Administration and Maintenance Documentation

Planning and implementing an Exchange Server 2003 environment is just the beginning of documentation possibilities. Proper documentation can also be critical in maintaining a reliable network. Administration and maintenance documentation helps an administrator organize and keep track of the different steps required to ensure the health of the Exchange environment like the management and maintenance best practices described in Chapter 19, "Exchange Server 2003 Management and Maintenance Practices." This documentation can also facilitate the training of new resources and reduce the variables and risks involved in these transitions.

One key component to administration or maintenance documentation is a timeline detailing when certain procedures should be followed. To properly maintain an Exchange environment, certain daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly procedures should be followed. These procedures, such as database maintenance and mailbox deletion, should be documented to make sure that the procedures are clearly defined and the frequency in which they should be performed is outlined.

Step-by-Step Procedure Documents

Administration and maintenance documentation contains a significant amount of procedural documentation. These documents can be very helpful for complex processes or for processes that are not performed on a regular basis. Procedures range from technical processes that outline each step to administrative processes that help clarify roles and responsibilities.

Organizational Policy Documents

When it comes to messaging, there are a number of system, recipient, and management policies that can and should be established (for example, message size limits, message retention policies, and naming conventions). Establishing clear policies helps establish user expectation and limit database size. In addition, with maintenance and administration policies it helps to have a well-developed, complete, and approved policy document that makes it clear who is responsible for what in specific situations.

Documented Checklists

Administration and maintenance documentation can be extensive , and checklists can be quick reminders for those processes and procedures. Develop comprehensive checklists that will help administrators perform their scheduled and unscheduled tasks. A timeline checklist highlighting the daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly tasks helps keep the Exchange environment healthy . In addition, these checklists function as excellent auditing tools.