XADM: Offline Defragmentation Does Not Reclaim Space After Changing Deleted Items Retention Setting (258951)

SYMPTOMS

If you reduce the number of days for the Deleted Items Retention setting in the Exchange Server Administrator program and then run an offline defragmentation, the space that should be reclaimed from the removal of deleted items that exceed the new Deleted Items Retention setting is not freed from the Priv.edb database.

CAUSE

This issue can occur because the removal of these deleted items is not completed until an online defragmentation (information store maintenance) has been run on the Priv.edb database. After an online defragmentation of the Priv.edb database is allowed to finish, an offline defragmentation reclaims free space from the database.

WORKAROUND

To free up space in the Priv.edb database as quickly as possible after you reduce the days in Deleted Items Retention, open the properties of the Server object, click the IS Maintenance tab, and then click Always to run an online defragmentation.

The online defragmentation may take up to 30 minutes to begin. The beginning of the defragmentation is logged with the following event in the application event log:

Event ID: 179
Source: Ese97
Type: Information
Category: Online Defragmentation
Description: MSExchangeIS (170) Online Defragmentation is beginning a full pass on database 'C:\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv.edb'.

The defrag may take several hours to complete and upon complete will log the following in the application log:

Event ID: 180
Source: Ese97
Type: Information
Category: Online Defragmentation
Description: MSExchangeIS (170) Online Defragmentation has completed a full pass on database 'C:\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv.edb'.

After the online defragmentation is complete, you must stop the information store to run the offline defragmentation (the eseutil /d /ispriv command) and reclaim the free space.