that corresponds to folders in the Exchange store.

Command prompt

<drive>:\Program Files\Exchange SDK\Tools\ExchExplorer

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SDK.

Run ExchTools.msi after downloading.

Exchange Stress and Performance 2007

Use to test stress and performance. This tool simulates large numbers of client sessions by concurrently accessing one or more protocol servers.

Command prompt

Download from:

For more information about the ESP tool, see Microsoft Exchange Server Stress and Performance Tool.

GUIDGen

(GUIDGEN.EXE)

Use to generate globally unique identifiers (GUIDs).

Command prompt

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server GUID Generator.

Importer for Lotus cc:Mail Archives

(ccmarch.exe)

Use to import Lotus cc:Mail archive files to folders in an Exchange 2003 mailbox store or to one or more .pst files.

Command prompt

Download from Exchange Server Importer for Lotus cc:Mail Archives.

Information Store Integrity Checker

(isinteg.exe)

Use to find and remove errors in the public and private information store databases. Intended for disaster recovery situations and not for routine maintenance.

Command prompt

Download from the Exchange 2007 CD:

<drive>:\setup\i386\exchange\bin

Information Store Viewer (MDBVU32)

(mdbvu32.exe)

Use to view or set details about a user's message storage files. These files are the private information store, the personal folder file (.pst file), and the offline folder file (.ost file). This tool browses storage, address book, and other MAPI providers by executing MAPI calls specified by a user.

Command prompt

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server Information Store Viewer (MDBVU32).

Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager

(iis.msc)

Use to configure Microsoft Outlook Web Access settings.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

In Control Panel, install by clicking Add/Remove Programs, and then clicking Add/Remove Windows Components.

Inter-Organization Replication

(exscfg.exe; exssrv.exe)

Use to replicate public folder information (including free/busy information) between Exchange organizations. Can be used between forests.

Command prompt

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server Inter-Organization Replication.

LDP

(ldp.exe)

Use to perform Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) searches against Active Directory.

Command prompt

<drive>:\Program Files\Support Tools

Available on the Windows Server 2003 CD:

<drive>:\support\tools

Load Generator

(Loadgen.msi)

Use as a benchmarking tool to test the response of servers to mail loads.

For setup and installation instructions, see the documentation provided with the download package.

Download from:

For more information about Exchange Load Generator, see Overview of the Microsoft Exchange Load Generator.

Managed Exchange TreeView Control

(ExchangeTreeViewControl.dll)

Use in managed Windows applications to display a hierarchical list of nodes that corresponds to a mail or public folder hierarchy. Add, delete, and move folders in the Exchange store.

Command prompt

<drive>:\Program Files\Exchange SDK\Tools\ExchTreeViewControl

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SDK.

To use this tool, you must add a reference to it in a Microsoft Visual Studio .NET project, and then add it to the toolbox in the project.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA)

GUI:  MBSA.exe

Command line:  mbsacli.exe

Use to scan local or remote systems for common configuration errors and to verify security best practices.

Command prompt

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SDK.

Microsoft Error Reporting

Exchange 2007 uses Microsoft Error Reporting (also known as Watson 2.0) to collect crash dumps and debug information. It enables administrators to track and address errors relating to the Windows operating system, Windows components, and applications like Exchange 2007. This service gives administrators and users the opportunity to send data about errors to Microsoft and to receive information about errors. Administrators can use Microsoft Error Reporting to address customer problems in a timely manner and to help improve the quality of Microsoft products.

Command prompt

To learn more about configuring Microsoft Error Reporting, see How to: Configure Microsoft Error Reporting.

MTA Check

(Mtacheck.exe)

Use when the message transfer agent (MTA) will not start, because of corruption or suspected corruption in the MTA database.

This tool provides a soft recovery of a corrupted MTA database.

Command prompt

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server MTA Check.

Network Monitor

(netmon.exe)

Use to diagnose issues with server connectivity.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Network Monitor.

In Control Panel, install by clicking Add/Remove Programs, and then clicking Add/Remove Windows Components.

Performance Monitor

(perfmon.msc)

Use for establishing a baseline of performance and for troubleshooting performance issues.

Start menu

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Performance.

Installed during Windows setup.

Process Monitor

(procmon.exe)

Use to monitor real-time file system, registry, and process/thread activity.

Command prompt

For more information about Process Monitor, see Process Monitor.

RPC Ping utility

(rpings.exe and rpingc.exe)

Use to confirm the remote procedure call (RPC) connectivity between the computer that is running Exchange and any of the client workstations on the network.

Command prompt

Download from Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools.

Telnet

(telnet.exe)

Use to troubleshoot Exchange mail flow.

Command prompt

Installed during Windows setup.

WinRoute

(winroute.exe)

Use to connect to the link state port (TCP/IP 691) on an Exchange server and extract the link state information for an organization.

Command prompt

Download from Microsoft Exchange Server WinRoute.

For More Information

For more information about tools related to Exchange, see Exchange Server Tools Documentation. For information about discrepancies in Exchange version build numbers, see Exchange Server 2007: Platforms, Editions, and Versions.