This chapter describes archiving concepts for Oracle Communications Messaging Server. It does not provide instructions on how to set up an archiving system.
Messaging Server is able capture sieve action to produce Microsoft Exchange's "envelope journaling" format. This format consists of a multipart MIME message where the first part contains envelope information is a semi-structured format and the second part is the actual message. This new format by specifying a :journal option to capture:
capture :journal "trigger-address";
Exchange Journal Format Archiving for IMAP APPEND with LDAP Attributes
Support has been added to the archiving library to produce Microsoft Exchange Journal format archive messages. Note that this support extends to store compliance archiving of IMAP APPENDs as well as the archiving plugin.
In the case of the archiving plugin, the STYLE option accepts a value of 3, indicating that Microsoft Exchange Journal format messages should be produced. Additionally, two option file options have been added:
SOURCE_CHANNEL (channel name; no default; required for Microsoft Exchange Journal format only)
The SOURCE_CHANNEL option specifies the name of the channel used to submit Microsoft Exchange Journal format messages. We recommend that you create a separate channel for this purpose so that such submissions are clearly identifiable in the logs.
DESTINATION (string; no default; Microsoft Exchange Journal format only).
If set, this option specifies the address where Exchange Journal format archive messages are to be sent. If the option is not set archive messages are sent to the various capture attributes associated with the message's authorized sender, envelope from, and envelope recipient addresses.
In the case of store compliance archiving, there are three options:
store.archive.style - Same semantics as the STYLE option file option.
store.archive.source_channel - Same semantics as the SOURCE_CHANNEL option file option.
store.archive.destination - Same semantics as the DESTINATION option file option.
A message archiving system saves all or specified incoming and outgoing messages on a system separate from Messaging Server. Sent, received, deleted, and moved messages can all be saved and retrieve in an archive system. Archived messages cannot be modified or removed by email users, so the integrity of incoming and outgoing messages is maintained. Message archiving is useful for compliance record keeping, but it is also useful for message store management. For example, some customers may use archiving to perform message back-up or to move older messages from more expensive message store storage to less expensive archive storage.
Archived messages can be accessed through a separate archiving software GUI client or through Messaging Server. If the messages are deleted from Messaging Server, then the archiving client can be used to search for and retrieve those deleted messages since archived messages are never deleted. Note, however, that archived messages are not stored in mailbox folders as they are in the Messaging Server.
The system can also be set up so that archived messages can be accessed from Messaging Server. For example, you can set up a system to archive messages over 2 years old. Instead of having message bodies reside in the message store, they would instead reside in the archive system. From the users standpoint, the message appears no different from a regular email message. The same header and subject information will appear (this is still stored in the message store storage), but the message body is downloaded from the archive server by the message store when needed. Thus, there may be a slight delay as messages are downloaded from the archive server. In addition, archived messages cannot be searched from the email client. Searching must be done from the archiving GUI.
There are two types of archiving, compliance and operational. Compliance archiving is used when you have a legal obligation to maintain strict retrievable email record keeping. Selected email (selected by user(s), domain, channel, incoming, outgoing and so on) coming into the MTA is copied to the archive system before being delivered to the message store or the internet. Archiving can be set to occur either before or after spam and virus filtering.
Operational archiving is used for mail management purposes. For example:
To reduce storage usage on the Messaging Server message store by moving less used (older) messages to an archiving system which uses lower cost storage.
As an alternative for data backup.
Note that compliance and operational archiving are not exclusive. That is, you can set up your system so that it does both compliance and operational archiving.