Top 5 Issues in Exchange Server & Their Resolution

The Exchange Server is the backbone through which businesses worldwide conduct their day-to-day operations. It is during these heavy workloads that some Exchange Server issues arise and create all sorts of problems. Moreover, timely identification and swift action against these errors can be quite beneficial. As the saying goes prevention is better than cure. Therefore this article addresses all the major issues present in an Exchange server and provides the tips to resolve them. Let’s get an idea of what ‌we are going to cover here.

Quick Overview of the Exchange Server Problems

The most common Exchange Server Issues are as follows:

• Email Delivery Failures: It is said to occur when an email sent from a location fails to deliver at its target.
• Exchange Database Corruption: An Exchange database is declared corrupt if it does not respond to commands accurately.
• Cyber Security Threats: Exchange servers host some of the most critical data which makes them a prime target for cybercriminals.
• Server Performance Degradation: One of the most common issues, comes to notice when any on-premise Exchange is unusually slow.
• Regulatory Compliance Concerns: Different countries have different laws when it comes to data privacy and storage not following them can have legal consequences. 
• Sudden Hardware Failure: If the hardware on which the Exchange server is hosted doesn’t get proper updation and maintenance it can fail and disrupt regular workflow.
• User-Generated Error: Sometimes ‌inexperienced individuals may fail to follow the proper procedure and thus create problems of their own making.

Exchange Server Issue of Email Delivery Failure

Result of this Error: It can disrupt business communication and delay the transfer of information. Moreover, users may not realize this error before it is too late. Which in turn causes missed opportunities and even damages an organization’s reputation. Sometimes the situations may be reversed where the Exchange server is not able to fetch external emails accurately.

Reasons behind this Problem: Emails may fail to deliver for a variety of reasons such as misconfigured MX records, IP blacklisting, or DNS disruption. 

How to avoid: Doublechecking the MX records after rerouting, sending a demo mail to simulate actual communication, and informing the stakeholders about any email disruption to avoid confusion and embarrassment. Another way to avoid it is by using a professional tool to migrate Exchange Server data to the Office 365 environment.

Exchange Database Corruption Issue

Consequences of Corrupt Databases: It is a well-known fact that any problems within the database can prove to be catastrophic. Some database errors that users may encounter are

• Exchange error 1018: When there is a page-level error within the system.

• Exchange error 1216: Arises during an inconsistency within a header or log file.

• Exchange error 1056749110: Indicates a failure during a data migration.

Why databases corrupt in the first place: Reasons could vary on an individual basis however some of the things to look out for are software, bugs, user-generated errors, etc.

Steps to mitigate this issue: Regular overview and continuous checks are some manual ways in which these errors can be avoided. Apart from that, a professional tool for Exchange data recovery can be employed to restore the server to a healthy state.

Cyber Security Threats Within an Exchange Server

Root cause for this threat: Well it’s not hard to imagine as an Exchange server contains the most critical information of organizations. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that data is the new oil, so nefarious entities always try to break in and steal or compromise the data.

Some types of attacks users must look out for are in the form of phishing attacks and unauthorized access attempts. 

Mitigation Strategies: An easy way to enhance the security of an exchange server is to implement a multifactor authentication system. Additionally, users must keep up with the latest security patches or upgrade their servers if necessary. Following these tips can prevent any external Exchange Server issues and maintain the integrity of their data.

Exchange Server Issues Due to Poor Performance

Result of ‌Suboptimal Performance: A poorly functioning Exchange Server has a lot of downsides, like negative user experience, delays in completing critical functions, and longer time in reading and writing data to name a few. There are also instances where the user may see the alert that a connection to the Microsoft Exchange Server is unavailable at the moment.

What may cause this: Anything from faulty hardware, inconsistent power sources, higher user load, or incorrect configuration can contribute towards below-par performance. One key factor that users may ignore is that Exchange servers get old with time. Here we are not talking about hardware, but the software itself. Moreover, it also loses‌ official support from Microsoft like with the recent Exchange Server 2013. 

Therefore users may have no choice but to migrate from Exchange Server 2013 to Exchange Server 2019. For this, we have an automated Exchange to Exchange migration utility that cuts down both the time and effort required. 

Monitoring and Diagnosing: Upgrading is just one piece of the puzzle in resolving Exchange server issues. IT admins must make use of built-in diagnostic tools like PowerShell commands to monitor and pinpoint bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

Challenges in Maintaining Regulatory and Compliance Constraints

An Exchange server can also be used to store the data of users who are not part of the organization itself. However, this comes with its own set of licensing agreements that vary from place to place. Therefore, organizations must work hand in hand with ‌local authorities to ensure that everything is within the legal limit.

In case any organization ignores the proper regulatory framework they can face severe legal and financial consequences.

Moreover, Microsoft also places strict guidelines regarding the use of its products. Failure to comply may result in a license being revoked or even a black listing from using its products.

How to prevent Such Exchange Server Issues: For this, you must have an internal legal team that is aware of the regulation and can guide the IT team towards compliance. 

Conclusion

In this article, users saw that Exchange Server issues are ‌part and parcel of server management. However, by being proactive in our problem solving we can resolve them at the earliest. If ‌readers follow this guide they can even completely avoid the issues altogether.