Applies to: Exchange Server 2013

Topic Last Modified: 2012-09-17

Use the Test-AssistantHealth cmdlet to verify that the Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Assistants service (MSExchangeMailboxAssistants) is healthy, to recover from health issues, and to report the status of the diagnosis or recovery action.

For information about the parameter sets in the Syntax section below, see Syntax.

Syntax


`Test-AssistantHealth [-IncludeCrashDump <SwitchParameter>] [-MaxProcessingTimeInMinutes <UInt32>] [-MonitoringContext <SwitchParameter>] [-ResolveProblems <SwitchParameter>] [-ServerName <ServerIdParameter>] [-WatermarkBehindWarningThreholdInMinutes <UInt32>] [-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]] [-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]]`

Examples

EXAMPLE 1

This example detects and repairs the mailbox assistant's health on MBXSVR01, includes the error information, and formats the output to a list.

	Copy Code
Test-AssistantHealth -ServerName MBXSVR01 -IncludeCrashDump -ResolveProblems \| Format-List

EXAMPLE 2

This example detects the mailbox assistant's health on the local Mailbox server. The MaxProcessingTimeInMinutes parameter specifies 30 minutes as the maximum amount of time the service is allowed to process an event without responding, and formats the output to a list.

	Copy Code
Test-AssistantHealth -MaxProcessingTimeInMinutes 30 \| Format-List

Detailed Description

The Mailbox Assistants service runs on all servers that have the Mailbox server role installed. This service is responsible for scheduling and dispatching several assistants that ensure mailboxes function correctly.

By default, when you run this cmdlet, it returns the RunspaceId, events, and performance counters in a table format.

You need to be assigned permissions before you can run this cmdlet. Although all parameters for this cmdlet are listed in this topic, you may not have access to some parameters if they're not included in the permissions assigned to you. To see what permissions you need, see the "Mailbox Assistants" entry in the Recipients Permissions topic.

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
Confirm	Optional	System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter	The Confirm switch causes the command to pause processing and requires you to acknowledge what the command will do before processing continues. You don't have to specify a value with the Confirm switch.
IncludeCrashDump	Optional	System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter	The IncludeCrashDump parameter specifies that the command should take an error report prior to taking any recovery actions. This parameter should only be used if running from a local computer. If you use the parameter while connected remotely, the command fails. The default value for this parameter is `$false`. You don't have to specify a value with this parameter.
MaxProcessingTimeInMinutes	Optional	System.UInt32	The MaxProcessingTimeInMinutes parameter specifies the maximum amount of time the MSExchangeMailboxAssistants service is allowed to process an event without responding. You can specify a value from 1 through 3600 minutes. The default value is 15 minutes.
MonitoringContext	Optional	System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter	The MonitoringContext switch includes the associated monitoring events and performance counters in the results. You don't need to specify a value with this switch. Typically, you include the monitoring events and performance counters in the results when the output is passed to Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 or System Center 2012 - Operations Manager.
ResolveProblems	Optional	System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter	This ResolveProblems parameter specifies that if the command detects an issue, it attempts to fix it. This command attempts to fix the following issues: Starts the Mailbox Assistants service if it isn't running. Restarts the Mailbox Assistants service if it detects that the service is hung or deadlocked for more than 15 minutes. You don't have to specify a value with this parameter.
ServerName	Optional	Microsoft.Exchange.Configuration.Tasks.ServerIdParameter	The ServerName parameter specifies the identity of the Mailbox server on which the mailbox assistant that's being tested resides. If this parameter isn't specified, the command runs on the local server. If the local server isn't a Mailbox server, the command fails.
WatermarkBehindWarningThreholdInMinutes	Optional	System.UInt32	The WatermarkBehindWarningThreholdInMinutes parameter specifies the threshold for watermark age. Event watermarks indicate the last time that events were successfully processed by an assistant. An event watermark that hasn't been updated in a while may indicate a problem. For each Mailbox Assistant, the Test-AssistantHealth cmdlet compares the current time with the time stamp of the last event watermark to determine the watermark age. If that age exceeds the value set by the WatermarkBehindWarningThreholdInMinutes parameter, a warning is generated. You can specify a value from 1 through 10080 minutes. The default value is 60 minutes.
WhatIf	Optional	System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter	The WhatIf switch instructs the command to simulate the actions that it would take on the object. By using the WhatIf switch, you can view what changes would occur without having to apply any of those changes. You don't have to specify a value with the WhatIf switch.

Input Types

To see the input types that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Input Type field for a cmdlet is blank, the cmdlet doesn’t accept input data.

Return Types

To see the return types, which are also known as output types, that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Output Type field is blank, the cmdlet doesn’t return data.