Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2
Topic Last Modified: 2010-07-30
The Toolbox is a collection of diagnostic, troubleshooting, and recovery tools installed with Microsoft Exchange. The tools available in the Toolbox work center are divided into two categories:
- Dedicated Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0
tools Some tools, such as Queue Viewer, are
self-hosted in an MMC console. The Exchange Management Console
(EMC) doesn't have to be running to use the MMC tools.
- Independent tools Independent tools,
such as the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer, aren't integrated
with the EMC and function as separate executable files when run
from the Toolbox. These tools have their own Help file content. For
more information about how to use the tools, refer to the Help file
for each tool.
When you click the Toolbox node from the Microsoft Exchange On-Premises node, all the tools discussed in this topic are displayed in the result pane. You can open the tool by double-clicking the tool name, by clicking Open Tool from the action pane, or from the right-click menu.
When you click the Toolbox node from a remote forest node, only the following tools are displayed:
- Role Based Access Control (RBAC) User Editor
- Message Tracking
- Call Statistics
- User Call Logs
Configuration Management Tools
The following configuration management tools are available in the Toolbox:
- Best Practices Analyzer The Exchange
Best Practices Analyzer automatically examines an Exchange
deployment and determines whether the configuration is in line with
Microsoft best practices. We recommend running the Exchange Best
Practices Analyzer after you install a new Exchange server, upgrade
an existing Exchange server, or make configuration changes. For
more information, see Microsoft Exchange Analyzers.
- Details Templates Editor The Details
Templates Editor controls the appearance of the object properties
accessed by using address lists in MAPI 32-bit client applications,
such as Microsoft Outlook. For example, when a user opens an
address list in Outlook, the properties of the recipients in that
address list are displayed in accordance with the details template
that exists in your Exchange organization. For more information,
see Managing
Details Templates.
- Public Folder Management Console The
Public Folder Management Console is an MMC 3.0-based interface
that provides you with a graphical user interface (GUI) for
creating, configuring, and managing public folders. For more
information, see Using the Public Folder
Management Console.
- Remote Connectivity Analyzer The
Exchange Remote Connectivity Analyzer is a Web-based tool that
helps you troubleshoot connectivity issues. The tool simulates
several client logon and mail flow scenarios. When a test fails,
many of the errors have troubleshooting tips to assist you in
correcting the problem. For more information, see Exchange Remote Connectivity Analyzer Tool.
- Role Based Access Control (RBAC) User
Editor The RBAC User Editor allows you to add
users to management role groups. When you open this tool, you need
to sign in to Microsoft Office Outlook Web App as a user who
has permission to perform this task. After you sign in, you are
directed to the Administrator Roles tab. For more
information, see Understanding Role Based
Access Control.
Mail Flow Tools
The following mail flow tools are available in the Toolbox:
- Mail Flow Troubleshooter The Mail Flow
Troubleshooter assists you in troubleshooting common mail flow
problems. You can diagnose a problem by selecting the symptoms
observed. Based on the symptoms, the tool walks you through the
correct troubleshooting path. It shows an analysis of possible root
causes and provides suggestions for corrective actions.
- Message Tracking The Message Tracking
tool helps you access and configure delivery reports. When you open
this tool, you need to sign in to Outlook Web App as a user who has
permission to perform this task. After you sign in, you are
directed to the Delivery Reports tab. For more information,
see Understanding Message
Tracking.
- Queue Viewer Queue Viewer helps you
monitor mail flow, and inspect queues and messages. You can also
perform actions to the queuing databases such as suspending or
resuming a queue, or removing messages. For more information, see
Using Queue
Viewer.
- Routing Log Viewer Routing Log Viewer
is a tool you can use to open a routing log file that contains
information about the routing topology. You can also open a second
routing log and compare it to the first log opened. The tool
consists of a parser and a public user interface.
To use the Routing Log Viewer to view logs of routing table configuration changes, you must connect to an Exchange server that has the Hub Transport server role or the Edge Transport server role installed. For more information, see Using the Routing Log Viewer.
- Tracking Log Explorer Tracking Log
Explorer provides a detailed log of all message activity as
messages are transferred to and from an Exchange server that has
the Hub Transport server role, the Mailbox server role, or the Edge
Transport server role installed. Exchange servers that have the
Client Access server role or Unified Messaging (UM) server role
installed don't have message tracking logs. Message tracking logs
can be used for message forensics, mail flow analysis, reporting,
and troubleshooting.
Performance Tools
The following performance tools are available in the Toolbox:
- Performance Monitor Performance Monitor
is a tool you can configure to collect information about the
performance of your messaging system. Specifically, you can use it
to monitor, create graphs, and log performance metrics for core
system functions. You can also use Performance Monitor to monitor
Exchange-specific parameters, such as the number of inbound or
outbound messages per hour or the number of directory lookups
performed by Exchange. Performance Monitor is commonly used to view
key parameters while troubleshooting performance problems. It's
also used to gather baseline performance data to perform historical
trend analysis and measure the impact of changes to your Exchange
environment.
- Performance Troubleshooter Performance
Troubleshooter helps you to locate and identify performance-related
issues that could affect an Exchange server. You can diagnose a
problem by selecting the symptoms observed. Based on the symptoms,
the tool walks you through the correct troubleshooting path.
Performance Troubleshooter identifies possible bottlenecks and
suggests corrective actions.
Unified Messaging Tools
The following Unified Messaging tools are available in the Toolbox:
- Call Statistics The Call Statistics
tool provides aggregated statistical information about calls
forwarded to or placed by Unified Messaging servers. This
information can be used if you're interested in overall statistics
for the Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging servers in your
organization. When you open this tool, you need to sign in to
Outlook Web App as a user who has permission to perform this task.
After you sign in, you are directed to the Call Statistics
page. For more information, see the following topics:
- User Call Logs The User Call Logs tool
displays the call data records for a selected UM-enabled user.
These logs are useful in Help desk situations where the Help desk
employee must gather information about specific calls for a
UM-enabled user to assist them in diagnosing and fixing issues.
When you open this tool, you need to sign in to Outlook Web App as
a user who has permission to perform this task. After you sign in,
you are directed to the User Call Logs page. For more
information, see the following topics: