1540 - How to temporarily disable Exchange Web Services API throttling

Background

This article contains information on how to temporarily disable throttling of the Exchange Web Services (EWS) API, which may improve the performance of Exchange backups.

Note: Throttling can only be disabled temporarily, but this should be sufficient to allow an initial full backup to complete. You may also have been advised to apply this setting by a Redstor support representative.

Cause

All download requests made by a backup task interacting with the EWS API are throttled by default, which can impact performance. To prevent this, you can temporarily turn off throttling in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Solution

Note: Before you disable the EWS throttling policy, first run an Exchange Online connection performance test using the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant. If the test shows that the Exchange Web Services are throttled, you can proceed.

To temporarily disable EWS throttling:

1. Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with your administrator credentials.
2. In the sidebar on the left, go to Support > New service request. (If this option is not visible, click Show all.)
3. In the panel that appears, enter "EWS" in the search field and click on Increase EWS throttling policy.
4. Click Run Tests to determine the current throttling state.
5. When the test completes, you will see one of the following results:
   • The Exchange Web Services are Throttled (with option to disable): If you see this result, select the number of days for which throttling wil be temporarily disabled, then click Update Settings to confirm.
   • The Exchange Web Services are Throttled (without option to disable): If you see this result, you will need to create a new service request with Microsoft Support to change the throttling policy.
   • Your Exchange Web Services are not currently throttled: If you see this result, you do not need to take further action.