Exchange Server 2007: Why aren't Managed Content Settngs applied?

In Exchange Server 2007, Managed Folder Mailbox Policies are applied to mailboxes to control message retention. Conceptually, this is somewhat similar to Recipient Policy with Mailbox Manager settings in Exchange Server 2003, which is commonly used by administrators to accomplish tasks like emptying users' Deleted Items folders after a set period like 90 or 180 days.

(Messaging Records Management is an interesting topic, and a good candidate for a more elaborate article in the near future explaining how it works - Bharat)

Just as Exchange 2003's Mailbox Manager process runs on a schedule and applies the Mailbox Manager policies to mailboxes, Exchange 2007's Managed Folder Assistant (MFA) applies Managed Folder Policies. By default, it's set to "Never Run", as shown in the screen-shot below.


If you've just gone through the entire process of creating Managed Folder Policies, and are wondering why the mailboxes are not getting processed and why messages older than X number of days aren't getting purged, it's most likely because you haven't modified the above default and actually set a schedule for the MFA to run.

To schedule the MFA, start the EMC, expand Server Configuration | Mailbox | select the mailbox server | Properties | Messaging Records Management tab | click the Customize button, and select a time period.


In addition to being able to schedule the agent to run— preferably after-hours, just like you did with Exchange Server 2003's Mailbox Manager - you can also trigger it manually from the shell, using the following command:

Start-ManagedFolderAssistant

This triggers the agent to run immediately. You can specify which server(s) to start the agent on, by using the -Server SERVERNAME parameter:

Start-ManagedFolderAssistant -Server EXCHANGE1, EXCHANGE2

You can also specify which mailboxes to process by adding the -Mailbox "Mailbox Identity parameter (the identity of a user can be specified as an SMTP address, domain\username, or mailbox GUID), as described in the online docs:

Start-ManagedFolderAssistant -Mailbox foo@yourdomain.com

Note: You cannot use both the -Server and -Mailbox parameters together.

Related posts:
- Managed Folders: How to apply different Managed Content Settings to Default Folders
- Applying Managed Folder Policy to more than one user
- Restricting Messaging Records Management to a particular message type