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MessageStats 7.8 - Administrator Guide

What is MessageStats? MessageStats Information Sources Using the Console Interface Creating a Connection to Exchange Creating Gathering Tasks Default Gatherings Extending Gathering Tasks Configuring Audits Setting MessageStats Server Properties Setting Configuration Properties Setting Exchange Organization Properties Setting Exchange Server Properties Setting Task Execution Server Properties Setting Task Default Properties Compressing Tracking Log Files Using the MessageStats Reports Console Database Management Appendix A:Microsoft ASP.NET Configuration Issues Appendix B: Gathering Task Dependencies Appendix C:Troubleshooting Permission Problems

Selecting a Server for Collecting Mailbox Data

In most cases, you gather mailbox data using the Exchange server that is specified as the MessageStats connect-to server for the organization. This server is displayed under the text: Currently using the default Gathering Server for the organization.

In some situations, you may want to gather the information using an Exchange server other than the Connection Server. This may be a server that is geographically closer. In other cases, you might want to collect the mailbox information directly from the specified server.

The Exchange server from which you are gathering the mailbox data must contain at least one mailbox database.

In the Mailbox MAPI page you can select one of the following options:

 
Table 9. Specifying a server for gathering mailbox data.
Option
When to use

I want to use the following server for mailbox gathering tasks.

Select this option to specify a different Exchange server than the gathering server that was defined for the organization. This may be an Exchange server that is located geographically closer.

For an Exchange 2010 mailbox server

Select the Exchange Client Access Server (CAS) that should be used for mailbox gatherings for this server.

Specify a mailbox for MAPI logon in one of the following formats:

•
Display Name
•
Alias
•
SMTP Address

The task credentials must have full access rights to this mailbox. Also, the mailbox must not be hidden from Exchange address lists.

NOTE: The mailbox is not validated on this property page. Ensure that it is a valid mailbox or the mailbox tasks will fail for this server.
For an Exchange 2013 mailbox server

Select the Exchange Client Access Server (CAS) that should be used for mailbox gatherings for this server.

Specify a mailbox for MAPI logon in one of the following formats:

•
Display Name
•
Alias
•
SMTP Address

The task credentials must have full access rights to this mailbox. Also, the mailbox must not be hidden from Exchange address lists.

Access the Exchange server directly

Select this button if you want to gather the mailbox information directly from this Exchange mailbox server.

This might be in a situation where this server is geographically isolated.

Observing Task Progress

By observing the progress of the Default Gathering task, you can see how the different gatherings accumulate data to populate the MessageStats Database. Some gathering tasks cannot begin until other tasks are completed. For more information, see Appendix B: Gathering Task Dependencies .

To view the progress of the gathering task
1
Expand the Tasks node of the navigation tree.
2
Select the task from the list.

In the right pane, the task is expanded into all the constituent activities and shows the following information.

 
Table 10. Information provided for each task.
Information
Description

Description

Lists the individual task activities for each Exchange server in the organization.

Source

Lists the Exchange server the task was created for.

Status

Indicates whether the task status is Pending, Pending Retry, Processing, Success, Finished, Failed, Aborted, Warnings, or Unknown.

Progress

Shows a progress bar and a percentage indicator for each task activity.

Duration

Indicates the amount of time taken to complete each task activity.

Start Time

Indicates when the task started.

Finish Time

Indicates when the task finished.

Waiting For

Indicates the gathering task dependency for the task activity.

Execution Server

Indicates the MessageStats Server on which the tasks were run. The MessageStats Server name is provided in FQDN format.

 

Extending Gathering Tasks

•
Beyond the Default Gathering
•
Defining Financial Chargeback
•
Gathering Exchange Public Folders
•
Gathering Content and Attachment Information
•
Regathering Exchange Tracking Logs

Beyond the Default Gathering

After you install the MessageStats components, you typically configure MessageStats to run the Default Gathering task daily. The Default Gathering task collects information about your Exchange organization, servers, mailboxes, and initial message traffic information.

Some gathering tasks are omitted from the Default Gathering task because of their size or demands on server and network resources.

This section describes how you can extend your gatherings to include the following information:

•
Defining Financial Chargeback
•
Gathering Exchange Public Folders
•
Gathering Content and Attachment Information
•
Regathering Exchange Tracking Logs

Additionally, you can gather more detailed information by configuring audits for mailboxes, Internet domains, message subjects, or message delivery time. For information about audits, see Configuring Audits .

The tasks that are excluded from the Default Gathering task can use a significant amount of time, server RAM, and processing and network resources. You may want to dedicate a MessageStats Server to run these additional tasks. For information about the gathering tasks that are not included in the Default Gathering task, see Appendix B: Gathering Task Dependencies .

You can distribute gathering tasks over one or more MessageStats Servers or task execution servers. During a custom installation, you can install the task processors on a separate server. If you install task processors on more than one server, you can then run specific gathering tasks on each server. For example, if you know that Public Folder Enumeration is a large gathering, you might want to select a non-default Task Execution Server to avoid slowing down the other gatherings.

For each MessageStats installation, there is one MessageStats Scheduler Service that launches the task processors, regardless of where the task processors are located.

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