4/4/23, 1:16 PM Limits to using pst files over LAN and WAN links - Outlook | Microsoft Learn

Limits to using personal folders files

over LAN and WAN links
Article • 07/22/2022 • 8 minutes to read •
Applies Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2010,
to: Office Outlook 2007, Office Outlook 2003, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008,
Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Original KB number:   297019

Summary
The .pst files aren't meant to be a long-term, continuous-use method of storing
messages in an enterprise environment.

This article also suggests three alternatives to .pst files:

Use Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, or Microsoft
Exchange Server 2010 Personal Archive mailboxes.
Configure Microsoft Outlook in Cached Exchange Mode. This caches Exchange
Server mailbox data in a local Offline Folders file.
Configure Outlook to run on Windows Terminal Services and to connect to the
Exchange Server mailbox in Online mode.

Additionally, the one supported scenario for networked .pst files is described in this
article. The scenario is using Microsoft Outlook 2010 or later versions remotely on a
Windows Server 2008 R2 or later Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH).

Personal folders files

The Microsoft Exchange Server 4.0 team created .pst files to let users maintain a copy of
their messages on their local computers. The .pst files also serve as a message store for
users who don't have access to an Exchange Server computer (for example, POP3 or
IMAP email users).

However, .pst files aren't intended as an enterprise network solution. Although it's
possible to specify a network directory or a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path as
a storage location for a .pst file, network usage isn't meant to be a long-term,
continuous-use method of storing messages in an enterprise environment.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-US/outlook/troubleshoot/data-files/limits-using-pst-files-over-lan-wan 1/5
4/4/23, 1:16 PM Limits to using pst files over LAN and WAN links - Outlook | Microsoft Learn

A .pst file is a file-access-driven method of message storage. File-access-driven means

that the computer uses special file access commands that the operating system
provides to read and write data to the file.

Behaviors of .pst files over WAN and LAN links

It's not efficient on WAN or LAN links because WAN and LAN links use network-access-
driven methods. These are commands that the operating system provides to send data
to, or receive from, another networked computer. If there's a remote .pst file (over a
network link), Outlook tries to use the file commands to read from the file or write to
the file. However, the operating system must then send those commands over the
network because the file isn't located on the local computer. This creates lots of
overhead and increases the time that is required to read and write to the file.
Additionally, the use of a .pst file over a network connection may result in a corrupted
.pst file if the connection degrades or fails.

Other behaviors of .pst files over WAN and LAN links

All operations take longer.

Write operations can take approximately four times longer than read operations.
Outlook has slower performance than the Exchange Client.

Because of these behaviors, Offline Folders files and Personal Address Book (.pab) files
on a network share that are accessed remotely are also unsupported configurations.

Recommendations solutions
Microsoft recommends the following solutions. The first three should be used instead of
.pst files over a LAN or WAN. The fourth describes an option for using networked .pst
files, but only when Outlook 2010 or later versions are hosted remotely on a Windows
Server 2008 R2 or later Remote Desktop Session Host.

Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2013 Personal

Archive mailbox
Personal Archives help you regain control of your organization's messaging data by
eliminating the need for personal store files and allowing users to store messages in a
Personal Archive mailbox accessible in Microsoft Outlook 2007 or later versions, and
Microsoft Office Outlook Web App.

For more information about Personal Archives, see Understanding Personal Archives.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-US/outlook/troubleshoot/data-files/limits-using-pst-files-over-lan-wan 2/5
4/4/23, 1:16 PM Limits to using pst files over LAN and WAN links - Outlook | Microsoft Learn

Exchange Server with local Offline Folders file

When you're working over a WAN or LAN, it's better to configure Microsoft Outlook in
Cached Exchange Mode. This caches the Exchange Server mailbox data in a local Offline
Folders file. This configuration lets the remote client work successfully even without
being connected to the server. Local Offline Folders files support local replication, and
this means that all folders and their data can be replicated to Local Offline Folders files,
not just email messages, as is the case when you use remote mail. The use of Local
Offline Folders file is therefore more efficient and more useful. Local Offline Folders files
also don't have a dependency on the availability of the Exchange Server computer
(except to synchronize new data from the server to the client and vice versa), because
the information is cached in the Local Offline Folders file. This improves performance
because the information being viewed is stored on the local drive, while the master
copy of the data remains on the server, where it can be accessed and backed up. Local
Offline Folders files also provide data redundancy, and this ensures greater integrity and
recoverability of the data.

Microsoft Terminal Services

If an enterprise wants to use Outlook over WAN or LAN links, it's highly efficient to
configure Outlook to connect to the Exchange Server mailbox in Online mode while
using the Microsoft Windows Terminal Server service. With Terminal Services, only the
information that is required to update a display is transferred. The potential benefits in
having many remote users based on Terminal Services (instead of using either .pst or
.ost files) are significant in any network bandwidth conservation analysis.

