While Exchange 2010 introduces new Performance Monitoring counters, it's
always best to start your quest for a faster service by checking the 'old'
memory, processor, disk and network counters first.
As you look for bottlenecks, think how you could improve the service as cheaply as possible, for example move mailboxes to another server.
Here are the Windows Server 2010 'big four' counters,
memory, processor, disk and network.
Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time - The trace should be less
than 80% (Spikes are Ok). On Mailbox servers 80% of this total
should be the store.exe process.
Memory\Available Mbytes - Above 150 MB
Disk - Queues less than 2
Network Interface(*)\Bytes Total/sec - Less than
75 Mbps for 1000-megabits network
Virtualization: Hyper-V Virtual Machine Health
Summary\Health Critical - Below 70% Memory\Available MBytes - Greater
than 2MB
Exchange 2010 Counters
When
you install Exchange 2010, not only does it expand the schema but it
also adds specific exchange performance counters. Incidentally, you also see
more services, for example Microsoft Exchange System Attendant.
Once you are satisfied with operating system counters, then investigate
these Exchange specific counters:
MTA (Message Transfer Agent)
SMTP
Internet Mail Service
Directory Service
The more you understand the way Exchange 2010 works, the more you can identify
then predict where bottlenecks occur. Performance monitor will not only improve responsiveness, but also
help you learn how the Exchange
components route the mail messages.
Guy Recommends: A Free Trial of the Network Performance Monitor
(NPM)
SolarWinds'
Network Performance Monitor
will help you discover what's happening on your network. This
utility will also guide you through troubleshooting; the dashboard will
indicate whether the root cause is a broken link, faulty equipment or
resource overload.
What I like best is the way NPM suggests solutions to network
problems. Its
also has the ability to monitor the health of individual VMware
virtual machines. If you are interested in troubleshooting, and creating
network maps, then I recommend that you try NPM now.
The key to detecting Exchange 2010 bottlenecks is to isolate the queues, then measure
their length. Guy's rule of thumb is than any queue bigger than 2
means a
bottleneck.
Microsoft database threshold maximum 80 milliseconds.
MSExchangeMTA - Work Queue Length
is the most important counter because it gives a total
for all
queues.
To check more precisely measure these counters:
SMTP Server - Local Queue Length
SMTP Server Messages received /sec and delivered /sec
Upgrade your server's memory, add another stick of RAM.
More disks, remember to add more disk controllers.
Put Exchange on its own dedicated server.
Add a second or even a third server so that each site has a local Exchange
server.
Deploy front-end / back-end servers. The front-end servers
handle the connections and authentication, the back-end store the actual
mailboxes.
Lateral thinking and root cause analysis. Too much spam? Get a
good filter. Swamped with the Fakav virus, deploy a better virus checker.
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.
Monitoring Exchange
Server 2010 is probably the most difficult of all monitoring tasks. The secret is to start by examining the
underlying Windows Server 2008, pay particular attention to the 'big 4' counters, Memory, Processor, Disk and Network. Once you have
checked that these 4 are not causing the bottleneck, then seek the Exchange specific counters, for example, MSExchangeIS and MSExchangeMTA.
If you like this page then please share it with your friends
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.
