How does the archive work

[kdeans]

Groupwise 5.26 on Netware 4.11 SP 9
From time to time I have a need to get after users to reduce the amount of network space they are using for redundant files, files no longer needed, etc. to create room on a rapidly filling server. One user always has a lot of space (220 Mb) taken up in Groupwise archive files. There are over 2,500 files in his archive directory. There may be 50 or so dated from Sept. 19/99 at 11:26 for example and then another 50 or so all from another date and time and on and on. These must correspond to the times that he has run an archive. From his mail account he can only open a single archive (it doesn't ask what archive to open) so how does all this work. Is the archive a multi file cumulative thing? How can the overall size be reduced? Do the previous files never get deleted? Even the index files are 14 Gb and there are two of them that are in the index directory. Novell's website has been no help in trying to understand just how the archive system works and how to control it. Can anyone give a good explanation or point me to one?

 

[salserocito]

Is the archive a multi file cumulative thing?
Yes... it basically takes the messages and attachments and puts them into a single archive directory.

Do the previous files never get deleted?
Not unless the get deleted manually from the Archive.

Even the index files are 14 Gb and there are two of them that are in the index directory.
Thats because Quick-Index runs constantly in the background and does not remove the previous index files. If you run maintenance against the Domain and PO regularly, the size is more easilt managed. Pressing <CNTL><SHIFT><Q> will initiate a Quickfinder Index rebuild that should clean up your index directory of you PO. If not, you must run maintenance.

You can use GWCHECK32 to run maintenance against a Users Archive to manage its size. Just make sure that the User is aware if you are going to reduce the size of his Archive. Make a backup of it and put it away for safe keeping... just in case.

Good Luck!

 

[jvonkorff]

Ok. This raises a question I've been waiting to ask. We are relatively new groupwise users (GW 6)
How do I make a backup of an archive and put it away for safe keeping.
In our case, user jvonkorff would have the archive located in folder f:\backup\gwise\jvonkorff
Do I create a copy of the archive by simply copying the folder/directory.
If I do that, then how do I recover it later.
For example, could view the information by simply changing the location of my archive?
Put differently, if I copy f:\backup\gwise\jvonkorff to c:\storage\jvonkorff and then delete information from the jvonkorff location, can I then reach my old archived information simply by changing the archive location to c:\storage\jvonkorff
Thanks.

 

[salserocito]

Yes.

Within the GroupWise Client, selecting TOOLS / OPTIONS will bring up an OPTIONS box. This is where you will be able to, amongst other things...

Change the location of the Archive.
Tell GroupWise how often to Archive/Delete/Empty Trash.
Change the GroupWise password.
Grant Proxy access.
Etc...

I would keep any User data, including email archives on a Server. That way it can be backed up via Tape Backup and restored if easily if necessary. If a Users hard disk decides to crash, the User will be SOL.

Good Luck!

 

[jvonkorff]

I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood my question, which may not have been clear.
I have a delphi program which, using object API, sets up an archive for each user on our network. It establishes the location using the user's email handle. So jvonkorff gets f:\backup\groupwise\jvonkorff. When the archive is first set up, it appears that groupwise then calculates a unique folder name, which it places in the jvonkorff folder, eg f:\backup\groupwise\jvonkorff\xxnnn

But here is my problem. I want to purge the archive periodically, but I want to be able to retrieve its contents somehow later, as you suggest. That's the part I cannot figure out. Suppose I copy the archive to someother location, say g:\oldBackup\xxx Now suppose I change the backup location in Tools/Options to g:\OldBackup\xxx Groupwise asks me if I want to move the F:\backup\groupwise\jvonkorff archive to the new location, which of course I don't want to do. Its got the newly archived material. When I answer no, then it creates a new backup folder, with a brand newly generated folder name, different from the old archive name and points to it. And it is empty!!!

So I can't figure out a way to say to groupwise, I want to look at old archived materials that aren't in my current archive. That's my problem. I suppose I'm missing something pretty simple, but so far I cannot figure out how to retrieve an archived archive if you will.

Thanks for listening.

 

[Guest_imported]

The version of GW you are using does not allow multiple archive locations. You must be at version 5.5 or higher. For that particular user, all you can really safely do is hound him to clean up regularly.

If you had 5.5, you could do exactly what you want, have archives for each month, or quarter, or whatever, and delete the oldest ones from the network and restore from tape if he decides for some reason he needs to go back.