{"id":99004,"date":"2022-05-19T10:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/?p=99004"},"modified":"2025-01-15T05:49:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T05:49:40","slug":"how-to-rebuild-exchange-search-index","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/how-to-rebuild-exchange-search-index\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Rebuild Exchange Search Index?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Microsoft Exchange Server environment, Exchange Search is a crucial constituent of the mailbox servers as it facilitates the search process. This indexes the mailboxes and related attachments in mailboxes. Sometimes, you face a situation where the users complain that the search is taking too long or it doesn’t return any results. This can happen due to corruption or any other issues in the content index. To resolve such issues, you can rebuild the Exchange search index. Below, we will see how to rebuild the search index for Exchange Servers that are not part of the Database Availability Group (DAG). In a DAG setup, you can simply reseed the index catalog from other member in the group.<\/p>

Process to Rebuild the Exchange Search Index<\/h2>

If you’re facing issues with the search index, follow the steps given below to rebuild the Exchange search index.<\/p>

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Note:<\/em><\/strong> The below process is applicable for Exchange Server 2016 and earlier versions.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>

Step 1: Check the Indexing Status<\/strong><\/h3>

You need to first check the status of indexing. For this, open the Exchange Management Shell (EMS) and run the following command:<\/p>

Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus * | Sort Name | Select Name, Status, ContentIndexState<\/strong><\/code><\/pre>
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\"Checking<\/figure>\n<\/figure>
In the command output, if you see the ContentIndexState as Failed<\/strong> or FailedAndSuspended<\/strong>, then you need to rebuild the index.<\/p>
Step 2: Stop the Services<\/strong><\/h3>
The next step is to stop the Fast Search<\/strong> and Host Controller Services<\/strong>. To do so, run the commands as given below:<\/p>
Stop-Service MSExchangeFastSearch<\/strong>\nStop-Service HostControllerService<\/strong><\/code><\/pre>
\"Stop<\/figure>
Step 3: Delete the Indexing Folder<\/h3>
Now, you need to delete the indexing (GUID) folder. It is available at same location as the EDB file.<\/p>
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\"Delete<\/figure>\n<\/figure>
Step 4: Start the Services<\/strong><\/h3>
Once you have deleted the indexing folder, start the services again using the following cmdlets:<\/p>
Start-Service MSExchangeFastSearch<\/strong>\nStart-Service HostControllerService<\/strong><\/code><\/pre>
When both the services are stated, a new GUID folder will be created in the directory.<\/p>
Step 5: Confirm the Indexing Status<\/strong><\/h3>
To confirm the status of the search index, run the following cmdlet:<\/p>
Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus * | Sort Name | Select Name, Status, ContentIndexState<\/strong><\/code><\/pre>
In the command output, the ContentIndexState<\/strong> will be displayed as Healthy<\/strong>. If it shows the ContentIndexState as failed and suspended, then read How to Fix Content Index State Failed and Suspended Issue.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>
How to Check and Fix Indexing Issues in Exchange Server 2019?<\/h2>
In Exchange Server 2019, unlike the previous versions, indexing for every mailbox is stored in the mailbox and not in the database. To resolve the indexing issues in Exchange Server 2019, you can move the mailbox with indexing issues to another database.<\/p>
However, if the mailbox items are not indexed for an extended period, the items will go into a permanent failure state<\/strong>. To resolve this, you need to create a new override for the non-indexed items and then re-index them. Here are the steps:<\/p>
Step 1: Check the Non-Indexed Items<\/strong><\/h3>
First, check how many mailbox items are not being indexed by the server. For this, you can use the Get-MailboxStatistics<\/strong> cmdlet as given below:<\/p>
Get-MailboxStatistics <usermailbox> | FL BigFunnel*<\/strong><\/code><\/pre>
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\"use<\/figure>\n<\/figure>
The above command will show a lot of information regarding the mailbox index status and information. However, you can check the following fields:<\/p>