Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Adminstrator's Companion

Message tracking is enabled at the server level, using the property sheet for the server container. Once message tracking is enabled, Exchange Server keeps a log of all messages transferred to and from the server. Log files are maintained by the System Attendant service on each server. When message tracking is enabled, you can track individual messages by using the Message Tracking Center (MTC), a component of the Exchange System snap-in.

Using the Message Tracking Center

You launch the MTC by first navigating to and selecting the Message Tracking Center container in the Exchange System snap-in, as shown in Figure 2315. Next choose the Track Message command from the Action menu, which opens the Message Tracking Center dialog box (Figure 2316). Click the Browse buttons next to the From or Send To boxes to open a standard address book from which you can choose the originator or recipient of the message that you want to track in the MTC. You can also browse for the servers on which you would like to search for the messages. After you enter your criteria, click Find Now to perform the search. Figure 23-16 shows all messages that were sent to John Garrity.

Figure 23-15. Navigating to the Message Tracking Center container.

Figure 23-16. Message Tracking Center dialog box, showing all messages to John Garrity.

Once the messages that meet your criteria are displayed, you can open the property sheet of any message by selecting it and then clicking Details. Use this method to find the actual message that you want to track. When you find that message, select it and then click Message History to put the MTC to work tracking the history of the message. The results are displayed in the Message History dialog box (Figure 23-17). As you can see, this dialog box displays basic information and a history of the message.

Figure 23-17. Viewing the history of a message.

REAL WORLD   Performing Advanced Searches

You can perform a more sophisticated search for messages by clicking either the Date & Time tab or the Advanced tab of the main Message Tracking Center dialog box. The Date & Time tab lets you specify a particular date or range of dates for which to search. You can also combine this criterion with criteria entered on the General or Advanced tabs.

The Advanced tab lets you search for a particular message using its message ID. Every message transferred in an Exchange organization has a unique ID that includes the name of the originating Exchange server, the date, and a long series of digits. Choosing this option is best when you want to track one specific message, such as a test message that you create. You can find the ID for any message by viewing the properties of a copy of the message in a mail client.