Configuring the archive stores

•	Microsoft SQL Server archive store – The email source and metadata is stored in the database. The search index is stored on disk (NTFS).

•	Microsoft SQL Server and (NTFS) file system archive store – The email metadata is stored in the database. The email source and search index are stored on disk (NTFS).

•	GFI MailArchiver database and (NTFS) file system – The email metadata is stored in a Firebird database. The email source and search index are stored on disk (NTFS).

NOTE: The GFI MailArchiver installation creates an archive store based on Firebird and (NTFS) file system and configures GFI MailArchiver to archive emails into it, by default.

To configure an archive store do the following:

1. Load the GFI MailArchiver configuration as shown in the ‘Introduction to the Configuration’ section earlier in this chapter.

2. Click on the GFI MailArchiver > Configuration > Archive Stores node, in the left navigation pane.

3. Follow the steps in either one of the following sections depending on the type of archive store you want to create.

In this type of archive store, archived email metadata and the compressed email binary source are stored in the Microsoft SQL Server database. The search index is stored on disk (NTFS).

NOTE: Before you configure an archive store based on Microsoft SQL Server, ensure that you have followed the steps in the ‘Preparing Microsoft SQL Server for use with GFI MailArchiver’ section of the ‘Installing GFI MailArchiver’ chapter.

To configure an archive store based on Microsoft SQL Server, follow these steps:

1. In the Archive Stores page, click Add Archive Store, to display the Archive Store Wizard.

2. In the first page of the wizard, type a name for the archive store in the Archive Store Name box. The name you give the archive store should be descriptive, for example, ‘Jan - Mar 2006’. This makes it easier for you to manage the archive stores and helps the users of your network select the correct archive store to browse and search through.

3. If you want to grant your network users the ability to browse and search through the archived emails, select the Allow users to browse and search this archive store check box.

4. Since you are now configuring a new archive store, leave the Do not allow further archiving into this archive store check box clear. This option is useful when you want to attach a Microsoft SQL Server database that contains archived emails for browsing and searching, but do not want to archive further data into the database.

5. Click Next to continue.

6. Click Microsoft SQL Server database and then click Next.

7. Select the Microsoft SQL Server where the backend database is stored from the Microsoft SQL Server box. If the Microsoft SQL Server you want to use is not detected and listed automatically by the wizard, you can type the IP or machine name of the server hosting the Microsoft SQL Server you want to use.

NOTE: If you want to connect to a Microsoft SQL Server on an alternate port, type the port number in the Microsoft SQL Server box using the following format ‘SQLServerMachineName, PortNumber’.

8. Select the authentication method you want to use. If you select Windows Authentication, the Wizard will use the credentials of the account displayed in parenthesis next to the option. If you want to use SQL Server authentication, click Microsoft SQL Server Authentication and type the login name and password in the Login Name and Password boxes respectively. Click Next to continue.

NOTE 1: Regardless of which authentication method you choose, ensure that the account used to log on has administrative privileges or is set as the database owner, ‘dbo’, on the database.

NOTE 2: The wizard does not store the credentials specified in this page. The wizard will only use the credentials to connect and create the necessary schema in the backend database.

9. Click on the database you want to use from the list and then click Next.

10. The wizard will connect to the selected database to create and verify the database schema required by GFI MailArchiver. When the wizard completes the schema creation and verification, it displays Database verification successful. Click Next to continue.

11. GFI MailArchiver creates two roles, ‘db_marc_archive’ and ‘db_marc_browse’, on the database selected for added security. GFI MailArchiver uses the ‘db_marc_browse’ role for browsing only and requires read only access. GFI MailArchiver uses the ‘db_marc_archive’ role for archiving only and requires write access. You now need to specify the accounts to use for the archiving and browsing roles.

NOTE 1: We recommend using different accounts for archiving and browsing, since it will result in increased security. To do so, leave the Use the same credentials specified for the archiving role check box clear.

NOTE 2: We recommend specifying nonexistent accounts, for both archiving and browsing roles, so that the wizard will create them automatically for you with the correct database roles assigned. To do so, leave the Create the login accounts specified automatically if they do not exist check box selected.

