This afternoon the information store on our Exchange 2003 server went down as we ran out of space on the disk that stores the mail database. At first I tried to delete older log files to free up room but noticed I couldnt keep up with the flood of log files getting generated. I ended up extending the partition just to get the database in a running state but watched in horror as our 80Gb database grew to over 120GB in less than an hour. I stopped the information store temporarily and researched the issue as much as possible. I ran across the Microsoft article that addresses this issue (poorly) and went through each suggestion but no solutions seemed to work including shutting down the AV software and checking for open relay, etc.. I stopped all mail services (POP3, SMTP, IMAP) and checked the firewall for excessive traffic. Everything appears normal. I checked each users individual mailbox and didnt see any amounts of high activity or growth on any single mailbox. Any ideas on what to do from here would be appreciated. I have a new Exchange 2010 box ready to deploy but need to get this issue sorted out before hand. We are running Exchange 2003 on a single box, single database, about 70 users and are stuck in the mud. Thanks

Hi, the primary concern is to know why the database size is increasing or reducing the current size, in case if it reducing they try to preform eseutil /d on the database & try to reduce the white space, have you install SP2, version is STD or Ent. Have a look into this article it might help : http://exchangeserverinfo.com/2007/06/23/fast-growing-databases--transaction-logs-on-exchange-2000--2003.aspxRipu Daman Mina | MCSE 2003 & MCSA Messaging

You can analyse the tracking logs see if there is activty or top senders. check the whitespace on the dbs, u can also check each and every db size to see which one is growing.Thiyagu | MCTS/MCITP - Exchange 2007 | MCSE 2003[Messaging] | http://www.myExchangeWorld.com. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

You can analyse the tracking logs see if there is activty or top senders. check the whitespace on the dbs, u can also check each and every db size to see which one is growing. Thiyagu | MCTS/MCITP - Exchange 2007 | MCSE 2003[Messaging] | http://www.myExchangeWorld.com. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Agree with Thiyagu.. One of the user in this DB is making some abnormal activity. Good luck Shaba

Does the issue happen to all databases? Have you also confirmed that the exchange related folders are excluded in anti-virus software? (KB 245822) Please verify if there’s any corruption in the databases (Reference) Please run the online full backup against the database via NTBackup Besides the message tracking log, please also use the ExMon to monitor the activities of the mailboxes (Reference)James Luo TechNet Subscriber Support (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/ms788697.aspx) If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com

Try this,,, In the ESM of Exchange 2003 navigate to mailboxes on right hand side... then Select ADD/Remove Columns and add the Messaging operations etc ..... This will show the mailbox activities of the mailboxes ( seperate for each mailbox in the column). Check the mailbox which is having the highest activity and Disable it . This should put a check on your log file growth. ( IF AV is not the culprit). This also happens because of a rule which forms a sort of a loop.

Since u told because of one user plse create one new stroage group and move that user to that group .Now listen wat is happening. -bpara

I ended up going around and rebooting every workstation in the company and it seemed to have resolved the issue, however, I'm still left with an over-inflated database. Like I mentioned before, the email database was about 80GB before the problem and now we are at about 130GB. An online defrag was ran last night but had no effect on the size. An offline defrag isn't an option...theres no room left on any partitions on the drive and I can't bring down the information store for how long that will take (14-15 hours at least) I honestly don't know why the database is as large as it is. All the users mailboxes don't add up anywhere close to 130GB. Is there anyway to shrink it back down or are we now stuck with a 130GB database as the new normal???

Can you bring up a new Exchange Server and move mailboxes? Thats what I would do. You can even do a swing method and delete the original store and then move then back if desired (You probably had a message stuck in a cache mode client - ensure they are at latest SP and Rollup as well as Exchange)

HI. For troubleshooting such issues - I recommend adding Exchange User Monitor to your tools arsenal: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=exchange+user+monitor It's quick easy and painless to install, and can provide valuable information (pinpoint high activity related to specific user and computer). Regarding your current status - if the original problem seems to be solved now, and since you are going to move mailboxes to the new Exchange 2010 server soon as far as I understand, and if the exchange 2003 server can function fine now - Then you can leave it as is for now, until you move mailboxes to new server. Yizhar Yizhar Hurwitz http://yizhar.mvps.org

Online defrag will not reduce the size of the DB , it will create Whitespace. Chck for the events in application log for the amount of White Space you have. IF the Online maintenence is not completed fully then increase Schedule accordingly ( should not run with your backup) and let it complete. For e.g if you get a whote space 30 Gb , you know exactly how much time you can have without going for OFFLINE DEFRAG. also Check the mailbox sizes and try to figue out the culprit mailbox.. and exmerge and delete the unnecessary content. if the DB size has increased there has to be something in the mailbox/public folders.

Any update?James Luo TechNet Subscriber Support (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/ms788697.aspx) If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com