Applies to: Exchange Server 2013
Topic Last Modified: 2012-11-29
Each Microsoft Exchange mailbox consists of an Active Directory user account and the mailbox data stored in the Exchange mailbox database. All configuration data for a mailbox is stored in the Exchange attributes of the Active Directory user object. The mailbox database contains the mail data that's in the mailbox associated with the user account. The following figure shows the components of a mailbox.
Mailbox components
A disconnected mailbox is a mailbox object in the mailbox database that isn't associated with an Active Directory user account. There are two types of disconnected mailboxes:
- Disabled mailboxes When a mailbox is
disabled or deleted in the Exchange Administration Center (EAC) or
using the Disable-Mailbox or Remove-Mailbox cmdlet in
the Exchange Management Shell, Exchange retains the deleted mailbox
in the mailbox database, and switches the mailbox to a disabled
state. This is why mailboxes that are either disabled or deleted
are referred to as disabled mailboxes. The difference is
that when you disable a mailbox, the Exchange attributes are
removed from the corresponding Active Directory user account, but
the user account is retained. When you delete a mailbox, both the
Exchange attributes and the Active Directory user account are
deleted.
Disabled and deleted mailboxes are retained in the mailbox database until the deleted mailbox retention period expires, which is 30 days by default. After the retention period expires, the mailbox is permanently deleted (also called purged). If a mailbox is deleted using the Remove-Mailbox cmdlet, it’s also retained for the duration of the retention period.
To identify the disabled mailboxes in your organization, run the following command in the Shell.
Important:If a mailbox is deleted using the Remove-Mailbox cmdlet and either the Permanent or StoreMailboxIdentity parameter, it will be immediately deleted from the mailbox database.
Copy CodeGet-MailboxDatabase | Get-MailboxStatistics | Where { $_.DisconnectReason -eq "Disabled" } | ft DisplayName,Database,DisconnectDate - Soft-deleted mailboxes When a mailbox
is moved to a different mailbox database, Exchange doesn't fully
delete the mailbox from the source mailbox database when the move
is complete. Instead, the mailbox in the source mailbox database is
switched to a soft-deleted state. Like disabled mailboxes,
soft-deleted mailboxes are retained in the source database either
until the deleted mailbox retention period expires or until the
Remove-StoreMailbox cmdlet is used to purge the mailbox.
Run the following command to identify soft-deleted mailboxes in your organization.
Copy CodeGet-MailboxDatabase | Get-MailboxStatistics | Where { $_.DisconnectReason -eq "SoftDeleted" } | ft DisplayName,Database,DisconnectDate
Contents
Working with disabled mailboxes
Working with disabled archive mailboxes
Working with soft-deleted mailboxes
Summary of working with disconnected mailboxes
Disconnected mailbox documentation
Working with disabled mailboxes
You can perform several operations on a disabled mailbox before it’s purged from the mailbox database:
- Reconnect it to the same user account.
- Connect it to a different user account that isn’t mail-enabled,
which means the user account doesn’t have a mailbox.
- Restore it to a user account that has an existing mailbox. For
example, if a user whose mailbox was deleted has a new mailbox, you
can restore the user’s disabled mailbox to their new mailbox.
- Permanently delete it from the Exchange mailbox database.
Connecting or restoring a disabled mailbox
Here are scenarios in which you may want to connect or restore a disabled mailbox before the mailbox retention period expires or before it's permanently deleted:
- You disabled a mailbox and now want to reconnect the mailbox to
the same Active Directory user account.
- You deleted a mailbox by using the EAC or the Remove-Mailbox
cmdlet and now want to reconnect the mailbox to a different Active
Directory user account.
- You deleted a mailbox and now want to restore the mailbox to an
existing mailbox. For example, if a user whose mailbox was deleted
has a new mailbox, you can restore the user’s disabled mailbox to
their new mailbox.
- You want to convert a user mailbox to a linked mailbox
associated with a user account that’s external to the forest in
which your Exchange organization exists. The resource forest
scenario is an example of when you would want to associate a
mailbox with an external account. In this scenario, user objects in
the Exchange forest have mailboxes, but the user objects are
disabled for logon. You must associate a mailbox in the Exchange
forest with a user account in the external account forest.
There are two ways you can reconnect or restore a disabled mailbox. The first method is to use the EAC or the Connect-Mailbox cmdlet to connect a disabled mailbox to a user account. For procedures to reconnect disabled mailboxes, see Connect a Disabled Mailbox.
