Mailbox database and Public folders for new Exchange 2010 Installation
Hello, I am in the process of transitioning Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2010. With my new setup I will have four Exchange 2010 Servers running mailbox roles and two servers running CAS/HT in NLB setup. Exchange mailbox databases are mounted on a SAN. I ran Exchange 2010 installer with MBX role checked on all four Servers. This creates a default mailbox on every server and only ONE public folder database on the first server. It didn't create public folder databases on other three mailbox Servers. I dismounted the default databases and created new mailbox database for all four servers from Exchange management console pointing to volumes on SAN. We don't heavily use public folder and our use is very moderate. As I have Exchange database spread on four servers, should I have the same number of public folder databases on these Servers? Is there any advantage in having multiple public folder databases? TIATom
December 21st, 2011 2:54pm

The behaviour you have seen is correctly. Personally I would have public folders on each server simply to make things very easy. You could get away with two and then share them across the various databases. Depending on what data is in them, you may want to have more than one public folder database or not. Simon.Simon Butler, Exchange MVP Blog | Exchange Resources | In the UK? Hire Me.
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December 21st, 2011 4:29pm

Thanks. So I create four public folder databases for all four MBX Servers. I have Exchange 2003 Servers in production thus Exchange 2010 and 2003 will be in coexistence mode for a while. So I have to replicate public folder database from Exchange 2003 to all four Exchange 2010 public folder databases. At what point could I say all Exchange 2003 public folder databases are replicated to new public folder databases on Exchange 2010? Is there a KB article describing the process? My mailbox databases are spread based on last name. So say User2 is on Server2 with mailbox database2. Will User2 always connect to public database folder on Server2? How does this selection work? TIATom
December 22nd, 2011 7:07am

You set a public folder database on the properties of the each mailbox database. The Outlook clients should then use that public folder database. With regards to replication, the only check that can be depended on is item count, comparing the output of get-publicfolderstatistics with what is shown in ESM. When it comes to the removal process, the process is complete when nothing is shown in Public Folder Instances in ESM. Simon.Simon Butler, Exchange MVP Blog | Exchange Resources | In the UK? Hire Me.
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December 22nd, 2011 9:02am

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