Exchange experiences massive database bloat, similar to Access databases. Over time, this becomes a major problem for backups since new data is written into random empty space in the database. That creates a situation where a few new emails can cause the entire database to require a backup. Performing an "offline backup" automatically compresses the database, but IĀ found a lack of documentation on how it was performed. Once the commands are identified, it is actually quite simple. The directories and database names are standard for a basic install on Windows SBS 2003.
First, select "Dismount Store" on the mailbox store.
Then, open a command prompt and run the following:
C:\Program Files\Support Tools>cd C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA>..\bin\eseutil.exe /d priv1.edb Microsoft(R) Exchange Server Database Utilities Version 6.5 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Initiating DEFRAGMENTATION mode... Database: priv1.edb Streaming File: priv1.STM Temp. Database: TEMPDFRG7700.EDB Temp. Streaming File: TEMPDFRG7700.STM Defragmentation Status (% complete) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----| ................................................... Moving 'TEMPDFRG7700.EDB' to 'priv1.edb'... DONE! Moving 'TEMPDFRG7700.STM' to 'priv1.stm'... DONE! Note: It is recommended that you immediately perform a full backup of this database. If you restore a backup made before the defragmentation, the database will be rolled back to the state it was in at the time of that backup. Operation completed successfully in 3884.282 seconds. C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA>
Close the command prompt
Finally, remount the email store.