Hi, I am fairly new to Exchange 2003. I understand there are some database tools that I can run against my database that will defrag, compact, and free up and unused space. Can you tell me what these tools are, where to get them, and how to use them for my 2003 Exchange server?

Hello, You need to use ESEUTIL utility with /d switch to defrag the database but do you really want to do it? Check below article to see when to use it with pros and cons... When to use ESEUTILS to Defrag your Databases (or when not to) http://telnetport25.wordpress.com/2008/02/10/when-to-use-eseutils-to-defrag-your-databases-or-when-not-to/ Amit Tank | MVP - Exchange | MCITP:EMA MCSA:M | http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com

Ok thanks. I will check it out. Yesterday, our database hit its 18GB limit. Since then, I have increased its limit to 30 GB. I just wondered if i need to do anything to the database since we hit the limit yesterday.

You can check event id 1221 which comes after successful online defragmentation and shows amount of white space. offline defragmentation with Eseutil /d option reduce the aprox. amount which is shown in 1221 event id, if it is high amount then you can go for it otherwise it is useless and time consuming activity and needs your Exchange services down. Proactively you can apply the mailbox size limit on mailbox database or on user level to stop growing DB size. You can also reduce the number of day from retention period if users don't recover emails from dumpster often. Howerver you increased the DB size to 30GB then it is fine and even you can increase up to 75GB...Amit Tank | MVP - Exchange | MCITP:EMA MCSA:M | http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com

Is it true that the larger the database grows, the more you will see a degrade in performance? Is it best to keep the database size as small as possible?

could you tell me what is Exchange 2003?

Yes, the increased sizes of database will influent the performance of exchange server. Because, the larger the database is, the more time backup/recovery will spend Theres a tie between database size and backup/recovery strategy. If we increase the size limits of database, backup/recovery plan will also need to be re-evaluated to ensure that we still meet the SLA More resources: A rapid increase in database size causes server performance to deteriorate in Exchange Server 2003 and in Exchange 2000 Server

And best practice & recommendation is to keep the database size maximum up to 50GB in Exchange 2003 for better backup/recovery planning.Amit Tank | MVP - Exchange | MCITP:EMA MCSA:M | http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com

So, with that said, I would like to bring down the database and run the ESEUTIL /d on the DB to defrag and compact the DB, but is it really possible that it could corrupt the entire database? I use to run this util on EXCHANGE 5.5 with no issues, but now I hear that running that utility could be devastating on 2003 SP2?

Nop, it doesn't corrupt the database however it is recommended to take backup before starting operation.Amit Tank | MVP - Exchange | MCITP:EMA MCSA:M | http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com

So running the util should defrag my db and free up that empty space.

The articles below will help you to decide when to use online maintenance and when to use the offline defrag: Online Versus Offline Defragmentation Is offline defragmentation considered regular Exchange maintenance? How to defragment Exchange databases