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Managing Tools in the Toolbox

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Applies to: Exchange Server 2010

The Toolbox is a collection of diagnostic, troubleshooting, and recovery tools that are installed with Exchange. The tools available in the Toolbox work center are divided into two categories:

  • Dedicated Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0 tools   Some tools, such as Queue Viewer, are self-hosted in an MMC console. The Exchange Management Console (EMC) doesn't have to be running to use the MMC tools.
  • Independent tools   Independent tools, such as the Best Practices Analyzer, are not integrated with the EMC and function as separate executable files when run from the Toolbox. These tools have their own Help file content. For more information about how to use the tools, refer to the Help file for each tool.

When you click the Toolbox node, the following tools are displayed in the result pane. You can open the tool by double-clicking the tool name or by clicking Open Tool from the action pane or from the right-click menu.

Configuration Management Tools

The following configuration management tools are available in the Toolbox:

  • Best Practices Analyzer   The Best Practices Analyzer automatically examines an Exchange deployment and determines whether the configuration is in line with Microsoft best practices. We recommend running the Best Practices Analyzer after you install a new Exchange server, upgrade an existing Exchange server, or make configuration changes. For more information, see Microsoft Exchange Analyzers.
  • Details Templates Editor   The Details Templates Editor allows you to control the appearance of the object properties that are accessed by using address lists in MAPI 32-bit client applications, such as Outlook. For example, when a user opens an address list in Outlook, the properties of the recipients in that address list are displayed in accordance with the details template that exists in your Exchange organization. For more information, see Managing Details Templates.
  • Public Folder Management Console   The Public Folder Management Console is an MMC 3.0-based interface that provides administrators with a graphical user interface (GUI) for creating, configuring, and managing public folders. For more information, see Using the Public Folder Management Console.
  • Remote Connectivity Analyzer   The Exchange Remote Connectivity Analyzer Tool is a Web-based tool that helps you troubleshoot connectivity issues. The tool simulates several client logon and mail flow scenarios. When a test fails, many of the errors have troubleshooting tips to assist you in correcting the problem. For more information, see Exchange Remote Connectivity Analyzer Tool.
  • Role Based Access Control (RBAC) User Editor   The RBAC User Editor allows you to add users to management role groups. When you open this tool, you will need to sign in to Outlook Web App as a user who has permission to perform this task. After you sign in, you are directed to the Administrator Roles tab. For more information, see Understanding Role Based Access Control.

Performance Tools

The following performance tools are available in the Toolbox:

  • Mail Flow Troubleshooter   The Mail Flow Troubleshooter assists you in troubleshooting common mail flow problems. You can diagnose a problem by selecting the symptoms observed. Based on the symptoms, the tool walks you through the correct troubleshooting path. It shows an analysis of possible root causes and provides suggestions for corrective actions. .
  • Message Tracking   The Message Tracking tool allows you to access and configure delivery reports. When you open this tool, you will need to sign in to Outlook Web App as a user who has permission to perform this task. After you sign in, you are directed to the Delivery Reports tab. For more information, see Understanding Message Tracking.
  • Queue Viewer   Queue Viewer allows you to monitor mail flow and inspect queues and messages. You can also perform actions to the queuing databases such as suspending or resuming a queue, or removing messages. For more information, see Using Queue Viewer.
  • Routing Log Viewer   Routing Log Viewer allows you to open a routing log file that contains information about the routing topology. You can also open a second routing log and compare it to the first log opened. The tool consists of a parser and a public user interface.
    To use Routing Log Viewer to view logs of routing table configuration changes, you must connect to an Exchange server that has the Hub Transport or the Edge Transport server role installed. For more information, see Using the Routing Log Viewer.
  • Tracking Log Explorer   The Tracking Log Explorer provides a detailed log of all message activity as messages are transferred to and from an Exchange server that has the Hub Transport server role, the Mailbox server role, or the Edge Transport server role installed. Exchange servers that have the Client Access server role or Unified Messaging server role installed don't have message tracking logs. Message tracking logs can be used for message forensics, mail flow analysis, reporting, and troubleshooting.

Security Tools

The following security tools are available in the Toolbox:

  • Performance Monitor   Performance Monitor is a tool you can configure to collect information about the performance of your messaging system. Specifically, you can use it to monitor, create graphs, and log performance metrics for core system functions. You can also use Performance Monitor to monitor Exchange-specific parameters, such as the number of inbound or outbound messages per hour or the number of directory lookups performed by Exchange. Performance Monitor is commonly used to view key parameters while troubleshooting performance problems. It is also used to gather baseline performance data to perform historical trend analysis and measure the impact of changes to your Exchange environment.
  • Performance Troubleshooter   Performance Troubleshooter helps you to locate and identify performance-related issues that could affect an Exchange server. You can diagnose a problem by selecting the symptoms observed. Based on the symptoms, the tool walks you through the correct troubleshooting path. Performance Troubleshooter identifies possible bottlenecks and suggests corrective actions.