Topic Last Modified: 2005-07-08

When you start the Microsoft® Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool, you must set the parameters for the scan. First, you must choose if you want to download the latest update to the best practices rules. For more information about checking for updates and downloading the latest update file, see Installing.

Next, you must select an action. On the Welcome page, choose Select options for a new scan or Select a Best Practices report to view. If you choose to view an existing report, you can select a file from the list of output files that are stored locally. You can also import an output file from another location, instead of choosing an output file that is stored locally. After you have chosen an output file, you can view the report from that file. For more information about reports, see Understanding the Tool Output.

If you choose Select options for a new scan, you must connect to the Active Directory® directory service and run a new scan. By default, the Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer detects the closest Active Directory server. You can connect to this server, or you can connect to a different Active Directory server by typing in the name of that server.

The Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer uses the account under which the tool is running by default. To use different accounts to log on to Active Directory or to log on to the Exchange servers, click Show advanced login options to expand the options. In the upper part of the expanded window, you enter account credentials to log on to Active Directory. In the lower part of the expanded window, you enter account credentials to log on to the Exchange servers.

You can use the same account to log on to Active Directory and to log on to the Exchange servers, or you can use different accounts to log on to Active Directory and to log on to the Exchange servers. If you leave the upper part or the lower part of the expanded window blank, the Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer logs on with the account under which the Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer is running.

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