Exchange 2010 Performing Database Management Pt2

With the database created in Pt1, we can now perform the following management tasks

1. Configure an Online Maintenance Window
2. Change the Timing for Database Checksumming

1. Configure an Online Maintenance Window

Exchange will perform several tasks to clean up the data in the database. Exchange defragmentation, database compaction and database contiguity maintenance. Because this occurs all the time we no longer need downtime to perform these tasks on a offline database.

Online Maintenance (OLM) of the database occurs every night for 4 hours. By default this begins at 1.00AM but can be changed to suit your requirements. Remember that OLM does not include Online Defragmentation (OLD). This process occurs in the background. In Exchange 2007, OLD was part of the OLM and added alot of time to the OLM process. OLM includes the following processes

• Cleanup (deleted items/mailboxes).Cleanup also happens during OLD.
• Space compaction. The database is compacted and space is reclaimed at run time.
  
• Maintain Contiguity The database is analysed for contiguityand space at run time and defragmented in the background.
• Database Checksum This runs against both active and passive copies of a database. Checksumming can occur within an OLM schedule or as a background process similar to OLD

The schedule or window of maintenace can be set in the following way

[PS] set-mailboxdatabase DB01 -MaintenanceSchedule "sat.1:00 AM-sat.5:00 AM"

This sets maintenance to be switched on at 1:00 am on Saturday and off at 5:00 AM

2. Change the Timing for Database Checksumming

As mentioned this can run within OLM or in the background. The background is the default but this can be changed to the OLM in the following way

[PS] set-mailboxdatabase DB01 -BackgroundDatabaseMaintenance $False