Microsoft KB Archive/823150

= How to Gather Data to Troubleshoot Exchange Server 2003 Virtual Memory Issues =

PSS ID Number: 823150

Article Last Modified on 10/9/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition

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For a Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server version of this article, see 317411.



SUMMARY
This article contains information about procedures that you can use to gather data that may help you to diagnose virtual memory issues on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. To determine the root cause of the behaviors that are described later in this section, you must gather data for analysis.

Virtual memory fragmentation occurs when the size and the number of the contiguous blocks of available memory reach a certain threshold. This behavior can adversely affect the performance of an Exchange Server 2003 computer and may prevent you from mounting databases. For example, to mount a database requires a 10-megabyte (MB) block of contiguous virtual memory. If virtual memory is fragmented in such a way that the free virtual memory block sizes are at or below 10 MB, you cannot mount the databases without restarting the server first.

Note On an Exchange Server 2003 computer, the Store.exe process is the most memory intensive process.



MORE INFORMATION
You can use several tools to gather the data to troubleshoot virtual memory issues. Microsoft recommends that you use the tools that are in the following list together to collect corresponding data at the same time from the server:
 * System Monitor logs (also known as Performance Monitor logs)
 * Event logs
 * System Information file (Winmsd)
 * Virtual Address Dump file
 * ADPlus.VBS

System Monitor Logs
The System Monitor tool that is included with Microsoft Windows 2000 is the administrative tool that replaces the Performance Monitor tool that is included with Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. A general guideline is to use System Monitor to create logs of the server performance when it is operating correctly so that you can use these logs as a baseline to compare to the logs that are generated when the server has problems.

When you use System Monitor to troubleshoot virtual memory issues, gather performance data over a long period of time. This requires that you gather multiple logs over a period of hours or even days. If you save the logs periodically, this procedure makes sure that the size of the logs remains manageable.

There are a number of objects that you can add to the System Monitor log to track the memory usage on the Exchange 2003 computer. Add all the counters for each of the following objects:

System Performance Objects

 * Cache
 * Database
 * Memory
 * Objects
 * Paging file
 * Process
 * Processor
 * System
 * Threads
 * PhysicalDisk

Exchange-specific Performance Objects

 * MSExchangeIS Note If you suspect that other Exchange 2003 components are the cause of virtual memory fragmentation, add the appropriate objects and their counters.

For additional information about how to configure System Monitor, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

248345 How to Create a Log Using System Monitor in Windows 2000



Event Logs
Windows Event Viewer provides the application logs and the system logs. The event logs capture the activity for the same time period as the System Monitor logs. The event logs provide a quick reference to activities that are occurring on the server, and they indicate possible errors.

Virtual memory warnings or errors are typically logged in the application log with an event ID 9582. This event ID can be either a warning or an error.

When the server reaches less than 32 MB of contiguous virtual address space, the following warning event is logged: Event Source: MSExchangeIS

Event Category: Performance

Event ID: 9582

Type: Warning

Description: The virtual memory necessary to run your Exchange server is fragmented in such a way that performance may be affected. It is highly recommended that you restart all Exchange services to correct this issue. When the server reaches less than 16 MB of contiguous virtual address space, this same event ID 9582 message is logged, but it is logged as an error message:

Event Source: MSExchangeIS

Event Category: Performance

Event ID: 9582

Type: Error

Description: The virtual memory necessary to run your Exchange server is fragmented in such a way that normal operation may begin to fail. It is highly recommended that you restart all Exchange services to correct this issue.

System Information File
A System Information report provides information about the server's configuration. To generate a System Information file:
 * 1) Click Start, click Run, type winmsd, and then click OK.
 * 2) In the System Information window, right-click the System Information object, and then click Save As System Information File.

Note In Windows Server 2003, click Save on the File menu.
 * 1) Type a file name, and then click Save.

Note The System Information file is saved with an .nfo extension.

Virtual Address Dump Utility
The Virtual Address Dump utility (Vadump.exe) is a utility that creates a report that contains information about the memory usage of a specified process. The list includes:
 * Each address and its size, state, protection, and type.
 * Total committed memory for the image, the .exe file, and each .dll file, including the system .dll files.
 * Total mapped-committed memory, private-committed memory, and reserved memory.
 * Information about the working set and about paged and non-paged pool usage.

To capture information about the memory usage of the Store process on each Exchange 2003 computer, install the Vadump.exe file. Run the following command at the command prompt:

vadump -v -p > .txt

Note The  in the command is the Store process ID. You can locate the process ID in Task Manager.

The Vadump.exe file is included with the Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit. Additionally, this utility is available for download. To download this utility, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWS2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/vadump-o.asp

ADPlus.vbs
The ADPlus tool can be used to troubleshoot any process or application that stops responding. For additional information about installing and using the ADPlus tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

286350 HOW TO: Use ADPlus to Troubleshoot &quot;Hangs&quot; and &quot;Crashes&quot;

Additional query words: XADM perfmon 9582 hangs crashes

Keywords: kbhowto KB823150

Technology: kbExchangeSearch kbExchangeServ2003Ent kbExchangeServ2003Search kbExchangeServ2003St kbSBServ2003Pre kbSBServ2003Search kbSBServ2003St kbSBServSearch

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