Topic Last Modified: 2007-02-16

To install the Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant, run the Microsoft Installer file, ExTRA.msi, on the computer where you will run the analyzer tool. By default, the installer creates a directory named ExTRA at <system drive>\Program Files\, and copies the required files to this new directory.

Selecting a Computer for Installation

You can install the Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant on the server that it will be analyzing, or on another server that has access to it. Some functionality may be disabled when you run remotely.

For information about how to install and use a dedicated management station, see the Exchange Server 2003 Administration Guide at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=21769.

Note:
Install the Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant on a workstation or server that is running a U.S. English version of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

To install the tool on a computer that is outside the Exchange organization, you must explicitly set the user names and passwords for logging on Active Directory directory service and the Exchange servers.

Checking for Updates

When you start the Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant, it can scan for updates to the tool or to the various analyzer configuration files, for example, ExTRA.config.xml, ExPTA.config.xml, or ExDRA.config.xml. Any combination of these files will be updated and released as an update package in regular Web release cycles, or other ad hoc releases. If there is a new version, you can download the new file from the page referenced in the following procedure. You must be logged on to the computer as an administrator to download the files. If you decide not to download a new file, or if the tool cannot access the Internet, the tool will use the copy of the file that is on the computer where you are running the tool.

To manually copy new versions of the configuration files

  1. Locate the Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Tool V1.0 Updates page at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50424 in your Web browser.

  2. Download the self-extracting package and extract the new files to a different directory from where the tool is installed (typically C:\Program Files\ExTRA).

  3. Note which files are included in the update package.

  4. Rename the existing files that are affected by the update.

  5. Copy the extracted files to the directory where the tool is installed (typically C:\Program Files\ExTRA).

Functions that Work only when Exchange Local Computer is being Analyzed

This table lists functions that will work only when the Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant is used to analyze the local computer where Exchange Server is installed.

Task

Symptom or function

Exchange Performance Troubleshooter

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

Exchange Mail Flow Troubleshooter

All symptoms when analyzing Exchange Server 2007 Edge Transport server role that is not configured to use EdgeSync subscription process.

Exchange Database Recovery Management

The task to repair the database.