How to effectively deploy quota management

When implementing mailbox quota's most administrators will face a lot of complaints from users. This is partly due because they do not want to feel restricted and partly due because Notes makes it very difficult for them to get a view on what is happening.

First of all: quota management only works if you really choose the option in your configuration document to enforce it. That means that people do not receive new e-mails untill they clean up.
And that is when the complaints start....

To avoid this you can take several actions:

1. Make sure the user see's his quota use.
We implemented a visual indicator (progress bar) in the user his mailbox to show him how much of his quota he is using. This feature took away most of the complaints and now everybody cleans up on time! No surprises anymore for them.
In combination with this we added human messages to the mailbox to alert the user. The messages that will come from the server (if they come at all) are impossible to understand for most users.

2. Provide clean up tools
Provide some tools in the mailbox that can clean up things fast for the user. Such as removing all attachments from messages in the Sent folder for example or cleanup old appointments.
Also make sure your users understand about archiving and know how to use it.

3. Provide alternatives to e-mail
For inside use you can provide alternatives for sharing files such as a Newsboard or Filesharing database. Make sure people can access these tools directly from their mailbox.
I personally put it in a choice list to replace the "new memo" button.
This way the system is only sending doclinks from and to people and this keeps the people their mailbox small.

4. Limit the attachment size in the mail template.
Most people define a maximum message size in the router configuration. This is OK but using only this has 2 major disadvantages:
a. The message travels first to the router and then back to the user in a delivery failure. This results in heavy network load.

b. The message is stored in the user his Sent folder. A moment later the delivery failure also arrives in the Inbox. This can cause the user to go over quota. Most of the time people do not understand what is happening and will try to send the message over and over again before contacting support making things even worser.

The solution: modify the mail template and make sure they can not send an oversized message! This takes away all of these problems at once and will free up your network!
The other advantage is that you can now define a different incoming and outgoing message size.

5. Migrate to R6
Migrating to R6 gives you a lot more control over quota's. The system can keep messages in queue for people who are over quota and can send alerts to the sender and receiver that these messages are waiting.

If you do all of this I can assure you trouble free quota management. People will clean up without protest and your helpdesk will not be bothered with questions about this so much anymore.

Kind regards,

Dominik Malfait
dominik@amazingit.com
www.amazingit.com