How to Check Exchange Mailbox Database Size using PowerShell

Updated On - October 22, 2024 by Nasir Khan | Reading Time: 4 minutes

In this blog, we will discuss how to check Exchange mailbox database size using PowerShell. We will cover the different PowerShell cmdlets that you can use to retrieve mailbox database size information, and we will provide step-by-step instructions on how to execute these cmdlets to get the information you need.

Exchange Server is a widely used email server solution that enables organizations to manage their emails, calendars, contacts, and other data seamlessly. However, like any other database system, Exchange mailbox databases can grow significantly over time, which can lead to performance issues if not monitored and managed properly. As an Exchange administrator, you need to regularly monitor the size of your mailbox databases and take appropriate actions to optimize their performance.

PowerShell- An introduction

PowerShell is a powerful command-line tool that allows you to automate many administrative tasks in Exchange Server. With PowerShell, you can easily check the size of your Exchange mailbox databases and take corrective actions if necessary. PowerShell provides a comprehensive set of cmdlets that allow you to query Exchange Server for various mailbox database statistics, including database size, database whitespace, and mailbox count.

Why should you increase Exchange mailbox database size

Increasing the Exchange mailbox database size can be beneficial for several reasons:

1. More storage space: Increasing the mailbox database size allows you to store more emails, attachments, and other data in Exchange. This is particularly useful if your users have large mailboxes or if your organization generates a lot of email traffic.
2. Reduced administrative overhead: With a larger mailbox database, you’ll have to manage and maintain fewer databases, which can reduce administrative overhead.
3. Improved performance: If your mailbox databases are frequently reaching their maximum size, it can slow down Exchange performance. By increasing the size of the database, you can improve overall Exchange performance.
4. Cost-effective: If you’re using expensive storage solutions, increasing mailbox database size can be a cost-effective way to increase storage capacity without having to purchase additional hardware or software.

It’s important to note, however, that increasing mailbox database size can also have some potential downsides. For example, larger databases can take longer to backup and restore, and they can be more difficult to manage and troubleshoot if problems arise. It’s important to carefully evaluate the benefits and drawbacks before making any changes to your mailbox database size.

Maximum size limit of Exchange Server

The maximum size limit of an Exchange Server depends on several factors, including the version of Exchange you are using, the type of mailbox database you run, and the edition of Exchange that you’re running. And the maximum size limit for an Exchange mailbox database is determined not only by the physical size of the database file but also by the performance of the underlying storage system and the number of mailboxes in the database.

The maximum size limit for Exchange mailbox databases is:

1. Exchange 2010: 2 terabytes (TB) for mailbox databases using an Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) database, and 16 TB for mailbox databases using a Jet database.
2. Exchange 2013 and 2016: 2 TB for mailbox databases using a Jet database.
3. Exchange 2019: 16 TB for mailbox databases using a Jet database.

How to check  Exchange mailbox database size using PowerShell

To check and increase the Exchange mailbox database size using PowerShell, you can follow these steps:

Open the Exchange Management Shell or PowerShell on Exchange saver and use the Get-MailboxDatabase PowerShell cmdlet.

When you have an Exchange Server setup with multiple databases in its environment, simply running the cmdlet to check mailbox database size may not be sufficient as it will display information about all the databases. To obtain specific information related to a particular mailbox database, you need to filter the cmdlet output by specifying the name or identity of the mailbox database in question. By using the following command, you may not get relevant information.

Get-MailboxDatabase | FL

To get desired information, you’ve to use the pipe and ‘select’ parameter, as shown in the below command.

Get-MailboxDatabase | Select Name, DatabaseSize, AvailableNewMailboxSpace

In the above screenshot, you can see two returned parameters are not filled up because the status parameter is not included in the command. This parameter can get the extra details.

Get-MailboxDatabase -status| Select Name, DatabaseSize, AvailableNewMailboxSpace

After running the above command, you can get all the required details.

Now, for reporting purposes, you will not want results in bytes and MB. To facilitate the divisions and to copy the data to Excel or CSV, you want to get these more linear exports so that you can import them into your report system. You can do the same by updating the command given below:

Get-MailboxDatabase -Status | sort name | select name,@{Name=’DB Size’;Expression={$_.DatabaseSize.ToGb()}},@{Name=’Free Space’;Expression={$_.AvailableNewMailboxSpace.ToGb()}}

If you want them in megabytes, then convert Gb into a Mb as given in the following command:

Get-MailboxDatabase -Status | sort name | select name,@{Name=’DB Size’;Expression={$_.DatabaseSize.ToMb()}},@{Name=’Free Space’;Expression={$_.AvailableNewMailboxSpace.ToMb()}}

Using these steps, you check and Increase the Exchange mailbox database size using PowerShell.

Use Regain EDB to PST converter to move email from EDB and reduce Exchange size

Regain EDB to PST converter is a software tool. This tool converts Exchange Server EDB files to PST format quickly and easily. The tool can be useful for users who want to move email from EDB, reduce exchange size, and recover data from corrupted EDB files.

To use Regain EDB to PST converter to move email from EDB and reduce exchange size, you can follow the steps below:

1. Firstly, Download and install Regain EDB to PST converter on your computer.
2. Open the software and add the EDB file that you want to convert by clicking ‘Add Files’.
3. Started the Scanning process, and it shows a preview of scanned mailboxes.
4. Following, click on Save to PST from the dropdown list.
5. New PST files save the user’s selected location and show a successful message.

By using Regain EDB to PST converter to move email from EDB and reduce exchange size. You can free up space on your Exchange Server and improve its performance. This method allows you to extract only the emails that you need. You need to delete emails from the Exchange Server after the conversion is complete.

Conclusion

In conclusion, checking the Exchange mailbox database size using PowerShell is a straightforward process that can help you monitor the size of your mailbox database and avoid issues with performance and storage. PowerShell is a powerful tool for Exchange administrators that can help simplify routine tasks and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Exchange management. But we can reduce the exchange size using Regain EDB to PST Converter. This tool is easy to use and not time-consuming, and anyone can use this tool.