DOCUMENT:Q258758 26-MAY-2001 [exchange] TITLE :XADM: Understanding How and When Mailbox Manager Processes Items PRODUCT :Microsoft Exchange PROD/VER::5.5 SP3 OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:exc55sp3 ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5 SP3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ====================================================================== Keywords : exc55sp3 Technology : kbExchangeSearch kbZNotKeyword2 kbExchange550SP3 Version : :5.5 SP3 Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. 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