Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP3, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007
Topic Last Modified: 2007-08-02

This topic explains how to use the Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable circular logging for a storage group. Circular logging allows Microsoft Exchange to overwrite transaction log files after the data that the log files contain has been committed to the database. Circular logging is not recommended in production environments. 

Before You Begin

To perform this procedure, the account you use must be delegated the following:

  • Exchange Server Administrator role and local Administrators group for the target server

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange Server 2007, see Permission Considerations.

Important:
In Exchange 2007, circular logging is disabled by default. By enabling circular logging, you reduce drive storage space requirements. However, without a complete set of transaction log files, you cannot recover any data more recent than the last full backup. Therefore, in a normal production environment, circular logging is not recommended.

Procedure

To use the Exchange Management Console to enable or disable circular logging

  1. Start the Exchange Management Console.

  2. In the console tree, expand Server Configuration, and then click Mailbox.

  3. In the work pane, right-click the storage group for which you want to enable or disable circular logging, and then click Properties. The <Storage Group Name> Properties dialog box appears.

  4. Select or clear the Enable circular logging check box.

  5. Click OK.

  6. To make your changes to the circular logging settings effective, restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service, or dismount and then mount all of the databases in the storage group.

    Caution:
    Mailboxes and public folders on a server are unavailable to users while the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service is being restarted, and mailboxes and public folders in a database are unavailable while a database is being dismounted and remounted.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable or disable circular logging

  • To enable circular logging, run the following command:

    Copy Code 
    Set-StorageGroup -Identity "First Storage Group" -CircularLoggingEnabled $true

  • To disable circular logging, run the following command:

    Copy Code 
    Set-StorageGroup -Identity "First Storage Group" -CircularLoggingEnabled $false

  • To make your changes to the circular logging settings effective, restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service, or dismount and then mount all of the databases in the storage group.

    Caution:
    Mailboxes and public folders on a server are unavailable to users while the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service is being restarted, and mailboxes and public folders in a database are unavailable while a database is being dismounted and remounted.

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-StorageGroup reference topic.

For More Information

For more information about circular logging and transaction logging in Exchange 2007, see Understanding Transaction Logging.