How to increase the Exchange Server 2003 SP2 18GB database size limit

The release of SP2 for MS Exchange 2003 has changed the default database limit from 16GB to 18GB. In addition, SP2 allows you to further increase the size a MS Exchange 2003 Standard Edition database to a maximum size of 75GB.

Exchange Server 2003 version	Licensed limit	Default configuration limit
Standard Edition before SP2	16 GB	Not applicable
Standard Edition with SP2	75 GB	18 GB
Enterprise Edition before SP2	8,000 GB (unlimited)	Not applicable
Enterprise Edition with SP2	8,000 GB (unlimited)	8,000 GB

To extend the Exchange database limit, follow these steps:

1. On the computer that is running Exchange 2003 SP2, click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Click one of the following registry subkeys, as appropriate for the store that you want to increase:
• For a mailbox store, click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\Server name\Private-Mailbox Store
• For a public folder store, click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\Server name\Public-Public Store GUID
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. In the New Value #1 box, type Database Size Limit in Gb, and then press ENTER.
5. Right-click Database Size Limit in Gb, and then click Modify.
6. Click Decimal, and then type an integer from 1 to 75 in the Value data box.
7. Click OK, and then exit Registry Editor.
8. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service. To do this, follow these steps:

o    Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

o    At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

net stop msexchangeis

o    After the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service has stopped successfully, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

net start msexchangeis

9. Examine the Application log to verify that the database size has been set successfully. To do this, follow these steps:

o    Click Start, click Run, type eventvwr, and then click OK.

o    In the Event Viewer tool, click Application

o    Double-click event ID 1216 to verify that the database size has been set successfully. Event 1216 is generated every time the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service is started.