Exchange Server Properties

Each Exchange server has a unique set of properties that control how Argent for Exchange communicates or retrieves information.

The Exchange server properties are accessed through the License Manager, right-clicking on a server, and selecting Properties.



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Message Tracking Logs

Microsoft Exchange allows administrators to selectively enable Message Tracking Logs. When enabled, all information of traffic and messages between Exchange components are logged.

Argent for Exchange can read and parse these tracking logs in the background. The information found in these logs are used for Message Traffic Rules.

In other words, the Rules run against the tracking logs stored in the database, instead of reading tracking logs in real time (which is very slow to process).

  • Enable Log Archive – Turn on or off

  • Interval (Minutes) – The looping interval that Argent reads the tracking log. If not completed in one loop, Argent will run again every minute until it catches up.

  • Maximum Step (Minutes) – Maximum time range to read at each interval. For example, let’s say Argent is 1 day behind in its log parsing. If the maximum step is 30 minutes, then Argent will read 30-minutes worth of log entries every minute until it catches up.

  • Maximum Loopback (Days) – When archiving is first turned on, Argent only looks back for the specified number of days.

  • Use Monitoring Engine – Specifies which Monitoring Engine (Trusted Agent) does the job. Sometimes the Main Engine does not have the necessary access privileges.

  • Shared Process Pool – Specifies which shared Monitoring Engine process to use. We recommend using shared Monitoring Engine processes. Tracking log reading and archiving are CPU intensive work.

  • Read Log File Directly – True if reading tracking log and parsing using our Argent. False if reading tracking log through Exchange 2007 Management Shell.

Exchange Accounts

This specifies whether to track Exchange account changes. The Exchange Account Rules rely on the information collected here to function properly.

  • Enable Account Tracking – Turn on or off

  • Interval (Minutes) – Check accounts every X minutes.

  • Method – PowerShell (Exchange 2007)/MAPI/Active Directory/WMI

    For Exchange 2007, PowerShell is the best method.

    For Exchange 2000/2003, WMI can be used.

    MAPI can be used for all versions, but it has an issue where only USED mailboxes show up. If the mailbox is never used, it won’t show up.

    Active Directory can be used as the last resort.

  • Use Monitoring Engine – Specifies which Monitoring Engine (Trusted Agent) does the job. Sometimes the Main Engine does not have the necessary access privileges.

  • Shared Process Pool – Specifies which shared Monitoring Engine process to use. We recommend using shared Monitoring Engine processes. Tracking log reading and archiving are CPU intensive work.

Legacy Parameters

  • Profile – MAPI profile. This is required for all MAPI-related Rules. The profile is local resource and account-related. Make sure you specify the profile name used by the Argent Service Account on the Main Engine or Trusted Agent where the Rule is being executed.

  • Password – Matching password for the profile.

  • LegacyDN – Used for legacy Rules. Normally the value can be programmatically determined. But sometimes the Exchange 200x API does not return the value. You then have to specify that here.

  • Tracking Log File Path – Used in Message Tracking Log Archiving if the ‘Read Log File Directly’ method is used. Normally the path can be programmatically determined. In case the Exchange 200x API does not return the right path, or the Argent Service Account cannot access the administrative drive on Exchange server, you can specify the UNC path explicitly here.