Defragmenting a Database

The defragmentation option makes used storage contiguous, eliminates unused storage and reduces the database size.

ESEUTIL copies database records to a new database. When defragmention is complete, the original database is deleted or saved to a user-specified location, and the new version is renamed as the original. If the utility encounters a bad record, it stops and displays an error.

Note   Defragmenting a database requires disk space equal to twice the size of the database being processed.

    To Defragment a Database

  1. Stop the directory using the Services application in Control Panel.
  2. At the command prompt, type eseutil /d, a database switch, and any desired options.

    For example, the following command runs the standard defragmentation utility on the directory and saves the copy in the user-defined file. 

    C:\EXCHSRVR\BIN> eseutil /d /ds /t c:\dbback /p

Use one of the following database switches to run ESEUTIL on a specific database.
Database switch Description
/ds Directory
/ispriv Private information store
/ispub Public information store

Select one or more of the following options to specify the operations to be performed on the database.
Option Description
/b path Makes a backup copy of the original uncompacted database at the specified location.
/p Retains the old, uncompacted database in its original location and stores the new compacted database in the default file, \Exchsrvr\Bin\Tempdfrg.edb
/t filename Renames the new compacted database.
/o Does not display the Microsoft Exchange Server banner.