Mail Flow Local Connectivity Test

The true measure of the efficiency of the Exchange 2013/2016 server lies in the success of mail flow and in the speed with which mails flow. Using the Mail Flow Local Connectivity test, administrators can test the mail flow and evaluate how efficient the Exchange 2013/2016 server is, and in the process, capture probable latencies in mail flow rapidly.

This test is disabled by default. To enable the test, go to the enable / disable tests page using the menu sequence : Agents -> Tests -> Enable/Disable, pick the Microsoft Exchange 2013/2016 as the Component type, set Performance as the Test type, choose the test from the disabled tests list, and click on the >> button to move the test to the ENABLED TESTS list. Finally, click the Update button.

Target of the test : A Microsoft Exchange 2013/2016 server

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the Exchange 2013/2016 server

Configurable parameters for the test
  1. Test period - How often should the test be executed
  2. Host - The host for which the test is to be configured.
  3. port – The port at which the host listens.
  4. xchgextensionshellpath - The Exchange Management Shell is a command-line management interface, built on Windows PowerShell which enables you to administer every part of Microsoft Exchange. This test uses the Exchange management shell to run scripts and collect the desired performance metrics from the Exchange server. By default, the test auto-discovers the location of the Exchange management shell and thus, automatically loads the Exchange management shell snap-in (exshell.psc1) for script execution. This is why, the xchgextensionshellpath is set to none by default. 
  5. execution timeout – Specify the duration (in seconds) for which this test will wait for a response from the server; beyond this duration, the test will timeout.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Status:

Indicates the current status of the mail flow.

 

The value 1 for this measure indicates mail flow is successful and the value 0 for this measure indicates failure.

The numeric values that correspond to these measure values are as follows:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Information 0
Warning 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports one of the Measure Values listed in the table above. In the graph of this measure however, the alert status is indicated by the corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Message flow latency:

Indicates the time taken to deliver a message.

Secs

A low value is desired for this measure. A high value is indicative of a delivery bottleneck.