Mimecast Synchronization Engine - Monitoring Exchange Tasks

This article contains information on monitoring Mimecast Synchronization Engine and Exchange Tasks, including task status, progress, results, and end-user checks for effective task management. 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 a Task Status

The status of a task is driven by the Mimecast Synchronization Engine, sending 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.

The duration of a sync task depends on the number of mailboxes being synchronized. For large organizations with multiple mailboxes, the synchronization process can take several days to complete. During this time, the task status may show as Running or Unknown while it works through syncing all mailbox data.

To view an exchange task's status:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to the Archive | 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.

Viewing a Task's 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 Archive | 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 the Last Result

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 Archive | 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. hey

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.
Exchange 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 span 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.