We are currently giving our users 500 MB email quotas. (This was enforced by the previous IT staff) but everyone exceeds this rule. We have auto-archiving in place to move any email within one month and we limit email file sizes to 10 MB. Though we stress the need to meet the quota, and go as far as instill fear with worse case senarios, people will not follow the rule. In addition, managment will not approve the purchase of additional storage. Managing the exchange is becoming difficult and we are starting to run out of space. IS there a way to have outlook automatically autoarchive when the inbox reaches 80-90% of the quota? Has anyone found any other solutions to combat users who do not see the dangers of using their email boxes for storage?
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Users will not follow Email Size Quotas! Need advice
- Thread starter user125
- Start date
AutoArichiving in Outlook is not a good solution. It moves mail from managed to unmanaged storage. When you deal with limits you have to evaluate business necessity to determine what the appropriate level should be. If based on business need, the justification for the funding is already there and agreed on.
Once set in place,limits are limits. When users hit the limit, they need to explain to management why it's not a user training issue and is a business necessity. If it's critical to the business, then fund it, buy it, install it, and increase the limit. If it's not critical to the business, train the user on how to clean out their mailbox.
Once set in place,limits are limits. When users hit the limit, they need to explain to management why it's not a user training issue and is a business necessity. If it's critical to the business, then fund it, buy it, install it, and increase the limit. If it's not critical to the business, train the user on how to clean out their mailbox.
Set group policy to force deleting email from the "Deleted Items" folder. In my experience users tend to store mail there that gets large. Another is sent items folder.
You can use Mailbox manager to run and archive email that is older than X date. Also, Exmerge could pull mail out of mailboxes with certain criteria.
You can target large emails such as attachments put them in offline CD media and if the user needs them in the future they can check out their CD for reference.
If they won't take your advice and mgmt won't buy more storage...then maybe you'll be justified in taking their mail from them and archiving for them...rather than them taking the opportunity. When they need their mail...they'll be more likely to pay attention next time.
Just some ideas.
You can use Mailbox manager to run and archive email that is older than X date. Also, Exmerge could pull mail out of mailboxes with certain criteria.
You can target large emails such as attachments put them in offline CD media and if the user needs them in the future they can check out their CD for reference.
If they won't take your advice and mgmt won't buy more storage...then maybe you'll be justified in taking their mail from them and archiving for them...rather than them taking the opportunity. When they need their mail...they'll be more likely to pay attention next time.
Just some ideas.
Hi,
I'm with Noktar - enforce inbox limits so users receive a warning, then loose the ability to send e-mail and finally they loose the ability to receive e-mail. ie warn at 490MB, cut off send @ 500MB and cut off receive at 550MB..
They will either kick and scream when they find they can't send e-mail or just clean up their inbox. Either way it becomes a management issue - either they purchase more disk space, or users are forced to clean up their mail.
Otherwise you could implement a policy (A HR type policy not AD related!) which gives you authority to delete email from their mailboxes at will. Then use exmerge to delete offending emails without them knowing.. (Deleted items folder, with attachments greater than a specific size, mail older than a specific date... etc) This will delete mail from their mailboxes and archive it into a PST specific to the user/mailbox.
I think the former is a better solution though!
To cover your ar$e though you might want to archive all e-mail to a seperate (SQL) db. I use GFI mail essentials for our anti spam which has the ability to archive all internal->external and external ->internal emails to a MSSQL db. They have a specific product if you need greater functionality (GFI Mail Archiver - I think?) but the base product works well for me.
Goodluck ;-)
I'm with Noktar - enforce inbox limits so users receive a warning, then loose the ability to send e-mail and finally they loose the ability to receive e-mail. ie warn at 490MB, cut off send @ 500MB and cut off receive at 550MB..
They will either kick and scream when they find they can't send e-mail or just clean up their inbox. Either way it becomes a management issue - either they purchase more disk space, or users are forced to clean up their mail.
Otherwise you could implement a policy (A HR type policy not AD related!) which gives you authority to delete email from their mailboxes at will. Then use exmerge to delete offending emails without them knowing.. (Deleted items folder, with attachments greater than a specific size, mail older than a specific date... etc) This will delete mail from their mailboxes and archive it into a PST specific to the user/mailbox.
I think the former is a better solution though!
To cover your ar$e though you might want to archive all e-mail to a seperate (SQL) db. I use GFI mail essentials for our anti spam which has the ability to archive all internal->external and external ->internal emails to a MSSQL db. They have a specific product if you need greater functionality (GFI Mail Archiver - I think?) but the base product works well for me.
Goodluck ;-)
- Thread starter
- #6
Thanks for the advice. Although archiving isn't the best idea since the storage is unmanaged but we have no choice snice management refuses buy purchase more storage. In addition, users don't follow the quota (They ignore the system messages and our direct emails). so its a lose lose situation.
Though I like the idea of having a group policy to delete the deleted items.
What I actually want to do, but dont' know if this is possible. I'd like to put in place where if the inbox reaches 90% of the quota, it'll start moving emails older than x date to a .pst) That way, it'll never pass the quota.
Though I like the idea of having a group policy to delete the deleted items.
What I actually want to do, but dont' know if this is possible. I'd like to put in place where if the inbox reaches 90% of the quota, it'll start moving emails older than x date to a .pst) That way, it'll never pass the quota.
Frankenherder
IS-IT--Management
What I do is run a weekly Mailbox Management where any e-mails older than 90 days are deleted from the Sent and Deleted items.
people are using their outlook as a filing cabinet which is wrong.
Matt
people are using their outlook as a filing cabinet which is wrong.
Matt
There is seldom a technological solution to a behavioral problem" - Ed Crowley
Set the three limits and be done with it.
Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -
Set the three limits and be done with it.
Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -
- Thread starter
- #10
Set the three limits. There's your technical resolution.
Thanks, Zelandakh! I'm a firm believer of many of Ed's comments.
Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -
Thanks, Zelandakh! I'm a firm believer of many of Ed's comments.
Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -
clicker666
IS-IT--Management
I simply printed off a list of the mailbox sizes, and when the Exchange server went down, gave it to management. Then came the fixes and defragging, and when the users complained I just told them to see Joe, or Steve, or Bill, who had 5 gigs of happy birthday messages and stupid movies and jokes in their mailbox.
Management will sing a different tune when the mail is down for an entire working day because you have to do an offline defrag during work hours to get Exchange running enough to clean the mailboxes out a bit.
Don't sugarcoat what can happen. It takes hours to do an offline defrag, then to manually clean up mailboxes. Are they prepared to be down for an entire day?
Management will sing a different tune when the mail is down for an entire working day because you have to do an offline defrag during work hours to get Exchange running enough to clean the mailboxes out a bit.
Don't sugarcoat what can happen. It takes hours to do an offline defrag, then to manually clean up mailboxes. Are they prepared to be down for an entire day?
mcourtney95
MIS
Well I'm sure that all the comments are very well-informed.
Just to add a twist, our e-mail server has a 50M per user limit. They receive warnings at 40 and they can't send at all at 50.
One by one we train our users how to deal with this and how to archive to PST files.
Out if approximately 400 users we only have about 5 senior management folks who have more space.
Seems to work for us.
Just to add a twist, our e-mail server has a 50M per user limit. They receive warnings at 40 and they can't send at all at 50.
One by one we train our users how to deal with this and how to archive to PST files.
Out if approximately 400 users we only have about 5 senior management folks who have more space.
Seems to work for us.
Microsoft has 102,000 users, each with a 200MB limit. 200MB is typically what I set accounts at as well. There's got to be a large business need to have more than that.
Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -
Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -
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