Mimecast Synchronization Engine - Exchange Tasks

This article describes how to create, manage, and monitor the Mimecast Synchronization Engine's (MSE) Exchange Tasks. It explores how to plan Exchange Tasks and what to consider when hosting an implementation running these tasks.

Exchange Task Components

Exchange Tasks apply settings configured in definitions to an MSE instance and ultimately to Exchange mailboxes. An Exchange task consists of the following components:

Component	Description
Synchronization Engine Site	On which instance of Mimecast Synchronization Engine should the task be executed?
Type & Definition	The type of feature being configured. Each type below also has specific settings defined for that feature and considerations you should take time to familiarize yourself with: Mailbox Folder Replication Calendar Replication Mailbox Storage Management Managed Folders Mailbox Permissions Sync
Schedule	When and how frequently should the task be executed?
A Group	Which mailboxes should the task execute the configured definition on? An Exchange task can be applied to: An Active Directory Security group. An Active Directory Distribution group. A Microsoft 365 distribution group (requires v2.7 or later). A single mailbox (requires v2.7 or later). A list of mailboxes (requires v2.7 or later).

Common Considerations

The following considerations are common across all mailbox tasks:

• Exchange tasks are applied to groups of mailboxes.
• During execution, an Exchange task processes mailboxes sequentially, one by one.
• When resolving the users in an Active Directory group, the Mimecast Synchronization Engine connects to the local Active Directory, not the Mimecast platform. It keeps a local cache of the group membership discovered. This cache lasts for one hour. Consequently, if users are added to or removed from a group, it can take up to an hour for the change to be reflected in an Exchange task.
• The user account being synchronized must be an Active Account with an active mailbox license for MSE to sync. If the account is disabled or the license revoked, the mailbox will no longer be synchronized, but the Folder Structure will remain accessible when logging into the Mimecast Personal Portal or via Mimecast for Outlook as the user or as a delegate.
• While an Exchange task is processing a mailbox, a Mimecast lock is placed on the mailbox so that only one task can access its mailbox at the same time. If another task on the same server tries to access the mailbox, the second task will wait until the lock is removed.
• The length of time that a mailbox takes to process varies on the:
  • Feature being used.
  • Definition defined for the feature.
  • Number of mail items in a folder and the number of folders.

Planning

Considering the common and task-specific considerations mentioned above, it is important to plan the implementation of the Mimecast Synchronization Engine Exchange services features. Decide which features should be implemented. This will depend on the reasons for using the feature and the user experience being enabled. Once you've decided on the features, the guidelines below ensure the best experience:

1. Typically, Exchange tasks are applied to Active Directory or Exchange groups. Groups dedicated to Exchange task(s) are recommended where possible. This helps to keep the experience predictable.
2. Start small. Initially, run the chosen definition on just a few mailboxes.
3. Record how long the first execution takes and the time to process subsequent executions. This gives you a baseline to work from when adding more mailboxes.

• For example, suppose a mailbox with 10,000 items takes 15 minutes to process on the first execution and two minutes on each execution thereafter. This indicates how long it takes to process a mailbox with the given definition in the Exchange environment.
  • This data can be used to estimate timings for the wider implementation. As a rule of thumb, mailboxes with fewer mail items should be completed quicker than the baseline. Equally, mailboxes with more mail items take longer.

When new tasks are created, the system will perform a full synchronization of the mailboxes. After the initial full sync is complete, subsequent synchronizations will return to differential syncs, which are typically faster and more efficient.

4. The baseline results, the frequency that a mailbox should be processed (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly), and the total number of mailboxes to be processed affect how many tasks are required for each feature definition.
5. As described in the considerations section, an Exchange task processes mailboxes sequentially. It is possible to apply a given definition to multiple Exchange tasks and have those Exchange tasks execute simultaneously on the same or another Mimecast Synchronization Engine site. This increases throughput and accelerates the time taken to process all of the mailboxes in the organization with the given definition(s).

For MSE v4.5 and later when bound to Microsoft 365: Configuring Exchange tasks with Active Directory groups, you must target groups using their email address instead of directly using Active Directory Security Groups. You can either:

• Create a Dynamic Distribution List, Exchange Distribution List, Mail-Enabled Security Group, or Microsoft 365 Group in Exchange Online that contains the same users as your original security group, or

• Use an existing Microsoft 365 Distribution Group, Dynamic Distribution List, or group email address to resolve group membership.

This version requires targeting groups via their email address.

Creating Exchange Tasks

To create an exchange task:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Select the Services | Exchange Services menu item.
3. Select the New Exchange Task button in the menu bar to get started.
4. Select the Synchronization Engine Site where the task should run.
5. Select an existing Schedule from the drop-down list or use the Create New button to make a new one.
6. Select your Task Type.
7. Select an existing Definition for the specific Task Type selected or use the Create New button to make a new one.
8. Select a Group to apply the task to. There are some options for selection:

Option	Description
Lookup from AD	Use this option when you have synchronized your Active Directory with Mimecast and have a specific Active Directory Security or Distribution group to which you would like to apply the task.
Enter DN Manually	Typically, this option is available for customers who still need to synchronize their Active Directory with Mimecast. If your organization is in this situation, you can manually enter the full DN for a specific group. For example: CN=dlmmsgroup,CN=Users,DC=mcdev,DC=internal
Enter Group Email Address	This option is aimed at Microsoft 365 customers. Enter the email address of a Microsoft 365 Distribution Group, and the Synchronization Engine will use Microsoft 365 to resolve the group members. This option can also be used to enter the email address of a mailbox or group of mailbox addresses using a ';' (comma) separated list. This can be useful when targeting an Exchange Task in a small group of mailboxes.

