Centrally Archiving Multiple Exchange Mailboxes

With MailStore, some or all mailboxes of an Exchange server can be archived in a single step. All necessary preparations, such as creating MailStore users, can be made automatically. The archiving process can be executed manually or automatically according to a schedule.

Before the archiving process can be set up in MailStore, a user with access to all mailboxes to be archived has to be created. The exact procedure depends on the version of the Exchange server used (Exchange Server 2003 or 2007). Please refer to the appropriate sections below.

Important notice: If you are running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Service Pack 2 (SP2) is required.

Preparation for Exchange 2003: Creating a Central User to Access Mailboxes

• Create user with full access to all mailboxes. This user does not have to have his or her own Exchange mailbox.
• Start the Microsoft Exchange System Manager. It is generally located in the Start menu under Microsoft Exchange | System-Manager.
• From the tree structure, select the appropriate Exchange server, the storage group (e.g. First Storage Group) and the mailbox store.
• Right-click onto the mailbox store and select Properties. Click on the Security tab.
• Click on Add to add the new MailStore user and grant the Send As and Receive As permissions by marking the appropriate checkboxes.

Preparation for Exchange 2007: Creating a Central User to Access Mailboxes

The privilege to access all mailboxes can only be assigned through the Exchange management console. Open it and enter the following command on one line, replacing "DEEPINVENT\perter" with the account that is to have read-access.

Get-MailboxDatabase | Add-ADPermission -User "DEEPINVENT\perter" -ExtendedRights Send-As,Receive-As

The output should be similar to the following:

Identity                        User                        Deny                Inherited        Rights
--------                          ----                        ----                ---------        ------
WIN2003R2STDX64\F...        DEEPINVENT\perter          False                False          Send-As
WIN2003R2STDX64\F...        DEEPINVENT\perter          False                False          Receive-As

Setup of the Archiving Process in MailStore

Please proceed as follows:

• Log on to MailStore Client as administrator.
• Click on Archive Email.
• From the list in the upper area of the window, select Microsoft Exchange to create a new  archiving profile.
• A wizard opens to assist in specifying the archiving settings.
• Select Multiple Mailboxes.
• In order to be able to archive multiple mailboxes, some MailStore users along with their email addresses have to exist in the MailStore user management. If this is not the case, MailStore will offer to set up and execute the Active Directory Synchronization at this point. Once completed, the wizard will resume. If Active Directory Synchronization is not desired, the process can be canceled. In this case, users have to be created manually as described in chapter User Management. Once finished, click on Archive Email and then on Microsoft Exchange.

• Under Access via, select the protocol to be used to access the Exchange server. Whenever possible, HTTPS should be used.
• Please note: Depending on the protocol chosen, there is the option to Ignore SSL  Warnings. Generally, these warnings appear if an unofficial certificate is used on the server.
• Under Host, enter the name of the Exchange server.
• Under User Name and Password, enter the access data of a user who has access to all  the Exchange mailboxes that are to be archived.
• Click on Next to continue.

• If needed, adjust the settings for the List of Folders to be Archived, the filter and the Deletion Rules. By default, no emails will be deleted from the mailbox. The Timeout value only has to be adjusted in specific cases (e.g. with very slow servers). Please keep in mind that these settings apply to all mailboxes to be archived, as specified at the next step.

• Select the users whose mailboxes are to be archived. The following options are available:

All users with configured email address
Choose this option to archive the mailboxes of all users who are set up, along with their email addresses, in MailStore's user management.

All users except the following
Choose this option to exclude individual users (and thereby their Exchange mailboxes) from the archiving process, using the list of users below.

Only the following users
Choose this option to include individual users (and thereby their Exchange mailboxes) in the archiving process, using the list of users below. Only the mailboxes of those users explicitly specified will be archived.

Synchronize with Active Directory before archiving
If selected, the MailStore user list will be synchronized with Active Directory before any archiving process is executed. This has the advantage that, for example, new employees will be created as MailStore users before archiving, so once the archiving process is executed, their Exchange mailbox is archived automatically as well. This option is especially recommended when the archiving process is to be executed regularly according to a schedule.  

• At the last step, a name for the archiving profile can be specified. After clicking Finish, the archiving profile will be listed under Saved Settings (Profiles) and can be run immediately, if desired.

Starting the Archiving Process

Starting the archiving process manually
On the start page of MailStore Client, click on Archive Email and from the list under Saved Settings (Profiles), select the appropriate archiving profile. Click on Run. After the archiving process has been executed, a message appears. It contains information about the volume of emails that have been archived as well as any errors that may have occurred.

 Archiving profiles can be executed any number of times. MailStore only archives those emails that are not yet stored in the archive.

Automating the archiving process
In addition to being executed manually, archiving tasks can also be executed automatically according to a schedule. Simply right-click on an existing profile and select Schedule Task. Additional information about this topic is available in chapter Automating the Archiving Process.

Archiving Hints and Suggestions for Further Reading

• In chapter Working with Archiving Profiles, learn how to change the settings and, if needed, delete an archiving profile.
• In chapter Archiving Specific Folders, learn how to limit the archiving process to specific folders in the Exchange mailboxes.
• In chapter Deleting Emails After Archiving, learn how MailStore can be used to save storage space in the Exchange mailboxes.