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Every public folder and mailbox is represented in two places on your server: the directory database and the information store. The information store contains mailboxes, public folders, and their contents. The directory database contains the mailbox and public folder properties.
The Directory Service/Information Store (DS/IS) consistency adjuster resolves inconsistencies between the directory and the information stores on a server. Inconsistencies typically occur after you restore the directory or information store from a backup.
The DS/IS consistency adjuster does not create custom containers. When you restore from a backup that includes custom containers, check the containers before running the adjustment and re-create them if necessary.
Warning Do not run the DS/IS consistency adjuster after deleting a directory replication connector to another site unless you plan never to reconnect the sites. Doing so can have disastrous results. For more information, see Microsoft Exchange Server Maintenance and Troubleshooting.
The DS/IS consistency adjuster is used to ensure that the directory and information store objects are synchronized. Inconsistencies between the information store and directory occur when there is an entry for a public folder or mailbox in the information store without a corresponding entry in the directory database, or vice versa. The DS/IS consistency adjuster creates an entry in the directory if a public folder or mailbox entry exists in the information store. It deletes from the directory any public folder entries that don't exist in the information store, but it won't delete any mailbox entries from the directory. DS/IS consistency adjustment also removes users who are no longer valid from public folder permissions and reports on public folders with no owners.
As mentioned previously, do not run the DS/IS consistency adjuster after deleting a replication connector if you plan to reconnect the sites. If you delete a directory replication connector and you never plan to reconnect to that site, you can run the DS/IS consistency adjuster so that directory objects are created for all folders in the public folder hierarchy and the permissions of users who had access to certain folders are preserved. The DS/IS consistency adjuster makes the break from the organization transparent to users. Users who had access to folders when the site was part of the organization still have access when the site is removed.
Note You should always specify inconsistencies older than a particular limit when running the adjuster, unless you are restoring the information store to an alternate server.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| All inconsistencies | Adjusts all inconsistencies. |
| Inconsistencies more than (days) | Adjusts only those inconsistencies that are older than the time you specify in the days box. |
The consistency adjuster enables you to specify a latency period so that only inconsistencies older than a given number of days are adjusted. This is useful for preserving entries in the directory or the public information store and enabling replication to resolve inconsistencies.
The consistency adjuster works from time stamps on the inconsistencies that it creates. The first time you make adjustments, you must run the DS/IS consistency adjuster once to create a beginning time stamp. Then you must wait at least as many days as you want to specify in the Inconsistencies more than (days) box, and run the DS/IS consistency adjuster again. This gives the adjuster time stamps to make comparisons with. After you complete this procedure, the necessary adjustments are made.
For example, suppose a directory contains an entry for a public folder, created within the past two days, that is replicated to other servers in the site. If you need to restore the public information store from a previous backup that was made before the public folder was created that does not contain an entry for the public folder, there will be an entry in the directory with no corresponding entry in the public information store. If you run the consistency checker with no latency period, the directory entry will be deleted.
However, if you run the consistency adjuster and specify a two-day latency period, the public folder directory entry remains intact. The next time replication occurs, Microsoft Exchange Server updates the public information store with the appropriate public folder entry.