The second method uses the New-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet to merge the contents of the disabled mailbox with an existing mailbox. This cmdlet uses the Mailbox Replication Service (MRS) to restore the mailbox. For procedures to restore disabled mailboxes, see Connect or Restore a Deleted Mailbox.
Permanently deleting a disabled mailbox
As stated previously, Exchange retains disabled mailboxes in the mailbox database based on the deleted mailbox retention settings configured for that mailbox database. After the specified retention period, a disabled mailbox is purged from the Exchange mailbox database. You can also permanently delete a disabled mailbox and all its message content from the mailbox database by using the Remove-StoreMailbox cmdlet. After a disabled mailbox is automatically purged or permanently deleted by an administrator, the data loss is permanent and the mailbox can't be recovered.
For more information, see Permanently Delete a Mailbox.
Working with disabled archive mailboxes
Archive mailboxes become disconnected when they’re disabled. Similar to a disabled primary mailbox, a disconnected archive mailbox can be connected by using the Connect-Mailbox cmdlet with the Archive parameter.
The primary mailbox and the archive mailbox share the same legacy distinguished name (DN), so you must connect the archive mailbox to the same user mailbox that it was previously connected to. You can't connect the archive mailbox to a different user mailbox.
You can perform two operations on a disconnected archive mailbox:
- Connect it to an existing primary
mailbox Like a disconnected primary mailbox, a
disconnected archive mailbox is retained in the mailbox database
until the deleted mailbox retention period expires, which is 30
days by default. During this time, you can recover the archive
mailbox by reconnecting it to the same user account that it was
connected to before it was disabled.
For more information, see Manage In-Place Archives.
Note:If you disable an archive mailbox for a user mailbox and then enable an archive mailbox for that same user, that user mailbox will get a new archive mailbox. You must use the Connect-Mailbox cmdlet to connect a disabled archive mailbox to an existing mailbox.
- Permanently delete it from the Exchange mailbox database
Exchange retains disconnected archive mailboxes
based on the deleted mailbox retention settings configured for the
mailbox database. The default retention period is 30 days. After
the specified mailbox retention period, a disconnected archive
mailbox is purged from the Exchange mailbox database.
Like a disabled primary mailbox, you can permanently delete a disabled archive mailbox at any time by using the Remove-StoreMailbox cmdlet. For more information, see Permanently Delete a Mailbox.
Working with soft-deleted mailboxes
A soft-deleted mailbox is created when a mailbox is moved from one Exchange mailbox database to any other mailbox database. Exchange doesn’t fully delete the mailbox from the source database after a move in case an error occurs during the move that causes the mailbox on the destination database to fail. You can always restore the source mailbox and try again. Exchange will retain the soft-deleted mailbox for the duration of the mailbox retention period.
You can perform two operations on a soft-deleted mailbox:
- Restore it to an existing mailbox.
- Permanently delete it from the Exchange mailbox database.
The procedures for restoring and permanently deleting a soft-deleted mailbox are similar to those for a disabled mailbox. For more information, see the following topics:
Summary of working with disconnected mailboxes
The following table summarizes the information about disconnected mailboxes, including how the mailbox was disconnected, what happens to the corresponding Active Directory user account when a mailbox is disconnected, and the options and tools you have to connect or restore disconnected mailboxes.
| How mailbox was disabled | Value of DisconnectReason property | Is Active Directory user account retained? | Connect or restore options | Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Disabled |
Yes |
Connect to same user account |
|
|
Disabled |
No |
|
|
|
Moved to a different mailbox database |
SoftDeleted |
Yes |
|
|
Disconnected mailbox documentation
The following table contains links to topics that will help you manage disconnected mailboxes. This includes managing disconnected user mailboxes, linked mailboxes, resource mailboxes, and shared mailboxes.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
|
Learn how to disable or delete mailboxes. |
|
|
Learn how to connect a disabled mailbox to an existing user account. |
|
|
Learn how to connect a deleted mailbox to a user account or restore the contents of a deleted mailbox to an existing mailbox. |
|
|
Learn how to connect a soft-deleted mailbox to a user account or restore a soft-deleted mailbox to an existing mailbox. |
|
|
Learn how to manage mailbox restore requests using the Shell. |
|
|
Learn how to permanently delete a mailbox. |