TABLE OF CONTENTS Table 7.11 lists the three utilities you can use to maintain or verify Exchange databases.
| Utility | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| ESEFILE | Verify checksums of ESE pages | Server CD (see the SUPPORT\UTILS\i386 folder) |
| ISINTEG | Check folders and other application-level structures | Included in Store |
| ESEUTIL | Verify physical page structure | EXCHSRVR\BIN |
A great deal of mystique has grown up around the ESEUTIL and ISINTEG utilities over the years, with some administrators believing that running either or both is sufficient to cure all database ailments. The truth is somewhat different. ESEUTIL can certainly help to get a database running again, but it cannot fix fundamental damage or corruption caused by hardware failure. In these circumstances, if you encounter a series of -1018, -1019, or -1022 errors in the event log, the best procedure is to restore the database from the last good backup and roll forward all subsequent transactions by replaying the transaction logs. Thankfully, the advent of automatic single-bit error correction in the Store in Exchange 2003 SP1 means that we will see fewer database errors, but the fact remains that database errors will occur during the lifespan of the majority of Exchange servers, so you have to be prepared to deal with them.
ISINTEG verifies the application-level structures (tables and pointers), but it depends on a good database. Thus, if ESEUTIL cannot fix the problems in a database, ISINTEG will not be able to work any magic either.
These utilities have been present in Exchange for...
