Supporting Messaging Clients

Enable Protocol Logging

Protocol logs track the commands that the SMTP virtual server receives from SMTP clients over the network. The protocol logs can also be used to track outgoing commands. You can choose which logging format Exchange uses for recording information. You can choose one of the ASCII-based formats, or you can create an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) database. The ASCII logs can be read in a text editor, but are generally loaded into a report-generating software tool. ODBC logging format is a record of a fixed set of data fields in an ODBC-compliant database, such as Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server.

Note   When setting up a log file, remember that the log formats and default file names are the same as those used by other services in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). All transactions for all services are recorded in <root>\WINNT\System32\LogFiles\SMTPSVC<#>, where <#> is the specific SMTP virtual server (SMTPSVC1 is the default SMTP virtual server). Also, because logging is shared with IIS, some of the names are not SMTP-specific.

To enable protocol logging:

Related Topics

Using Protocol Logs