Index

Monitoring Exchange with Microsoft Operations Manager

Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) is an application that can be used to actively monitor Exchange Server 2003. Employing MOM in an Exchange messaging environment offers administrators the following benefits:

• MOM has the capability of detecting even the smallest of problems that, if gone unnoticed, can lead to more complicated issues. Early detection of problems enables an administrator to troubleshoot the problem areas well in advance.

• MOM can monitor all Exchange- related system health indicators.

• The Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack leverages all the new features of Exchange Server 2003.

• The Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack also includes the Microsoft Knowledge Base, which can be used for fast and reliable resolution of issues.

• MOM can centrally manage a large number of Exchange Server 2003 servers over widely dispersed deployments.

• MOM can actively monitor server availability by verifying that services are running, databases are mounted, messages are flowing , and users are able to logon.

• MOM can actively monitor server health by monitoring free disk space thresholds, mail queues, security, performance thresholds, and more.

• MOM provides detailed reports on database sizes, traffic analysis, and more.

• Alerts can be sent based on customized thresholds and events.

In short, MOM is an excellent tool that administrators can use to proactively monitor the Exchange environment from a centralized location.

Figure 33.5 shows the various Mail Queue performance counters.

Figure 33.5. MOM Mail queue performance counters.