Outlook set to archive, where are the emails kept? 2

[1DMF]

Hi,

I noticed a user has their email set to archive every 14days.

I'm concerned as this is an exchange server environment and no client machines are backed up, only the server.

The archiving shows a PST data file but this points to the Application data folder that doesn't seem to be copied to the server via Roaming Profiles.

Therefore am I correct in saying these emails are being removed from the exchange server and placed in a local PST file that is not being backed up when the exchange server backup runs?

If so, now that I have moved the user to a new machine are all the emails that had been archived lost?

(ok I could go get the PST from the old machine).

But the point is no email should be deleted by company policy and needs to be backed up from exchange, this archiving is breaching company policy , BCP & DR and probably Sarbanes Oxley too!

Should I stop users from having archiving set? and can this be done via group policy?

Or should i create a special folder on the network shares and move all archiving PST files to this folder?

How will this affect network traffic and system speeds?

Thanks,

1DMF.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[Zelandakh]

The PST is on the old machine so it isn't lost - just go get it.
If you are that concerned, turn off PSTs in GPO.
Breaching SO? Hardly - if you want to comply, you can't just tell users not to delete emails, you need an archive solution.
PST / network? Err, no.

 

[58sniper]

Yeah - don't get us started on why NOT to put .pst files on the network. Zelandakh is right - if you're concerned, disable the archive feature in a GPO, disable PST growth in a GPO, and ingest the PST files into an archiving solution or back into the mailbox.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[1DMF]

Cool thanks, I was hoping there may be a GPO method to lock this down.

Getting the file isn't a biggie, as I said, I was more wondering if the archive was a copy and the emails were still on the exchange server or if I needed to re-intergrate the archive PST, which Pat is implying.

I didn't want to import the PST if it would create duplicates, plus without bringing the file back across there was no way for me to see if the emails were in both places.

I wasn't expecting to be in this situation so wanted to be sure I understood the way it was working, what my options were and what's now needed to remedy the situation.

We have a company policy of users shuting their machines down at night and not using local drives for storing company data, there are network drives for that and so only the server is backed up. As it's SBS 2003 everything is on one box , Exchange, SQL , IIS, Backup, so no client machines are backed up.

Ok they still insist on storing docs on their desktop and my docs folders but at least the roaming profiles takes care of that with regard to backup as the profiles reside on the server and are included on the daily backup.

Looks like using a network drive is out of the question , I won't ask why, but if it's anything like the overhead of roaming profiles I can guess the rest ;-)

Don't worry on the SO side of things, I was probably being a bit mellow dramatic, I'm always extremely catious of regulations and more importantly not loosing data, but we do have an outsourced archive solution in place which stores the emails in line with SO for 25 years.

It's a real pain however if I need to search the archive and retrieve an email, I prefer them to be in exchange as well and backed up via conventional methods, it makes it easier in the event of a disaster recovery situation.

SO email archiving is not meant to be used as a backup / restore method, so I try to cover all bases.

Thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated.

Oh what happens to other users if they have archive currently on and I disable it via GPO, will the archive get intergrated back into the exchange or is it still a manual process using the local PST file?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[1DMF]

I guess i'll just route around to find the GPO setting and see what happens. wish me luck

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[1DMF]

it's ok, I finally worked it out - well I think.

I had to go download the office 2003 resource admin templates kit.

then extract them to c:\windows\inf

then use the GPO MMC to edit the default policy, then under admin tempaltes click to add a template.

then select the outlook11.AMD file and finally the GPO policy settings become available to be changed.

bit of a palaver especially for someone who doesn't know what they are doing, but hey ho, I got there in the end.

still don't know what's going to happen to the exisiting archived emails, I guess no more will be archived, but there will still be an 'Archived' folder with the old emails in them.

Does anyone know of an automatic way to 'unarchive' the archive folder?



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[58sniper]

You'd have to use third party tools to "automatically" ingest mail, either into an archiving solution, or back to the mailbox. Manually, you could use exmerge to import the pst files back into the mailboxes.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[1DMF]

can't I just do

->file->import/export->from PST file->include sub folders etc....



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[58sniper]

Yes, that would be another manual way of doing it.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/