Comments on techbunny.com: Exchange Server under the tree this Christmas?

I have the same problems with many client sites an...

2009-12-22T23:20:43.835-08:00

I have the same problems with many client sites and was really excited to move everyone to Exchange 2010 when I heard it would have the built-in archive. I still will deploy Exchange 2010 because who wants to install last year's version but there were a few gotchas for me. You need Outlook 2010 to view the user's online archive mailbox (or OWA) so that's a bummer for most of my clients who have lots of OEM Office 2007 installs. It also requires the enterprise CAL for the online archive additional costs above the standard CAL. :-( Also the online archive is stored on the same database as the user's mailbox. I'm still going to have to use a 3rd party mailbox archive solution for those clients of mine who really need it.

Will check out everyone's suggestions - Thanks...

2009-12-21T11:08:29.658-08:00

Will check out everyone's suggestions - Thanks!

I have also been struggling with similar issues al...

2009-12-20T16:29:11.278-08:00

I have also been struggling with similar issues albeit not with exchange but another mail server. We happen to have been using MX Logic for spam and virus filtering of email for quite some time which also provides us with a DR spool. In the event our mail server is off line all of our incoming mail is "spooled" at MX Logic. Now with the addition of their archiving service all email in or out of our server is archived at their facility. The killer part of this is that since we have DR spooling and archiving, in the event of a disaster users can log into their MX logic account and access a "spooled inbox" of all of their incoming mail from the time the server was down as well as any email that was archived so they effectively have access to all but the most current email that has not been pulled from the archive (about every 10 minutes). This IMHO is an unbeatable solution to archiving with the added bonus of very seamless way to support business continuity.
There is an outlook 2007 plugin that allows users to search their archive from within outlook. (not perfect but best I have seen so far) Now convincing users that they do not need to save everything... that is another matter entirely.

Hi Jennelle. I'm involved with the developmen...

2009-12-17T00:29:18.682-08:00

Hi Jennelle.

I'm involved with the development of an email archival product. Rather than just post a link, I thought it better to share some thoughts and design decisions in the same spirit as your well thought out and nicely described post.

Backing up PSTs (local or distributed) can be a nightmare. Negative side-effects could include errors, data loss or duplicate backups, scalability issues, etc. thus making the resulting archive less than reliable.

Fundamentally, a good architecture would allow for a central point of control, central storage and transparent archiving of email. Around that fundamental you build the goodies like:

* Archival system works with ANY mailserver, thus protecting the customers investment (present and future)
* Archives grow large over time, so save space using de-duplication (single instance of any email) along with compression.
* Web browser based easy access from anywhere
* Time saving and convenience features for busy administrators, including self service for users and automatic system alerts
* Make searching through email as easy (and fast) as a Google search
* Flexible email restore options
* Reports, etc., etc.

If it sounds interesting, do check out MailVault at http://mailvault.in/ and if you have any thoughts or suggestions, we'd love to hear them.

For your situation, in a nutshell, I think your idea of virtualization for "instant-on" service availability, with a flexible archival solution is the way to go.

And if you manage to convince Santa to get you a new server, please do give him my address too ;)

Thanks Jeremy, I'll check it out!

2009-12-16T16:04:09.665-08:00

Thanks Jeremy, I'll check it out!

Sorry, it stripped out the link. I just posted abo...

2009-12-16T12:33:04.256-08:00

Sorry, it stripped out the link. I just posted about it on my blog if you're interested though.

Exchange 2010 will do everything you need, includi...

2009-12-16T12:29:27.585-08:00

Exchange 2010 will do everything you need, including dropping PSTs into the online archive and allowing you to setup policies to automatically move e-mails to the online archive after X number of days.

See for more information.