IgNiTeD SoUL

Problem

You want to enable storage limits for user mailboxes on an Exchange server.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

The maximum value that you can configure for these items through the GUI is 2 GB (2,097,151 KB). To establish larger values than that, you need to use ADSI Edit or the command-line or script solutions listed next.

Using a command-line interface

To configure the size at which a warning will be issued, use the following syntax:

	> adfind config rb "cn=<StorageGroup>,cn=InformationStore,cn=<ServerName,
	cn=Servers,cn=<Administrative Group>,cn=Administrative Groups,cn=< 
ExchangeOrg,
	cn=Microsoft Exchange,cn=Services" dsq | admod mDBStorageQuota::<LimitinKB>

To configure the size at which a user can receive mail but not send, use the following:

	> adfind config rb "cn=<StorageGroup>,cn=InformationStore,cn=<ServerName,
	cn=Servers,cn=<Administrative Group>,cn=Administrative Groups,cn=<ExchangeOrg,
	cn=Microsoft Exchange,cn=Services" dsq | admod mDBOverQuotaLimit::<LimitinKB>

To configure the limit at which a user can neither send nor receive messages, use:

	> adfind config rb "cn=<StorageGroup>,cn=InformationStore,cn=<ServerName,
	cn=Servers,cn=<Administrative Group>,cn=Administrative Groups,cn=<ExchangeOrg,
	cn=Microsoft Exchange,cn=Services" dsq | admod mDBOverHardQuotaLimit::<LimitinKB>

You can set multiple attributes in a single command by specifying more than one attribute in the AdMod portion of the command syntax, as follows:

	> adfind config rb "cn=<StorageGroup>,cn=InformationStore,cn=<ServerName,
	cn=Servers,cn=<Administrative Group>,cn=Administrative Groups,cn=<ExchangeOrg,
	cn=Microsoft Exchange,cn=Services" dsq | admod mDBStorageQuota::<LimitinKB>
	mDBOverQuotaLimit::<LimitinKB> mDBOverHardQuotaLimit::<LimitinKB>

Using VBScript

	' The following script will update the Warning, OverQuota, and
	' HardOverQuota attributes of a  
mailbox store
	'-----------SCRIPT CONFIGURATION-----------------------------
	' strLDAPString = "cn=<StorageGroup>,cn=InformationStore," & _
	"cn=<ServerName>,cn=Servers,cn=<AdministrativeGroup>," & _
	"cn=Administrative Groups,cn=<ExchangeOrg>,cn=Microsoft Exchange," & _
	"cn=Services,cn=Configuration,<ForestRootDN>"

	strWarningLimit = "<WarningLimitinKB>"
	strSoftQuotaLimit = "<ReceiveOnlyLimitinKB>"
	strHardQuotaLimit = "<NoSendOrReceiveLimitinKB>"
	'-------------------END CONFIGURATION----------------------

	Set objMaiboxStore = GetObject _
	    ("LDAP://" & strLDAPString)

	objMailboxStore.Put "mdBStorageQuota", strWarningLimit
	objMailboxStore.Put "mdBOverQuotaLimit", strSoftQuotaLimit
	objMailboxStore.Put "mdBOverHardQuotaLimit", strHardQuotaLimit

	objMailboxStore.SetInfo

Discussion

It’s not uncommon for administrators to want to set reasonable size limits on individual users’ mailboxes; you can configure this globally at the mailbox store level. Since you can have multiple stores on a single server, this can allow you to create multiple stores with multiple storage limits for departments or groups that have greater storage needs. You can also override the mailbox store defaults for individual user accounts by modifying the Exchange General tab within Active Directory Users and Computers for an individual user account, or else by programmatically modifying the same three attributes and then setting the mdBUseDefaults attribute to FALSE. You can also set mailbox limits using a System Policy, and then apply the same policy to multiple stores.