Question

How can I verify that my EWS Exchange connector is working properly?

 

Prerequisites

  • An EWS Exchange data source, configured with the steps in this article

 

Answer

Verify the Work Manager's Connection to the Exchange Server

  1. Find the server and account specified in the Exchange connector's EWS settings.
  2. Verify the collections Work Manager can ping the Exchange server
  3. Open Outlook on the collections Work Manager machine
  4. If it has not already been done, add an Exchange mail account to Outlook, using the server and account from your Exchange connector
  5. Verify that you can view, send, and receive email

If this fails, you will need to contact your IT department to find out why the Work Manager machine cannot contact the Exchange server and/or why the specified account is not accessible.

 

Verify the Connector is Working

  1. Find the account specified in the Exchange connector's EWS credentials.  We'll refer to this account as the Exchange service account.
  2. Go to Data Sources > People
  3. Add a Custodian with the following details:
    First Name: Exchange
    Last Name: Service Account
    Username:
    Domain:
    Email Address:
  4. Associate the new "Exchange Service Account" custodian to your Exchange connector (Note: This is done automatically if the Exchange connector is set to "Associate To All People")
  5. Create a new Collection Job, setting the Job Target Options to "Custom", and checking "Custodians" and "Select Person's Exchange"
  6. On the Custodians tab, find and select the "Exchange Service Account" custodian in the upper pane, then make sure "Include Exchange" is checked in the bottom pane
  7. Save, Approve, and Execute the job

If the job completes successfully, then the Exchange Connector settings should be set correctly.  If the job fails, refer back to this article to correct the settings in the Exchange connector.

 

Verify the Permissions are Set Correctly

In eDiscovery:

  1. Repeat steps 5-6 from the steps above, but select a different Custodian to collect from
  2. Save, Approve, and Execute the job

If the job completes successfully, then the Exchange service account's permissions should be set correctly.  If the job fails, refer back to this article to correct the Exchange service account's permissions.

In Outlook:

  1. Open Outlook on the machine with the Collections Work Manager (Outlook should have already been configured to use the "Exchange Service Account" profile)
  2. Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings
  3. Highlight the "Exchange Service Account" account and click Change
  4. Click More Settings
  5. Go to the "Advanced" tab
  6. Next to "Mailboxes" click Add
  7. Enter the username for another Custodian and click OK
  8. Click OK, Next, Finish, and Close
  9. Find the Custodian's mailbox on the left and verify you can properly view and navigate through it

If you can view and navigate the custodian's mailbox successfully, then the Exchange service account's permissions should be set correctly.  If not, refer back to this article to correct the Exchange service account's permissions.

 

Overview

This demonstrates some basic collections to verify an EWS Exchange connector is working correctly.  These steps can also help pinpoint why Exchange collections may be failing.