Topic Last Modified: 2005-11-18

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool queries the Exchange Server Microsoft Windows® Management Instrumentation (WMI) object (Exchange_Server class) to determine the IsFrontEndServer value for the server. If the value is True, the Exchange server is acting as a front-end server. If the server has mailbox stores, the Exchange Server Analyzer queries the Active Directory® directory service to determine how many mailboxes are on the server. Each mailbox store object (msExchPrivateMDB class) has a multi-valued attribute homeMDBBL that lists all of the mailboxes in the store. By counting these values, the Exchange Server Analyzer obtains the total number of mailboxes on the server.

If the Exchange server is designated as a front-end server and also has more than 20 mailboxes configured, a warning is displayed.

Depending on your configuration, Exchange may need to put service mailboxes on the front-end server. For example, if the front-end server accepts Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail from the Internet, the Exchange SMTP service may need a dedicated mailbox on the server. The Exchange Server Analyzer accounts for these service mailboxes by only displaying a warning if there are more than 20 mailboxes configured on the Exchange server.

You should not put user mailboxes on the front-end server. Such a configuration is not supported.

If user mailboxes reside on the front-end server, use Exchange System Manager (Exchange Server 2003 only) or Active Directory Users and Computers to move them to a suitable back-end server.

To move mailboxes (Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003)

  1. In Active Directory Users and Computers, select the user or users whose mailboxes you want to move.

  2. Right-click the user list you selected in the previous step, and then click Exchange Tasks.

  3. In the Exchange Task Wizard, on the Available Tasks page, click Move Mailbox, and then click Next.

  4. Carefully read and follow the remaining steps in the wizard.

To move mailboxes (Exchange Server 2003 only)

  1. In Exchange System Manager, expand Servers, expand the server from which you want to move mailboxes, expand the Storage Group from which you want to move mailboxes, expand the Mailbox Store that contains the mailboxes that you want to move, and then click Mailboxes.

  2. In the details pane, right-click the user or users whose mailboxes you want to move, and then click Exchange Tasks.

  3. In the Exchange Task Wizard, on the Available Tasks page, click Move Mailbox, and then click Next.

  4. Carefully read and follow the remaining steps in the wizard.

For more information about correct configurations of Exchange front-end servers, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 822443, "Front-End Server Considerations in Exchange Server 2003" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=3052&kbid=822443).

For general recommendations about deploying and configuring Exchange front-end servers, see the Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=47569).

For more information about errors that can occur from running user mailboxes on an Exchange front-end server, see the Knowledge Base article 273296, "XCON: Users Cannot Retrieve Mail on a Front-End Server" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=3052&kbid=273296).

For more information about moving mailboxes on Exchange Server 2003, see the following Knowledge Base articles: