Topic Last Modified: 2007-02-16

The Microsoft Exchange Performance Troubleshooter collects a data from several sources to produce the recommended remediation advice. Data is collected in discrete steps, and then it is analyzed. Depending on the results of each step, additional data collection may be required. Some of the data, such as the symptom, requires user input. Other data is collected automatically from the problem server.

Selecting the Symptom

As the first step in the analysis process, the Exchange Performance Troubleshooter asks for the symptom. Based on the symptom, different troubleshooting steps occur.

Symptoms

  • The number of RPC operations per second is higher than expected.

    Select this symptom if the server that is running Exchange appears to be busier than expected. As part of the troubleshooting, the Microsoft Exchange User Monitor (ExMon) tool tracks the remote procedure calls (RPC) from Microsoft Office Outlook and other MAPI clients. If the Exchange Performance Troubleshooter detects an abnormally high user load, the tool isolates the source of the problem, such as the individual user, that is causing the server performance problem.

  • Multiple users are complaining of delays when they are using Outlook, or are frequently seeing the Outlook cancellable RPC dialog box.

    Select this symptom if users are seeing unacceptable time delays when performing operations within the Outlook client. For example, if there are severe delays when users are switching from one folder to another, such as from Inbox to Calendar. Some versions of the Outlook client show a Requesting data window if the server does not respond to a client request in a timely manner. These issues are typically attributed to server load or a bottleneck on the server itself. The Exchange Performance Troubleshooter isolates the source of the bottleneck.

A list of recommendations is shown on the result page when the Exchange Performance Troubleshooter has completed its analysis.

Data Collection

The following data repositories are used to obtain configuration settings:

  • Active Directory directory service

  • Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

  • Registry

Additionally, the tool captures live data to isolate the root cause of performance issues. The following data repositories are used to sample real-time data:

  • Performance Data Helper (PDH) library

  • Trace data from the Exchange Server User Monitor (ExMon) Tool

For real-time data, counters and logs are sampled over a given time period. This kind of collection may take several minutes to be completed.

For More Information

For more information about the Exchange Performance Troubleshooter, see Overview of the Microsoft Exchange Performance Troubleshooter.

For more information about the output of the tool, see Understanding the Microsoft Exchange Performance Troubleshooter Output.