Outlook 2010 or later versions hosted remotely by using

Windows Server 2008 R2 or later RDSH or VDI
configuration
Outlook 2010 or later versions functionality is supported when networked .pst or .ost
files are used under the following conditions:

A high bandwidth/low latency network connection is used.

There's single client access per file (one Outlook client per .pst or .ost).
Either Windows Server 2008 R2 or later Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH), or
Windows Server 2008 R2 or later Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is used to run
Outlook remotely.

If a specific Outlook feature stops working or the .pst or .ost file becomes corrupt and
you can reproduce the issue in the above environment, contact Microsoft Support.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-US/outlook/troubleshoot/data-files/limits-using-pst-files-over-lan-wan 3/5
4/4/23, 1:16 PM Limits to using pst files over LAN and WAN links - Outlook | Microsoft Learn

７ Note

Customers are responsible for both defining and maintaining adequate network
and disk I/O. Microsoft will not assist in troubleshooting slow performance due to
networked.pst or .ost files. Microsoft will only assist if the performance issue is
reproduced while the .pst or .ost file is located on either a hard disk that is
physically attached to the computer that is running Outlook, or on a virtual hard
disk (VHD) that is attached to the virtual machine that is running Outlook.

） Important

Microsoft programs may not work as expected in a third-party application or

software virtualization environment. We do not test Microsoft products that are
running in third-party application or software virtualization environments. For more
information about support provided by Microsoft for its software running together
with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, see Support policy for
Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software .

Network scalability guidance that is specific to this configuration can be found in the
"Cached Exchange Mode in a Remote Desktop Session Host environment: planning
considerations (Outlook 2010)" white paper. Although this document specifically refers
to Exchange Cached Mode, the scalability metrics should also apply to other Outlook
configurations, assuming the criteria that are mentioned in the preceding list are met.
To download this white paper as a Microsoft Word document (.docx), see Cached
Exchange Mode in a Remote Desktop Session Host environment: planning
considerations .

What to consider when you store .pst files

When you store .pst files, shares may stop responding. This behavior may cause several
client-side problems, such as causing Outlook to stop responding or freezing desktops
on client computers. Queuing in the Server service work queues is what causes this
temporary condition. The Server service uses work items, such as a request to extend a
.pst file, to handle I/O requests that come in over the network. These work items are
queued in the Server service work queues. From there, they're handled by the Server
service worker threads. The work items are allocated from a kernel resource that is
called the nonpaged pool (NPP). The Server service sends these I/O requests to the disk
subsystem. If for reasons that are mentioned earlier, the disk subsystem doesn't
respond in time, the incoming I/O requests are queued by using work items in the

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-US/outlook/troubleshoot/data-files/limits-using-pst-files-over-lan-wan 4/5
4/4/23, 1:16 PM Limits to using pst files over LAN and WAN links - Outlook | Microsoft Learn

server work queues. Because these work items are allocated from the NPP, this resource
eventually runs out. Running out of NPP causes systems to eventually stop responding
and to log event ID 2019.

If you troubleshoot this issue, you can usually find evidence of a problem in Poolmon
and Perfmon captures. For example, you may see the LSwn pool tag allocation climb in
a Poolmon trace. These allocations are made by the Srv.sys program. The size of the
allocation is configurable by using the SizReqBuf registry value. One allocation is made
for each work item that is used by the Server service. When you use Perfmon to
troubleshoot this issue, you see a steady decrease in the "Available Work Items"
counter. If "Available Work Items" reaches zero, clients may be unable to access files.
You may also experience event ID 2019 errors if the problem is LSwn allocations (NPP
depletion). Another tag that indicates .pst file issues is the MmSt tag. This tag
represents the Mm section object prototype PTEs, a memory management-related
structure that is used for mapped files. (This is the pool tag that is used to map the
operating system memory that is used to track shared files.) MmSt issues frequently
manifest as paged pool depletion (Event ID 2020).

Exchange connectivity and Outlook performance

troubleshooting where shared files exist
If the environment contains network shared .pst files, make sure that the following
guidelines are followed during troubleshooting:

These files can't be stored on the same storage media as the files that are used by
the Exchange server. This includes core files, databases, and log files.
These files should be disconnected from the Outlook profile and Outlook should
be restarted.

Because of these issues, and the possibility that the shared .pst files may be the cause of
client performance issues, the Microsoft Exchange Server, and Microsoft Office Outlook
support teams must take these actions when troubleshooting.

Feedback
Was this page helpful? ﾂ Yes ﾄ No

Get help at Microsoft Q&A

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-US/outlook/troubleshoot/data-files/limits-using-pst-files-over-lan-wan 5/5