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The Group Usage Service is an added feature of SmartDL 4.0. This service is used for monitoring and creating a time stamp for each group when an Exchange expansion event occurs. The time stamp is parsed from the Exchange tracking log that applies to the server the group belongs to. Then using Imanami SmartR, you can review the information in a nicely formatted report called, "Distribution groups and the time they were last used".
For performance reasons, we do not recommend having more than one installation running in a single organization at any given time. However, if you choose to use multiple installation of the group usage service, please set up each installation to manage different Exchange server in the organization.
Install SDGUS during the SmartDL installation - The Group Usage Service is not installed when you select "Typical" as the installation option. To successfully install the Group Usage Service, please follow the steps provided below.
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First, we must enable message tracking on all Exchange servers in the Active Directory forest. You can perform this task by opening the Exchange System Manager console. Go to the Start menu->Programs->Microsoft Exchange->System Manager, then expand the servers list by clicking on the plus sign (+).
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This step applies to Exchange 2003 servers and may vary depending on the version of Exchange running in your environment. Right click on the name of the server and select Properties. Under the General tab, you will see a check box next to Enable message tracking. Click on the check box, which will display a dialog box that talks about adding Read permissions to the share at \\<server Name>\<server Name>.log. You can see the actual path to the shared directory in the Log file directory field on the General tab of the server properties dialog box. Click on the OK button to close the dialog box. Then click on the OK button located on the General tab of the server properties to apply the change and close the dialog box. You will need to repeat this step with every Exchange server in the organization.
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The Domain Admins group should have Read permissions to the Exchange tracking log directory; however, you may want to verify to ensure this is the case in your environment. To verify permissions, go to the log directories that you have written down in the previous step. Right click on the directory, then select Sharing and Security from the list. Make sure the Domain Admins group has Read permission to the Exchange tracking log directory.
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To install SDGUS during the SmartDL 4.0 installation, double click on the SmartDL download file (sd4011630a_enu_full.exe) to begin the installation process.
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When you get to the page that allows you to select the setup type (Typical, Compact, or Custom), you will need to choose the Custom radio button. Click on the Next button, twice to display the Select Features list.
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Click on the check box next to the Group Usage Service. Then click on the Next button, twice to complete the installation of all three products (SmartDL 4.0, SmartR, and SDGUS).
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Go to the Start menu and select Programs->Imanami->SmartDL->Service Manager to open the SDGUS console.
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Click on the Stop button in the console.
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Select View->Default Properties from the file menu.
The general tab provides you with the option to auto-detect when an Exchange Server or Exchange site, or Active Directory domain is introduced to the forest. You can also select the Custom Attribute you would like the time stamp written to. The Schedule tab is where you will setup the runtime for executing the group usage service, as well.
Select the Credential tab to display the credentials field for Harvesting and Updating. The harvest credentials are used for connection to the transaction log's share to read and parse the time stamp from the Exchange tracking log. The Update credentials are used for connecting to the directory were the group lives to write the time stamp information parsed from the log file into the group's custom attribute field.
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For this scenario, type the credentials of an account that has Domain Admin rights to Active Directory and Exchange in the Credentials tab. Then click on the OK button to close the dialog box.
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Click on the Add button in the SDGUS console. Type the name of your Active Directory forest or Exchange server in the drop down field. Then type the credentials for an account that has Domain Admin rights in Active Directory, preferably, the account being used for harvest and update authority. Then click the OK button. The SDGUS console will display all servers in the Active Directory forest.
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Using Active Directory, create a mail-enabled group with a list of 5 members that are mail-enabled, include yourself or the account you are using for testing this feature.
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Using Microsoft Outlook, send a message to the group.
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Then open the SDGUS console and click on the Run button. Run the report using Imanami SmartR.
Imanami SmartR - Go to Start menu->Programs->Imanami SmartR to open the reporting tool. Type the domain admin credentials used to run the Group Usage Service, then click on the Next button to display a list of reports. Select the Distribution groups and the time they were last used (Exchange 2000) from the list, then click the Next button to continue through the wizard. Keep all pre-selected defaults as you walk through the last pages in the wizard. Click on the Finish button at the end to of the wizard to generate the report.
Install SDGUS after a SmartDL installation - Go to the Start menu->Settings->Control Panel->Add or Remove Programs and highlight Imanami SmartDL 4.0 in the Change or Remove Programs window. Click on the Change/Remove button to launch the InstallSheild wizard. The modify radio button is selected by default, click on the Next button to continue. Select the check box next to the Group Usage Service, then click Next to continue. This will begin the installation of SDGUS. At the end of the wizard, click on the Finish button to close the installer. Launch SDGUS by going to the Start menu->Programs->Imanami->SmartDL->Service Manager.
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