Topic Last Modified: 2006-02-13
The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool includes a performance data collection engine that is used to query performance counter objects on computers that are running Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003. The performance data collection engine collects data from the Categorizer Queue Length performance counter of the SMTP Server performance object to analyze performance data.
If the Exchange Server Analyzer determines that the Categorizer Queue Length counter has exceeded the peak value of 10 during the sample time slice, the Exchange Server Analyzer displays an error.
The SMTP Server\Categorizer Queue Length counter indicates the number of messages in the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Categorizer queue waiting for directory service attribute searches using global catalog servers.
The categorizer performs the following core operations:
- Resolves and validates all recipients.
- Determines limits and restrictions for all recipients.
- Expands distribution lists if that is required.
- Determines whether the message is for local or remote
delivery
This error indicates that there may be problems with server or network performance, Directory Service Access (DSAccess), the Active Directory® directory service, or outages with key servers in the Exchange Server organization. An increase in the Categorizer Queue Length counter may indicate a either a slow response or no response in consulting Active Directory or in handing off messages for local delivery or SMTP. This might cause delayed mail delivery.
To address this error:
- Verify that sufficient Active Directory resources are available
to the Exchange server. This includes both domain controllers and
global catalog servers. The recommended practice is to maintain a
4:1 ratio between Exchange server processors and global catalog
server processors of similar speed.
- From Exchange System Manager, verify that all domain
controllers listed on the Exchange server’s DSAccess tab are
functioning correctly. This includes servers listed in the
ConfigDC, domain controller, and global catalog server roles.
- Monitor network performance between the Exchange server and its
chosen domain controllers and global catalog servers to determine
whether there is a network performance bottleneck.
- Monitor processor utilization on the Exchange server and also
processor utilization of the Inetinfo.exe process. This includes
the categorizer component.
- Verify the health of Exchange-related user and group objects by
using the e2kdsinteg configuration object from the
ConfigDSInteg tool in Microsoft Exchange Server Deployment
Tools (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=21231). Objects
that have malformed addresses or incomplete information can cause
delays in recipient determination and delay categorization.
For More Information
For more information about troubleshooting Exchange Server performance issues, see Troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Server Performance (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=47588).