Mailbox Database Size/White Space Reduction in a DAG

I have several large databases in which I'm moving mailboxes off of in an attempt to prevent my LUNs from running out of disk space. As well, I have several mailboxes of users who have left the company. My questions are as follows:
1. When I run remove-mailbox -id "some mailbox" -permanent $true, the mailbox is deleted from Exchange relatively instantly. Will Exchange recoup the white space that is left behind after the mailbox has been deleted so that the
database shrinks in size? Or will it just start writing over the white space rather than growing the size of the database?
2. Perataining to mailboxes that have been moved, if "Keep Deleted Mailboxes for" is set to 4 days on the database that holds mailboxes that I'm moving off, will the database hold onto the mailbox (even though it has successfully been moved to
another database) for the duration of the "Keep Deleted Mailboxes for" setting? Or will the mailbox be hard deleted after the move completes successfully?
3. As part of Online Maintenance, will Exchange defrag a databse and decrease the white space, thereby shrinking the database size or will I have to take it offline to do that?
4. What are the procedures to perform an Offline Defrag of an Exchange Databse? How risky is this?

Hello,
To answer your questions:
1.   When and online database defrag completes a pass on the database it will reclaim this as whitespace in the database. It will not however reclaim space on the disk by shrinking the .edb file. An offline defrag is required for that.
2.   Moved mailbox will not be hard deleted until the 4 day retention period has past, unless you manually purge them using Remove-StoreMailbox.
3.   Related to the answer for number 1. Exchange will fill whitespace as mailboxes grow, but it will not reclaim disk space.
4.   In a DAG you will you need to dismount the mailbox database and run eseutil /d against the active database copy. This is a relatively low risk procedure, but requires databases to be offline thus interrupting mailbox access. It can also
take quite along time depending on the database size. The rate of defrag estimated by MS is 9 GB/hr. Here is a reference:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/192185/en-us
For these types of situations my preference (If disk space allows) is to move all mailboxes to a fresh database then delete the database with excessive white space

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Exchange 2013 Database Size didn't reduction after user move another DB.

Hi, I have two Exchange Server Ex01, Ex02 and two database DB1 and DB2. Already we move few user DB1 to DB2 but DB1 database size didn't reduction after move user.
Md. Ramin Hossain

Hi ,
If you delete or move a mailbox from a database will not create a free space on that database.Instead a white-space will be created on that database during the online defragmentation and that will not make any changes on the physical size of the database
.Then that white-space will be used when a new mailbox is created on that same database.
In case if you wanted to convert those white space to free space then you need to do an offline defragmentaion and that will make the physical change in the size of the database
Note : For offline defragmentation we should have the database to be in a dismounted state.
Command for offline defragmentation :
eseutil /d "path of the edb file"
But my suggestion would be to move the mailboxes to the newly created database instead of doing the offline defragmentation to attain the free space .Because it would take too much of time for the large databases to get completed.
Reference link for offline defragmentation :
http://exchangeserverpro.com/defrag-exchange-2010-mailbox-database/
Command to see the white space on the mailbox database :
ESEUTIL /MS "path of the edb file"
To execute the above we need the database to be in a dismounted state.
Reference Link :
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/4059c686-7c02-483b-9b15-891ca55295fe/running-the-eseutil-command-on-each-exchange-database-to-verify-database-whitespace?forum=exchangesvrgeneral
Please reply me if anything is unclear.
Thanks & Regards S.Nithyanandham

What is the best practice on mailbox database size in exchange 2013

Hi,
does anybody have any links to good sites that gives some pros/cons when it comes to the mailbox database sizes in exchange 2013? I've tried to google it - but hasn't found any good answers. I would like to know if I really need more than 5 mailbox databases
or not on my exchange environment.

Hi
As far as I know, 2TB is recommended maximum database size for Exchange 2013 databases.
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Terence Yu
TechNet Community Support

Mailbox database size before & after backup

Hi there
i recently made a similar thread and someone told me that i should do it here so here is my issue :
i've been assigned to do a specific report related to exchange and its backup
so what we want is a report that would give us the global size of all our mailbox databases before and after the backup ( even the size of the logs before and after)
(example : we have a mailbox database X: , we need to go inside the data folder, and retrieve the size of the .edb
then do the same thing with the logs, go inside the logs folder, and retrieve the logs size )
i was wondering if anyone ever managed to pull a script that does similar things, given the fact that i ve never worked with powershell and my knowledge is kinda limited in that area
Thanks

Hi Amassuo,
for finished scripts that do things, check out the
gallery. If you want to learn powershell (I might be biased, but I highly recommend it), check out the
learning center.
Regarding your specific issue, you can check the free space on a specific disk by running this powershell command:
Get-WmiObject win32_logicaldisk -Filter "DeviceID = 'C:'" | Select -ExpandProperty FreeSpace
Comparing before/after will get you the space differential (adapt drive letter in filter as needed).
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There's no place like 127.0.0.1

Best practice on mailbox database size & we need how many server for deployment exchange server 2013

Dear all,
We have an server that runs Microsoft exchange server 2007 with the following specification:
4 servers: Hub&CAS1 & Hub&CAS2 & Mailbox1 & Mailbox2
Operating System : Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64
6 mailbox databases
1500 Mailboxes
We need to upgrade our exchange server from 2007 to 2013 to fulfill the following requirment:
I want to upgrade the exchange server 2007 to exchange server 2013 and implement the following details:
1500 mailboxes
10GB or 15GB mailbox quota for each user
How many
servers and databases are
required for this migration<ins cite="mailto:Mohammad%20Ashouri" datetime="2014-05-18T22:41"></ins>?
Number of the servers:
Number of the databases:
Size of each database:
Many thanks.

You will also need to check server role requirement in exchange 2013. Please go through this link to calculate the server role requirement : http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2013/05/14/released-exchange-2013-server-role-requirements-calculator.aspx
2TB is recommended maximum database size for Exchange 2013 databases.
Here is the complete checklist to upgrade from exchange 2007 to 2013 : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff805032%28v=exchg.150%29.aspx
Meanwhile, to reduce the risks and time consumed during the completion of migration process, you can have a look at this proficient application(http://www.exchangemigrationtool.com/) that would also be
a good approach for 1500 users. It will help you to ensure the data security during the migration between exchange 2007 and 2013.

Mailbox database Size

Hi,
   I have DAG enabled Exchange Server 2010 installed with three mailbox databases having sizes 282GB,162GB and 129GB respectively. I have started with a total of 250GB in 2010 and now it has reached a size more than 650GB.
   It has become very difficult to take the backup of such huge database files now and restoring it in case of a DR.
   Presently I have not enabled online archiving in any of these mailboxes mainly because most of the PCs are installed with outlook 2007 which doesn't show online archive.Of course OWA is another candidate to see those mails.
   Please suggest a best practice to reduce the size of these mailbox databases without losing any of the mails.
Thanks
Thomas

As mentioned above, Exchange database files do not shrink.
If you do a defrag, then since you have copies of this DB in the DAG then you have to reseed. take a look at this
http://blogs.technet.com/b/rmilne/archive/2013/08/23/offline-defrag-and-dag-databases_2c00_-oh-my_2100_.aspx
Cheers,
Rhoderick
Microsoft Senior Exchange PFE
Blog:
http://blogs.technet.com/rmilne
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Note: Posts are provided “AS IS” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.

What is the Exchange 2010 maximum mailbox database size that is support by MS in a single DAG environment?

My Exchange setup:
Exchange 2010 Enterprise
2 mailbox servers
2 CAS, 2 HT
12 mailbox databases. The total of all databases combine is about 2TB. The largest mailbox databases are 530GB, 250GB, and 196GB. Are this over the supported recommendations?
bl

2TB, look at the second article but best practice 200GB or less
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/exchange/en-US/48431bab-4049-47db-9a84-359d5123d247/what-is-the-maximum-supported-database-size-in-exchange-2010-
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/exchange/en-US/f96892b3-8e2d-4eef-b64a-4cbc0097396d/ideal-size-for-exchange-mailbox-database

Mailbox database size limit

Hello,
is there any limit for size of mailbox database file (.edb)? I found in some articles, that limit is 2TB. What happen, if this limit is reached?
Thanks
Br,
Jan

The maximum supported size for a database is 16 TB. However, it's best practice to keep it around 2TB assuming your going with a DAG. I like to start out with 1 TB, and grow it from there if i really need to.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee832792(v=exchg.150).aspx#Best
Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread

Tsql for database , size , free space or used space in database

hi,
i want to know how to find out database size

use master
declare @PageSize varchar(10)
select @PageSize=v.low/1024.0
from master..spt_values v
where v.number=1 and v.type='E'
select name as DatabaseName, convert(float,null) as Size
into #tem
From sysdatabases where dbid>4
declare @SQL varchar (8000)
set @SQL=''
while exists (select * from #tem where size is null)
begin
select @SQL='update #tem set size=(select round(sum(size)*'+@PageSize+'/1024,0) From '+quotename(databasename)+'.dbo.sysfiles) where databasename='''+databasename+''''
from #tem
where size is null
exec (@SQL)
end
select * from #tem order by DatabaseName
drop table #tem
The first select statement is to get how many kilobytes a data page has. SQL Server allocates disk space in the unit of data page. Currently each SQL server data page contains 8k bytes. The number of data pages allocated to each database file is recorded
in the sysfiles system table. With this information on hand the script creates a temporary table #tem and update the temporary table with size information which is gathered by querying the sysfiles table.
thx benedikt

What is the preferred NTFS cluster size of a disk where a mailbox database will installed on?

