Introduction to Exchange 2003 Server - ExPBA (Best Practice Analyzer)
It's wonderful, it's free, you simply must try the ExBPA. The name says it all: Exchange Server Best Practice
Analyzer and you get it from Microsoft.
Not only is the ExBPA a serious tool, which scans Exchange for weaknesses, but it's also a fun tool, which prompts you to learn as you improve your servers performance.
Topics
for Exchange 2003 - ExBPA (Best Practice Analyzer)
Installing ExBPA is easy. Just make sure that when you download ExBPA.msi from Microsoft, you get version 2.0. Like any good .msi package, ExBPA installs smoothly. My only complaint is that I could not
persuade this Best Practice Analyzer to appear in
my MMC. However, to be fair, the installation wizard did create a shortcut for ExBPA in the Exchange Folder. (Start Menu, All Programs folder, Exchange...)
One of the hallmarks of a
great utility like ExBPA, is that you don't need an instruction manual. All you need to do is launch ExBPA, click on Connect to Active Directory, and you are ready to scan. BPA takes a while to progress through its tests, but on reflection, this was a good sign in that it was making a comprehensive
comparison between your system and Microsoft's best practices.
A wild guess says that it will take 15
minutes to scan your Exchange organization. Another guess says ExBPA will generate 1.5 MB worth of data. When you are only troubleshooting one particular Exchange server, you may wish to speed up the scan, if so, then
limit the scope to just that problem server.
Health Check The health check will warn you about weaknesses on your Exchange server. Perhaps BPA's greatest strength is to alert you to those problems, which although not serious in themselves, will collectively slow down your server.
Once ExBPA identifies an 'Issue', it gives you chapter and verse, not just on the problem but even better, on the solutions. Unless you have tried ExBPA, it's hard for me to put over just how many tests
it can do, and therefore how much time it will save you in analyzing an Exchange Server's performance. In a word ExBPA is - awesome.
Connectivity Check It's so handy to have all the troubleshooting tools in one place, you can oscillate between health checks and connectivity tests. The Best Practice Analyzer really does make it easy to pin down that obscure email problems.
When the ExBPA finds a problem, it suggests answers in the form of links to the Exchange 2003 Server / TechNet knowledge base.
Guy Recommends:
The SolarWinds Exchange Monitor
Here is a
free tool to monitor your Exchange Server. Download and
install the utility, then inspect your mail queues, monitor the Exchange
server's memory, confirm there is enough disk space and check the CPU
utilization.
This is the real deal - there is no catch. SolarWinds provides this
fully-functioning freebie, as part of their commitment to supporting
the network management community.
One persistent grumble with Microsoft utilities in general is that there is no reporting feature; I hear the most complaints about ADUC*. Well, let us hope that BPA's reporting features are a sign
of the future. Fingers crossed that all interfaces will soon have a selection of options, such as Summary, Details and my favourite - the Issues List. Incidentally, there is BPA for SQL so the concept is spreading.
Another must have report is the Items of Interest,
what you get here is a central list of all those
statistics that can take an age to find, for example Exchange 2003 database locations and disk size.
Although I mention them last, baseline reports should be one of the first scans to run on a
production server. Once you have a baseline its easy to detect trends and play 'what if' games.
ExBPA feeds on XML configuration files. In these XML files are WMI instructions for the very tests to be run on your Exchange server. The key to the Best Practice
Analysis is the list of rules which establish whether results
pass Microsoft's tests. Amazingly, ExBPA is intelligent enough to check automatically if there any XML updates on the Microsoft web site. The ExBPA engine has a most descriptive name - the
dispatcher. What the dispatcher does is send WMI collectors to gather the information. The ExBPA engine then analyzes the data against the configuration files, and generates the results
on screen.
One advantage of ExBPA Version 2.0 is a scheduler; this means that you can plan your scans and they run automatically at a time to suit you. In this instance, you would want the output
report sent to a file, since nobody is likely to be looking at the screen when the tests are run in the middle of the night.
Can you run ExBPA from XP? Or, do you need to be on an Exchange 2003 Server?
The answer is any client after Window 2000 professional will do the job, and Microsoft recommend XP for ExBPA. Make sure that you have at least 20 MB of disk space, and that you install .NET framework (presumably to handle the XML).
Guy Recommends : SolarWinds'
Free VM Monitor
The best feature of this new this new version of SolarWinds VM Monitor is that it
checks Windows Hyper-V. Naturally, it still works with virtual machines on VMware ESX Servers. VM Monitor is a
clever
desktop tool that not only tests that your server is online, but also
displays the CPU and memory utilization for each node.
It's easy to install and to configure this virtual machine monitor, all
you need the host server's IP address or hostname and the logon info. Give
this virtual machine monitor a try - it's free.
Best by name, best by nature, the Best Practice Analyzer is a must have Microsoft utility. ExBPA will detect configuration and routing weaknesses in your Exchange 2003 server and recommend solutions. Get
ExBPA v 2.0 it's free from Microsoft and it's a joy to combine business
with pleasure as you scan your server for weaknesses. BPA is a real 'techie' tool, which not only makes your server more reliable and secure, but also gives you fun learning about how Exchange works.
Here is a
free tool to monitor your Exchange Server.
Download the utility, then inspect your mail queues, monitor Exchange server's
memory, confirm there is enough disk space and check the CPU utilization.
The
extra features you get in your eBook include: 'How to...' sections
with screen shots. Checklists to prepare your migration plan.
