Installing and Configuring Archiving
Exchange 2000 uses a transport event sink, which is included in Exchange 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2), to trap and archive SMTP messages as they move through the system. SP2 includes a VBScript script that you can use to install the sink, but because VBScript doesn't have a GUI, you must make a few registry edits to customize the configuration. To install the archive sink, apply Exchange 2000 SP2, then open a command prompt and change to the directory in which you installed the Exchange binaries. (The default location is C:\program files\exchsrvr\bin.) At the command prompt, enter
cscript archivesink_setup.vbs
install 1 c:\Program Filesexchsrvr\bin
The 1 specifies the SMTP virtual server to which the sink should apply, so if you need to install the sink for other virtual servers, adjust this number appropriately. The path that follows 1 is the path to the DLL, which SP2 places in the \exchsrvr\bin directory. By default, the sink archives Messaging API (MAPI)client-submitted outbound messages as well as SMTP-submitted inbound messages and ignores system messages and public-folder replication traffic. The sink archives messages as plain text .eml files and places those files in two directories: MAPI-Gateway Messages and SMTP Messages. You can override these defaults by editing values (not Active Directory—AD—registry values) below the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Exchange\ArchiveSink registry subkey.
I recommend only one change: Move the default archive location. If you leave the archiving process unchecked or the system archives a large number of files because of a Denial of Service (DoS) attack or message loop, you might end up with a crashed server when the system partition runs out of disk space.
One possible archive location is a set of archive subdirectories you can create below the SMTP virtual server's working directory, assuming you moved the working directory from its default installation location (usually C:\program files\exchsrvr\mailroot) to a separate disk. Below mailroot you'll find a folder for each virtual server (e.g., vsi 1 for virtual server instance 1, vsi 2 for virtual server instance 2). In the appropriate vsi folder, create an archive folder, then create In and Out folders. After you create the folder structure, edit the SMTP Messages and MAPI-Gateway Messages registry subkeys, respectively, to direct the sink to archive in the new location. This process places the archived messages in the same location as the other files the virtual server uses and removes the archived messages from the system partition. Reboot the server to put any registry changes into effect. The system reads the registry subkeys only after the IIS Admin service starts. Because the Exchange services are dependent on the IIS Admin service, a server reboot is typically the easiest way to proceed.
When to Use SMTP Logging and Archiving
SMTP logging and archiving are two useful tools that can help you see the data moving into and out of your systems. Because of its storage overhead, archiving is a tool that you'll probably want to use only for specific troubleshooting situations. But don't treat SMTP logging as a diagnostic tool you activate only when you perceive a problem. Enable SMTP logging so that you have a record of commands and responses. This record can help you answer those "What happened?" questions and determine whether the system is behaving in a typical fashion.
End of Article
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