Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP3, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP1
Topic Last Modified: 2007-08-24

The Routing Log Viewer is a new tool with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1). The tool works on an Exchange 2007 SP1 server that has the Hub Transport or the Edge Transport server roles installed. It is started from the Exchange Management Console (EMC).

In earlier versions of Exchange, you could connect to the Exchange Routing Engine service on port 691 by using the WinRoute tool. Because there is no Routing Engine in Exchange 2007, the Routing Log Viewer enables an administrator to open a routing log file that contains information about how the routing topology appears to the server. And, it enables the administrator to open a second routing log and then determine the changes that have occurred within the routing topology between two time periods. The benefit of this is when routing problems resolve themselves before the issue could be troubleshot, or for determining what changes have occurred in the topology over time. In these cases, if problems occurred because of changes in the routing topology, the tool can be used to compare the changes and help resolve any mail routing problems.

The tool consists of a parser and a public graphical user interface to the parsing component.

Examples of How Routing Table Log Data Can Be Used

The following are examples of how an administrator can use the tool to examine the routing data.

Finding the Lowest Cost Path to a Site

After a routing log XML file is opened and parsed, the Routing Log Viewer displays all the information about each Active Directory directory service site in the Active Directory Sites & Routing Groups tab on the Routing Log Viewer screen. To find the lowest cost path from the local site to another site, locate the destination site, expand it, find the Previous Active Directory site, and follow the chain until you reach the local site.

Find the Preferred Connector for a Given Address

After a routing log file is opened and parsed, the Routing Log Viewer displays all the information about each address space that can be routed by the local server. For a given address space, all connectors that have the address space configured are listed in the priority order using the address selection algorithm that is used by Exchange 2007 SP1 routing. Unless the preferred connector has size restrictions, the preferred connector is listed first, is bold, and is always the connector that is used to route to the address space that it is listed under. If the preferred connector has size restrictions, the next best connector in the list that meets size restrictions, or a connector with a less specific address space match, is chosen.

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