Exchange 2016 Dealing With Log File Generation From Mailbox Migrations With limited Free Space
We have two existing Exchange 2016 servers in a DAG. Unfortunately there are 2TB of email boxes on them and only around 250GB of free space left on the volume that houses the mailboxes. To further complicate matters, these volumes were created as MBR instead of GPT volumes so they cannot be expanded any further. We have two new Exchange 2016 servers in a new DAG in the same organization. These have volumes that have been configured appropriately. The concern we have of course is the amount of log files that will be generated using batch moves and the possibility of filling up the volume. There are 10 databases so as we empty them and delete them, space will become less and less of an issue but we have to get through the initial migrations. At first we thought about slowly moving a few mailboxes and then running backup jobs to clear the logs but then it occurred to us that since the generation of log files related to mailbox migrations is tied to the Migration.8f3e7716-2011-43
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
The DBs that will get logs created are the target DBs so regardless of being a replica DB or an active mounted DB the target will get created logs. I would suggest enabling circular logging so that you can move without the worry of logs filling up your storage. Alot of people will balk at that option but it's a viable option that I use when i have a lot of moves. After you feel space is no longer and issue you can disable it an continue your moves, but I would just leave it until all the moves are complete.
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Hello timgreen7077,
If the issue were only concerning logs on the destination, we would have no concerns. There is abundant space there. The issue I am refering to is discussed in this article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2800556/large-transaction-logs-are-generated-when-you-move-mailboxes-in-exchan
If the issue were only concerning logs on the destination, we would have no concerns. There is abundant space there. The issue I am refering to is discussed in this article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2800556/large-transaction-logs-are-generated-when-you-move-mailboxes-in-exchan
Correct, the transaction logs are why I recommended enabling circular logging. The mailbox you are referring to is an arbitration mailbox and only captures meta data, so you can move that mailbox first to the new DB, but that will not stop transaction logs from growing on the target DBs during the migration. Yes you can move the arbitration mailbox, but I would still enable circular logging on the target DBs, so that transaction logs don't fill up your drives before you perform a backup so that the logs can be written to the DB.
ASKER
What about the transaction logs on the source? THAT is the true concern as we are very short on space there and cannot expand.
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That's what I was thinking but wanted to make sure I was correct. We have an enormous amount of space and they are already being backed up every night. I will move the migration mailbox so that it does not sit on the old servers were space is so constrained.
Thank you for your input. Big help in confirming my thoughts.
Thank you for your input. Big help in confirming my thoughts.
Sure thing, just be sure not the have migrations going during your backup window. That can be a nightmare.
ASKER
Oh for sure.