Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2

Topic Last Modified: 2011-03-19

Modifying logging levels may help you troubleshoot issues that may occur in an Exchange Server 2010 environment. This topic explains how to use the Exchange Management Console and the Exchange Management Shell to change the diagnostic logging level for processes used by Exchange 2010.

The logging level for each Exchange process determines which events are written to the Application event log in Event Viewer. Changing the process logging level for a given process may not yield additional events in the event log. Many variables affect whether a change to the process logging level setting will increase the number of events. These variables include, but are not limited to, the actions being performed by the process and the number of events implemented in the source code for the logging level selected.

You can use the information in the following table to configure settings for any of the Exchange server roles in your organization. The default logging level is 0 (Lowest). It's recommended that you return the logging level to the default setting after completing your troubleshooting activities.

Logging level Description

Lowest

Only critical events, error events, and events with a logging level of zero (0) are logged.

Note:
This is the default level for all services on Exchange servers.

Low

Events with a logging level of 1 or lower are logged.

Medium

Events with a logging level of 3 or lower are logged.

High

Events with a logging level of 5 or lower are logged.

Expert

Events with a logging level of 7 or lower are logged.

What Do You Want to Do?

Use the EMC to set logging levels

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Shell infrastructure permissions" section in the Exchange and Shell Infrastructure Permissions topic.

  1. In the console tree, navigate to Server Configuration > Mailbox.

  2. In the Actions pane, select Manage Diagnostic Logging Properties.

  3. On the Manage Diagnostic Logging Properties wizard page, click the Exchange service for which you want to change the logging level.

  4. Select the logging level, and then click Configure.

    Note:
    You can return to the default logging levels by selecting Reset all services to default logging levels and then clicking Configure.
  5. On the Completion page, confirm whether the process completed successfully. A status of Completed indicates that the wizard completed the task successfully. A status of Failed indicates that the task wasn't completed. If the task fails, review the summary for an explanation, and then click Back to make any configuration changes.

  6. Click Finish to complete the Manage Diagnostic Logging Level wizard.

Use the Shell to set logging levels

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Shell infrastructure permissions" section in the Exchange and Shell Infrastructure Permissions topic.

This example identifies all processes and their current logging level.

Copy Code 
Get-EventLogLevel

This example changes the MSExchangeAl\Account Management logging level to High.

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Set-EventLogLevel -Identity "MSExchangeAl\AccountManagement" -Level High

For more information on setting or viewing your logging levels, see the following: