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Tip: Configure Public Folder Replication in Exchange Server 2010

With Exchange Server 2010, the public folder hierarchy is replicated automatically when there are two or more public folder databases. Because each Mailbox server can have only one public folder database, you must install and configure at least two Mailbox servers in your Exchange organization for automatic public folder hierarchy replication to occur. If you want to replicate public folder data between Mailbox servers, you must create replicas.

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To configure basic replication options, follow these steps:
1. In the Exchange Management Console, right-click the public folder database, and then select Properties.
2. In the Properties dialog box, on the Replication tab, use the following options to configure replication:

  • Replication Interval Determines when changes to public folders are replicated.Select a specific time (Always Run, Run Every Hour, Run Every 2 Hours, Run Every 4 Hours, or Never Run), or select Use Custom Schedule and then click Customize to define the schedule.
  • Replication Interval For “Always Run” (Minutes) Sets the interval (in minutes) that’s used when you select Always Run as the replication option.The default is 15 minutes.
  • Replication Message Size Limit (KB) Sets the size limit (in kilobytes) for messages that are sent between public folder databases to replicate content.The default size limit is 300 kilobytes (KB).This setting does not affect the size of messages posted to a public folder.

3. Click OK to save the settings. In the Exchange Management Shell, you can control replication of public folder data using the Set-PublicFolderDatabase cmdlet. Here’s an overview of the syntax and usage.

Syntax:

 

Set-PublicFolderDatabase -Identity PublicFolderDatabaseIdentity 
[-AllowFileRestore <$true | $false>]
[-BackgroundDatabaseMaintenence <$true | $false>]
[-CustomReferralServerList ServerList]
[-DeletedItemRetention Interval]
[-DomainController FullyQualifiedName]
[-EventHistoryRetentionPeriod Interval]
[-IssueWarningQuota Limit]
[-ItemRetentionPeriod Limit]
[-MaintenenceSchedule Schedule]
[-MaxItemSize Limit] 
[-MountAtStartup <$true | $false>] 
[-Name NewName] 
[-ProhibitPostQuota Limit] 
[-QuotaNotificationSchedule Schedule] 
[-ReplicationMessageSize Limit] 
[-ReplicationPeriod Interval] 
[-ReplicationSchedule Schedule] 
[-RetainDeletedItemsUntilBackup <$true | $false>] 
[-UseCustomReferralServerList <$true | $false>]

Usage:

Set-PublicFolderDatabase -Identity "Public DB" 
    -ReplicationMessageSize "3MB" 
    -ReplicationPeriod 15 
    -ReplicationSchedule "Always"

From the Microsoft Press book Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant by William R. Stanek.

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