I'm testing the 2013 Exchange deployment in our lab environment. We do have a 2010 Exchange server where mailbox databases are installed on disks formatted 64k (65536 bytes in each allocation unit). Is this also recommended for Exchange 2013?
Remco

Hi
HI
NTFS allocation unit size
NTFS allocation unit size represents the smallest amount of disk space that can be allocated to hold a file.
Supported: All allocation unit sizes.
Best practice: 64 KB for both .edb and log file volumes.
Supported: All allocation unit sizes.
Best practice: 64 KB for both .edb and log file volumes.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee832792(v=exchg.150).aspx
Volume configurations for the Exchange 2013 Mailbox server role
If you have any feedback on our support, please click
here
Terence Yu
TechNet Community Support

After move mailbox to another mailbox database the mailbox database has not free space

Hi,
If any one can help me about that question I appreciate:
- I have an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox database with 300 users.
- I moved the mailboxe to a new mailbox database.
- I have checked that the empty mailbox database did not release the free space from mailboxes moved
The question is: should I wait for the retention time be finished and the the maintence job be done?
Thanks a lot.
Luiz

Hi
Even when the retention time expires the edb file will not reduce in size automatically. You will need to run an offline defrag at that point ... which is actually not recommended.
It would be better to move all the mailboxes to a new database and delete the old one.
Steve

Get-Recipient or Get-Mailbox and "white spaces" after import user to TXT files.

Hi Guys,
In this week I had small task to move mailboxes from old SBS to new Exchange user. I have done this task with small problems. I decided of course to use Powershell to make my life simple.
Step 1.
Get-Recipient | Select-Object name, Database | where database -Match "Mailbox Database" | FT - Property name | Out-File -FilePath c:\ex_users.txt
or
Get-Mailbox | select name, servername | where ServerName -match Server1 | select Name | Out-File -FilePath c:\ex_users.txt -Encoding UTF8
Unfortunately I had to spent some time to clean output files. After export files I noticed that something is wrong with text format.
How can I avoid "white spaces" ?

We always want to do our filtering as close to the left of a command as possible. Keeping this in mind, the first thing I looked for was to see if Get-Recipient had a filter parameter and it does.
Get-Recipient -Filter {Database -eq 'CN=Mailbox Database,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=Organization,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomin,DC=com'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name | Out-File -FilePath 'C:\outfile-filter.txt'
This seemed somewhat cumbersome because it required a lengthy DistinguishedName (DN). By the way, to get the DN of a database, use a modified version of this code.
Get-MailboxDatabase -Identity databasename | Select-Object DistinguishedName
I decided we would try filtering with the Where-Object cmdlet much like you did in your example. Noticed that I bumped it to the left so our filter ran prior to our select - something you should always do.
Get-Recipient | Where-Object {$_.Database -match 'Mailbox Database'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name | Out-File -FilePath 'C:\outfile-where.txt'
Whichever way you do this, either the first or third code sample should help you write your data to a text file without the white space issue. I haven't looked at your second example but I suspect you could use some of this post to figure that one out yourself.
Let us know and good luck.

Filter Mailbox database by size in Exchange 2007

How do I filter the mailbox database to determine mailbox size, i.e. users who are near their limit.

Hi,
Please try to use the cmdlet like
Get-Mailbox -Database "Mailbox Database"
-retrieves a summary list of all mailboxes in the mailbox database named Mailbox Database.
Get-Mailbox -Server EXCH01
-retrieves a summary list of all mailboxes on the server named EXCH01.
Get-MailboxStatistics -Database MailboxDatabase
-retrieves the mailbox statistics for all mailboxes in the mailbox database named MailboxDatabase.
Get-MailboxStatistics -Server EXCH01
-retrieves the mailbox statistics for all mailboxes on the server named EXCH01
find it here http://www.windowsadmin.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=116
Regards from www.windowsadmin.info

Possible to enlarge white space by changing page size?

Greetings. I'm using Acrobat 10 pro now, but in 9 it was possible to enlarge the white space around the text by changing the page size as part of the crop command. This was very handy for creating an area large enough for text box comments. I can't find this capability in 10. Am I, hopefully, mistaken?

Select: Tools > Pages > Crop
and then double-click on the page. You'll then get the Crop dialog and you can select a larger page size in the CHange Page Size area.

Exchange 2010 - mailbox database in a DAG different sizes

HI
After a recent health check on our Exchange 2010 (SP3) environment I noticed that our mailboxes databases in the DAG, which consists of 4 Exchange Servers, had used
different capacity.
Could someone why the mounted database and the 3 healthy copies are not the same size?
Many thanks

Hi,
Based on your description, the active database and passive database have different size.
Apart from Willard Martin's suggestions, please update database copy using the following command and then check result.
Update-MailboxDatabaseCopy -Identity DB -SourceServer activeserver
Please make sure the passive databae copy has healthy state.
Best regards,
Belinda Ma
TechNet Community Support

Mailbox Database Size/White Space Reduction in a DAG

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