This article is based on Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition (Build 3790) and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 (Build 6944.4).
Introduction
Where to start monitoring
In the first step we have to configure a Server for monitoring and select/configure the resources to monitor. To do so, open the Exchange System Manager SnapIn and select the appropriate Server object in the Servers container.
Fig. 1: Configure a Server for monitoring
There are many Resources available for monitoring. You can add the following Resources:
- Available Virtual Memory
- CPU Utilization
- Free disk space
- SMTP queue growth
- Windows 2003 Service
- X.400 queue growth
Fig. 2: Select the Resources to Monitor
For many Services you can change the state to “Critical” and “Warning” when the service is not running.
In large environments you can define E-Mail notifications for the 1st level support staff for services which are in “Warning” state and define E-Mail notifications for 2nd level support staff when the services are in “Critical” state.
Fig. 3: Change the state for the selected services
It is a good idea to configure the monitoring of the available disk space for your hard discs where your Exchange databases and transaction logs reside.
Fig. 4: Monitor the available disk space
In the Status container in Exchange System Manager you can see the Status of all your Servers and Connectors in your Exchange organization.
Fig. 5: The Exchange Status container in ESM
The next step is to configure an E-Mail notification for the recipients of the “Warning” and “Critical” state conditions.
Fig. 6: Configure the E-Mail notification
In this Property dialog box you can specify the monitoring Server and the Servers / Connectors to monitor. You also have to select the State (Critical and warning) for which you configure E-Mail notification.
In the “To” field select a recipient for the notifications.
In the “E-Mail Server” field you have to specify the E-Mail Sever for sending the notifications.
WARNING: When the monitored Server is the same Server as the monitoring Server you can run into trouble because which Server can send you an E-Mail notification when it is in an critical state and is unable to send E-Mails.
In large environments I recommend creating a dedicated monitoring Server only for monitoring purposes.
You should also have a look at the Microsoft Operation Manager (MOM).
Fig. 7: Configure the E-Mail notification properties
For scheduled maintenance you must “disable monitoring of this server” because a server which is shut down can produce unwanted E-Mail notifications that, for example, some services are down and so on.
Fig. 8: Disable Monitoring of this Server
When one or more of the configured resources run into a “Critical” or “Warning” state you receive a E-Mail from an account “WMI@SERVERNAME” with a error message with the server name in the subject line and the condition of the resource / service in the E-Mail body.
Fig. 9: A Warning E-Mail about a “Critical state” for a monitored server
Conclusion
I recommend you always monitor your Exchange environment for connector status, service status and everything else which is mission critical for your business.
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