Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 - Registry Settings
Introduction to Exchange 2003 Server - Registry Settings
An excuse for playing with Regedit, or the need to get an Exchange 2003
job done? Why not combine business with pleasure and hone your Registry skills. Here is wide range of registry editing jobs for Exchange 2003 server.
My idea is to display the Security tab in the Exchange System Manager. The problem is shown in the diagram opposite. By adding the Security tab, you will find it easier to troubleshoot permission problems on the Exchange 2003 configuration folders.
Run Regedit then navigate to the HKCU (not the HKLM): HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\ExAdmin. Once you reach the above folder in the registry, select New, REG_DWORD called ShowSecurityPage. Set the value to 1
(one) if you want the tab to display. Re-open the Exchange System Manager and observe the new Security tab.
The above registry change is safe to try. The worst that can happen is that no tab appears. However before you get too carried away with registry editing I would like to alert you to the
stages that I went through during my career with Regedit.
Fear of the new language - All those REG_SZ seem very strange
Wonderment at the power of Regedit - I can really control the system
Complacency - I can do anything
Panic - Woooooooops. I just broke my machine.
Respect for the Registry - Now I backup, or at least export before anything major.
If your users are abusing the number of people that they are sending emails to, then you can configure the Server's registry to control the recipients. Should the user exceed the limit then no
emails are sent and the user should get an error message.
Locate the following folder in the registry and create a DWORD called Max Recipients on Submit
Be careful, the trick is to put spaces between the words as they are typed.
On the Edit menu, click Add Value: Max Recipients on Submit Set the value equal to the number of recipients that
are permitted.
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Here is a
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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.
If, and only if you have implemented RPC over HTTP then you may wish to check the registry for the port numbers that these services use:
Store - 6001 Decimal (0x1771 Hex)
DSReferal - 6002 Decimal (0x1772 Hex)
DSProxy - 6004 Decimal (0x1774 Hex)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem Value name: Rpc/HTTP Port Value type: REG_DWORD Value data: 0x1771 (Decimal 6001)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Services\MSExchangeSA\Parameters Value name: HTTP Port Value type: REG_DWORD Value data: 0x1772 (Decimal 6002)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Services\MSExchangeSA\Parameters Value name: Rpc/HTTP NSPI Port Value type: REG_DWORD Value data: 0x1774 (Decimal 6004)
BadMail accumulates in the \Exchsrvr\Mailroot. Each virtual server has its own \VSI \BadMail folder.
There are two registry entries. The main entry is MaxBadMailFolderSize. Launch regedit then create a DWORD at this path:
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\SMTPSVC\Queuing From the Edit menu, select New, DWORD Value (Not string value). Type MaxBadMailFolderSize, Double-click
MaxBadMailFolderSize, type your size for the BadMail folder in kilobytes (KB), click Decimal, rather than Hex.
There is a second registry entry controlling the timing. The DWORD is called BadMailSyncPeriod. Select a suitable time in minutes
for the local BadMail cache to synchronize with the BadMail folder on
the hard drive.
Restart the SMTP service for the registry settings to change the BadMail size and timing.
Here is an example that you can use in conjunction with the /3GB boot.ini. My aim is to give you a variety of examples of how and why you could edit your Exchange 2003 server's registry.
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Import users from a spreadsheet, complete with their mailbox. Just provide a list of the
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provide the name of the OU where the new mailboxes will be born.
There are also two bonus tools in the free download, and all 3 have been approved by Microsoft:
Bulk-import new users and mailboxes into Active Directory.
Personally I would prefer to investigate and fix Event 9665 error by
adding the /3MB switch to boot.ini /3MB switch. But if this does not
work, or there is a different problem, then you could cheat and turn off the error
message with this registry hack.
You only need to make this registry change if your Exchange 2003 was upgraded from Exchange 2000.
If you configured these settings on the server while it was Exchange 2000, then
this is how you remove them. Launch Regedit and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT then use
'find' to locate and remove these settings:
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
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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.
Normally RPC over HTTP uses SSL and port 443. If you need to allow anonymous access over port 80 then you need this registry hack. Your goal is edit the registry on the front-end server and
add a DWORD called: AllowAnonymous
To provide a balance between usability and network efficiency, you can adjust the timing of synchronization communications between Outlook 2003 and Exchange Server 2003
You can change these
synchronization timer values by creating and by modifying the following registry keys and values under Current User (Not Local Machine): HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\ Office\11.0\Outlook\Cached Mode:
Upload=
DWORD:0000000f (default is 15 seconds). Download=DWORD:0000001e (default is 30 seconds)
Maximum=DWORD:0000003c (default is 60 seconds)
When Outlook 2003 is in Cached Exchange Mode and a user makes a change, the Upload timer starts. Here is how it's controlled:
If a local change occurs during the 15-second window of the Upload timer, the Upload timer restarts. If no other local changes before the 15-second window expires, the data is synchronized to the
server.
If changes continue before the 15 second window expires, all changes are synchronized to the Exchange Server computer after one minute. There is no additional delay. When the
Exchange Server computer notifies Outlook 2003 of a change, the Download timer starts. Outlook delays receiving the change information. This behaviour reduces server load and improves network performance,
because Outlook is frequently notified of multiple server changes in quick succession. All notifications that occur in the 30 second window of the Download timer are group and then processed at the end of the timer. The timer is then reset. When a new mail notification
arrives, Outlook 2003 synchronizes. See more on Outlook 2003 Exchange Cached Mode
In Exchange 2003, there are certain configuration settings that you can only configure with Regedit. The best example is displaying the security tab with ShowSecurityPage. Adding this tab really helps troubleshoot Exchange 2003 permissions
problems. The other registry edits are for obscure problems, or maybe just a chance to experiment with Regedit.
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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.