Q258758: XADM: Understanding How and When Mailbox Manager Processes Items
Article: Q258758
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): 5.5 SP3
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): exc55sp3
Last Modified: 26-MAY-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5 SP3
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SUMMARY
=======
This article discusses the expected behavior of the Exchange Server Mailbox
Manager service in different settings and with different target item locations.
The Mailbox Manager service processes items according to the age limit, item
location, and deletion mode that are selected. The service either deletes or
moves items that reach specified age limits for the location of those items.
This article assumes that the Run Mode is set to Cleanup rather than Audit on
the General tab of the Mailbox Manager add-in properties.
The Mailbox Manager service is included with Exchange Server Service Pack 3,
either on the CD-ROM in the Support\Mbmngr folder, or in the Sp3_55ss.exe file
that is available from the following Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/downloads/55/SP3_EngDL.asp
Note that the Mailbox Manager service requires Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 2
or later. See the Mailbox Manager documentation for complete system
requirements.
MORE INFORMATION
================
How Mailbox Manager Processes Items
-----------------------------------
Mailbox Manager processes items according to the Deletion Mode that is selected
on the General tab of the Exchange Server add-in object properties. If Mailbox
Manager is enabled for a folder in the Folder Age Limits dialog box and an item
in that folder exceeds the age limit that is specified in that dialog box, that
item is "processed." Mailbox Manager can move an item to the Deleted Items
folder or to a corresponding subfolder in the System Cleanup folders, or Mailbox
Manager can "hard delete" an item immediately. The following are available
Deletion Mode settings and explanations of these settings:
- Move to Deleted Items. This deletion mode simply moves the processed item to
the Deleted Items folder.
- Move to System Cleanup Folders. This deletion mode creates subfolders in the
System Cleanup folders that correspond to the processed items. The System
Cleanup folders are created at the root of each user's mailbox at the same
hierarchical level as the Inbox folder.
- Delete Items Immediately. This deletion mode performs a "hard delete" on
processed items.
For additional information about how to recover these items, click the article
number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q178630 XADM: How to Recover Items That Do Not Touch the Deleted Items Folder
The exception to these explanations is the Deleted Items hierarchy. Mailbox
Manager handles items in the Deleted Items hierarchy differently than items in
other folders. Mailbox Manager never moves items in the Deleted Items folder or
any of its subfolders to the System Cleanup folders or back to the Deleted Items
folder. Instead, when Mailbox Manager processes an item in the Deleted Items
folder, that item is deleted immediately.
When Mailbox Manager Processes Items
------------------------------------
Mailbox Manager processes an item if the age of the item has reached the age
limit that is specified in the Folder Age Limits dialog box for the folder in
which the item is contained.
The age of an item is determined by the amount of time that has elapsed since the
item was sent to the mailbox, and not by the amount of time that an item has
spent in a particular folder. As a result, the System Cleanup folders need to
have an age limit that is greater that all of the other folders.
For example, if the Inbox folder has a 10-day limit and System Cleanup folders
have a 15-day limit, after an item has been in the Inbox folder for 10 days,
Mailbox Manager moves the item to the System Cleanup folder. The item only stays
in the System Cleanup folder for 5 days before Mailbox Manager deletes the item,
rather than the 15 days that might be expected. This is because the actual age
of the item is 15 days, even though the item has been in the System Cleanup
folders for only 5 days. The age of an item is determined by the time that the
item was sent to the mailbox, not the amount of time that the item remains in
the System Cleanup folders.
IMPORTANT: Note that items that are in the subfolders of any folder that is
listed in the Folder Age Limits dialog box (for example, subfolders of the
Inbox, Sent Items, or Calendar folders) are processed when they reach the age
limits that are set for Other Folders.
Quick Reference Tables
----------------------
The following table outlines the way that an item is processed according to the
location of the item and the deletion mode that is selected for the item. To
find out the way that an item is processed, find the deletion mode in the column
headings, and then find the item location in the row headings; the intersection
is the action that is performed on the item during processing.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | Move to Deleted Items Folder | Move to System Cleanup Folders | Delete Immediately |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Item is in the root of any folder (except Deleted Items) listed in the Folder Age Limits dialog box. | Moved to root of the Deleted Items folder. | Moved to corresponding subfolder of the System Cleanup folders. | Deleted. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Item is in the root of the Deleted Items folder. | Deleted. | Deleted. | Deleted. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Item is in any folder (except in subfolders of Deleted Items folder or in subfolders of the System Cleanup folders) not listed in the Folder Age Limits dialog box. | Moved to root of the Deleted Items folder. | Moved to corresponding subfolder of the System Cleanup folders. | Deleted. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Item is in subfolders of the Deleted Items folder. | Deleted. | Deleted. | Deleted. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Item is in the System Cleanup folders. | Deleted. | Deleted. | Deleted. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The following table contains the age limit settings that applies to items in
given locations. Each row contains an age limit that determines when an item is
processed and an item location.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Item Location | Determinant Setting in the Folder Age Limits Dialog Box |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Root of any folder listed in the Folder Age Limits dialog box | Age limit for that folder |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Root or any subfolder of the System Cleanup folders | The System Cleanup folders |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Subfolder of any folder (except the System Cleanup Folders) listed in the Folder Age Limits dialog box | Other folders |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Additional query words: MBMgr MBCleanup
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Keywords : exc55sp3
Technology : kbExchangeSearch kbZNotKeyword2 kbExchange550SP3
Version : :5.5 SP3
Issue type : kbinfo
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