SFM: Optimizing Polling Rate for Macintosh Clients for PCMail (150978)

SUMMARY

Microsoft Mail for PC Networks ships with a client designed to run on Macintosh workstations. By default that client checks the postoffice Inbox every 30 seconds. Administrators may want to adjust the polling rate to optimize it for the number of users and bandwidth of the server.

MORE INFORMATION

Adjusting the Inbox polling value can ease server and network overhead in large installations. When considering a new polling rate, administrators should consider several factors:

Total number of users connected to the postoffice.
Total network traffic.
The overhead of providing multiple server services.
Processor utilization (Windows NT; for more detailed information on optimizing your Windows NT Server, please see the book "Optimizing Windows NT" in the Windows NT Resource Kit).

Users can adjust the polling rate by performing the following procedure:

Open the Macintosh client. If you need to locate it, press Command+F to open the Apple File Finder. Type Microsoft Mail in the search field and choose Find.
Sign in and select the Inbox.
Select the File menubar item and choose Get Info or type Command+I.
Look for Check New Mail (Secs) and enter a new number for the polling rate.

Adjusting the value for refreshing the inbox for mail will benefit not only the Macintosh user but also the mail server you are using. When considering a new polling rate, the user or administrator must consider several factors, such as how busy the traffic is on the network, whether the server providing other services such as File and Print sharing resources, and whether the processor time is close to 100 percent utilization.

The default polling rate for a Microsoft Windows user using PCMail is every five minutes.