Manually removing Exchange transaction log files that are not required

 Manually removing Exchange transaction log files that are not required

Many times we need to remove transaction log files because disk space issue.

To correctly remove excess transaction log files, follow these steps:

1. Stop all the databases in the storage group.
2. Verify the state of each database file in the particular storage group. For information about how to verify the state of each database file, see the "Database states" section.
3. Perform one of the following actions:
• If one or more of the databases are in a Dirty Shutdown or Inconsistent state, determine which transaction log files can be removed without affecting database consistency. For more information, see the "Log files" section.
• If all the databases are in a Clean Shutdown or Consistent state, you may remove all the transaction log files except for the current transaction log file. Removing the current log file when all databases are in a Clean Shutdown state will cause a reset of the log file sequence. This does not prevent databases from starting. However, a reset of the log file sequence affects the ability to roll a database forward from a previous backup if the situation occurs.
4. Copy all the transaction log files that you want to remove to a different location before you permanently remove them from the transaction log hard disk. Do not permanently delete the transaction log files until you have successfully completed a full online backup of all the databases in the storage group.

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know.

How to remove Exchange Server transaction log files?

How to remove Exchange Server transaction log files?

First understand the Exchange transaction log files.

Exchange Server database transaction logs record all changes to an Exchange Server database. Over time, these log files accumulate and use all the available disk space if they are not periodically removed from the hard disk.

Exchange transaction log files have a fixed size. For Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and all earlier versions of Exchange Server, this size is exactly 5 megabytes. Microsoft Exchange 2007/2010 server size is exactly 1 megabyte. When a transaction log is full, the transaction log is renamed with a numeric sequence number, and a new current log is generated.

The current transaction log is the one most recently created by Exchange Server. In Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, the current transaction log is always named Edb.log. In Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003, the current log is named with the storage group prefix.
Exchange automatically removes unnecessary log files by using one of the following methods:

• If circular logging is enabled, Exchange Server removes transaction logs soon after they have been written to the database file. This process may cause a delay on some idle systems until the current Exx.log file of the relevant storage group or the Edb.log file in Exchange Server 5.5 becomes full and has to be renamed. To speed up new log file creation and the automatic deletion process, you can send yourself an e-mail message with a 5-megabyte (MB) attachment.
  
  Note By default, circular logging is enabled in Exchange Server 5.5. By default, circular logging is not enabled in Exchange 2000 Server or in Exchange Server 2003.
• If circular logging is disabled, Exchange Server removes excess logs after a full or incremental online backup of all the databases in a storage group is performed.

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know.

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