Remedy Exchange Server Overload

Many Microsoft Exchange servers suffer from overload. Just what is Overload? It is when an Exchange server has a higher demand on resources than it can handle. Resources such as disk space, memory (RAM), Processor cycles (CPU), and time. We will address each of these common bottlenecks on a typical Exchange server and conclude by explaning how Irongate gives Exchange some much-needed breathing room.

Disk Space

One of the most vital resources on an Exchange Server is disk space. This is where Exchange stores emails, temporary files, and valuable system files. Without it, Exchange comes to a grinding hault. When examining some of the common culprits of a full disk, we find spam overload at the top of the list. With some studies estimating that over 70% of a companies incoming emails are spam, this comes as no surprise. The problem is that even with an effective spam blocker which integrates with Exchange, the spam blocker must utilize the disk space on Exchange as a quarantine and processing area. It doesn't make much sense for your valuable business-critical emails to be sharing valuable disk space with spam. Even is spam is detected, this is only half the battle. Clearly spam must be physically kept off Exchange to preserver one of the most important resources, disk space.

Memory

Memory is another valuable resource, without which Exchange may continue to run, but extremely slowly and sluggish. When Exchange runs slow, everyone suffers. A common problem is having too many applications integrated with an Exchange server. Each aplication needs it's share of valuable RAM in order to function. Eventually, RAM runs out, and the Windows operating system is forced to begin making heavy usage of the page file. In some cases a condition known as thrashing occurs. This is where Windows spends more time moving objects between RAM and the swap file, than actually doing any work! This results in resource starvation for all processes on the system, including Exchange. Clearly, the less Exchange-integrated applications running on a server, the better.

Processor (CPU)

The processor is next in line, only having a finite number of cycles per second to service requests by running programs. The problem is that each program, just like Exchange, requires the CPU's valuable time in order to compute functions and perform it's objective. The more programs are running on an Exchange server, the less CPU cycles are available to service Exchange's requests. This is a problem when we consider that all Exchange-integrated software such as AntiVirus and AntiSpam packages are resource hogs. They take a lot of your server's juice away from Exchange, making it run that much slower.

Functionality

Function requires a bit more explanation. You see, Exchange was designed and build to process and manipulate emails, mailboxes, public folders, address books, etc. It was not designed or intended to detect and block either viruses or spam for good reason - these software programs required completely different logic which is separate from that of an email server. For any AntiVirus or AntiSpam software running on a Exchange server to function properly, it must "integrate" with Exchange. This invariably means that it must "alter" the way Exchange handles and routes emails. This must happen because each software packager, whether it by AntiVirus or AntiSpam, must get it's hands on every single email to determine if it should be blocked. By changing the way Exchange functions, we are increasing the risk of introducing new bugs, software incompatibilities, and security holes which may be exploited by attackers.

The Solution

Irongate was strategically designed to sit (logically) in front of Exchange, pre-processing all emails. In each case mentioned above, Irongate eliminates the bottleneck on Exchange by running on a different hardware platform than Exchange. This frees up all of Exchange's valuable resources to do more important things, such as process legitimate emails. Because Irongate sits and processes all emails prior to Exchange, Exchange must only spend time processing valid emails. In other words, Exchange never sees or has to deal with spam or virus-ridden emails again.