1. Select Save and Exit. Your Exchange Task has been created and applied to the Synchronization Engine Site selected.

Managing Exchange Tasks

Viewing Tasks

To view your Exchange Tasks:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to the Services | Exchange Services menu item.
3. Click on the View All link in the "Exchange Tasks" section.
4. Click on a Task link in the list to display its:

• Options: This contains the Task Settings configured when the task was created.
  • Information: This provides details on the Task itself:

Field	Description
Created	The date and time the task was created.
Last Modified	The date and time of the task were modified.
Last Modified By	The Administrator who last modified the task.
Status	The current status of the task, for example, Running or Scheduled.
Command	Any command that is currently in progress if the task is currently Active.
Latest Detail	Displays the current progress of the task.
Sequence	This is only relevant for Mailbox Folder Replication and Calendar replication and shows the number of successful submissions the task sent to the Mimecast platform.

Modifying Tasks

To modify a task:

1. Open a task described in the "Viewing Tasks" section above.
2. The only settings that can be modified are the Schedule Definition. Use the drop-down lists to change these.
3. Click on Save and Exit to apply the change.
4. The change will be applied to the Mimecast Synchronization Engine site within two minutes unless the task runs when you make the change. In this instance, the changes will be applied once the currently running execution completes.

To change the Mimecast Synchronization Engine site that the task is configured to run, contact Mimecast Support.

Deleting Tasks

To delete a task:

1. Navigate to the task list described in the "Viewing Tasks" section above.
2. Open the task to be deleted.
3. Click on Remove Task.
4. You're presented with a popup warning message advising that removing the task will reset your Exchange Folders Full View for all mailboxes processed by the task. Click the OK button to confirm the deletion.

Full View displays all folders and emails at any point in the mailbox history. This view shows emails in their folder structure even if they have since been deleted from your mailbox or moved within the folders.

Monitoring Exchange Tasks

Monitoring is an important part of using the Mimecast Synchronization Engine and Exchange Tasks. You can see the results of an Exchange Task in numerous ways, ranging from views in the Administration Console to checking end-user applications.

Viewing Task Status

The status of a task is driven by the Mimecast Synchronization Engine, which sends regular updates to the Mimecast platform. It is updated at different times depending on the feature that the task is running. A status can be:

• Unknown: This status is set when a task is created and has not been executed for the first time.
• Scheduled: This status is set once a task has been executed for the first time, indicating that it is scheduled for the next execution.
• Running: This status is set for tasks that are executing now.

To view an exchange task's status:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to the Services | Exchange Services menu item. The dashboard is displayed.

The dashboard displays:

• Counts of the configured definitions and tasks for each feature in the Exchange Tasks widget.
  • Clicking on the "X Tasks" link for a feature in this widget will open a list view displaying all tasks for that feature.
  • The status of each task is displayed in a column in this view.
• A list of recent Exchange task activity.
  • The current status for recently active tasks is displayed here.
  • Clicking the View All link will open a list view of all configured Exchange tasks.
  • The status of each task is displayed in a column in this view.

Task Progress

While a task is executed, it is possible to view its progress. To do this:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to the Services | Exchange Services menu item.
3. Click on the View All link in the "Exchange Tasks" section.
4. Click on a running task to launch the Task Information page. Where a task is not running, the date and time of the last execution are displayed here.

The Latest Detail text box will display the mailbox currently being processed and how many mailboxes have been processed out of the total mailboxes to be processed.

Viewing Task Results

The last result of an Exchange Task is displayed for recently completed tasks on the dashboard. A traffic light icon represents the last result:

• Green represents success
• Orange represents a warning
• Red represents an error

To view the last result for a specific task:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to the Services | Exchange Services menu item.
3. Click on the View All link in the "Exchange Tasks" section.
4. Click on a task to launch the Task Information page.
5. Select the Logs | Task Summary Logs option from the menu bar.

Each time a task completes, a summary report is available in this list showing the date, status, and a message where applicable. Selecting one of the entries in this list opens up a more detailed summary of the task execution.

End-User Checks

All the Mimecast Synchronization Engine Exchange Services features have an end-user impact; it is important to validate that the results of an Exchange task are rendering the expected result. The table below describes the checks that can be performed for each feature.

Feature	Description
Mailbox Folder Replication	Archive folders are viewable for users in configured Exchange tasks in Mimecast applications. Archive folder views are current with the latest messages from the last time the Mailbox Folder Replication task processed the user's mailbox. Archive Folders are available in the following applications: Mimecast for Outlook Mimecast_Personal_Portal Mimecast for Mac Mimecast Mobile
Calendar Replication	Replicated Calendars can be viewed in the Mimecast Personal Portal Calendar section. Replicated Calendars are up to date with the latest appointments as of the last time the Calendar Replication task processed the user's mailbox.
Mailbox Storage Management	Depending on the action (attachment stub, attachment stub with universal access, full stub, delete) defined in the definition: Messages eligible for storage management as defined in the Exchange Storage Management definition are processed. Where attachment or full stub is the defined action, the stubbed message can be retrieved via Microsoft Outlook when Mimecast for Outlook is installed and configured.
Managed Folders	Managed Folders defined in the definition are created in the mailboxes processed by the Managed Folders task. Messages in Managed Folders are deleted after the time period defined in the Managed Folders definition. If applicable, the relevant retention adjustments have been applied to messages in the Mimecast archive. This is checked by searching for a message in the Administration Console | Archive | Search menu by: Finding and opening a message that should have had its retention adjusted Change the view to View Message Retention. Check the Retention and Audit Information | Folder Based Retention Stamps section of the message to view the definition that has been applied, if any.