Click Next to create the accounts and continue.

12. The wizard will connect to the database to create the specified accounts and assign the respective role. When the wizard completes it displays User creation successful. Click Next to continue.

13. GFI MailArchiver creates a search index, based on the content of the emails archived, to speed up user search requests. GFI MailArchiver stores the search index on disk (NTFS). In this page, you need to specify the full path where you want to store the search index for this archive store. You can do this either by typing it in the Full path to search index storage location box or else by selecting the folder visually from the list.

NOTE: The search index should be stored on a disk with ample free space available, since it can consume a lot of disk space. The search index uses more disk space as additional emails get stored in the archive store.

Click Next to continue.

14. The wizard finish page displays a summary of the settings you configured. Review the settings and click Finish to complete the wizard.

15. The table in the Archive Stores page lists the newly created archive store. To save the archive store in the configuration, click Save Settings.

In this type of archive store, archived email metadata is stored in the Microsoft SQL Server database, while the archived email binary source is stored in compressed format on disk (NTFS). The search index is as always, stored on disk (NTFS).

NOTE: Before you configure an archive store based on Microsoft SQL Server and file system, ensure that you have followed the steps in the ‘Preparing Microsoft SQL Server for use with GFI MailArchiver’ section of the ‘Installing GFI MailArchiver’ chapter.

To configure an archive store based on Microsoft SQL Server and file system, follow these steps:

1. In the Archive Stores page, click Add Archive Store, to display the Archive Store Wizard.

3. If you want to grant your network users the ability to browse and search through the archived emails, select the Allow users to browse and search this archive store check box.

5. Click Next to continue.

6. Click Microsoft SQL Server database and file system and then click Next.

NOTE: If you want to connect to a Microsoft SQL Server on an alternate port, type the port number in the Microsoft SQL Server box using the following format ‘SQLServerMachineName, PortNumber’.

NOTE 1: Regardless of which authentication method you choose, ensure that the account used to log on has administrative privileges or is set as the database owner, ‘dbo’, on the database.

NOTE 2: The wizard does not store the credentials specified in this page. The wizard will only use the credentials to connect and create the necessary schema in the backend database.

9. Click on the database you want to use from the list and then click Next.

10. In this page, specify the full path where you want to store the archived emails compressed binary source for this archive store. Type the path in the Full path to original emails storage location box.

NOTE 1: The archived emails compressed binary source should be stored on a disk with ample free space available. Depending on your mail server traffic, you might need a hundred gigabytes or more of free storage space to cater for a year’s worth of email. The amount of disk space required depends on many factors such as, amount of emails archived per year, average number of attachments per email, and the type of attachments, for example, compressed images, such as jpeg, do not compress much, but text and Microsoft Word documents compress to a much smaller file size.

NOTE 2: You can also specify a UNC path where you want to store the archived email compressed binary source. GFI MailArchiver will use the local system account for authentication. If the local system account does not have the necessary permissions, select the Use the following login and password to access the above UNC path check box and specify a login name and password in the Login Name and Password boxes respectively.

Click Next to continue.

11. The wizard will connect to the selected database to create and verify the database schema required by GFI MailArchiver. When the wizard completes the schema creation and verification, it displays Database verification successful. Click Next to continue.

12. GFI MailArchiver creates two roles, ‘db_marc_archive’ and ‘db_marc_browse’, on the database selected for added security. GFI MailArchiver uses the ‘db_marc_browse’ role for browsing only and requires read only access. GFI MailArchiver uses the ‘db_marc_archive’ role for archiving only and requires write access. You now need to specify the accounts to use for the archiving and browsing roles.

Click Next to create the accounts and continue.

13. The wizard will connect to the database to create the specified accounts and assign the respective role. When the wizard completes it displays User creation successful. Click Next to continue.

14. GFI MailArchiver creates a search index, based on the content of the emails archived, to speed up user search requests. GFI MailArchiver stores the search index on disk (NTFS). In this page, you need to specify the full path where you want to store the search index for this archive store. You can do this either by typing it in the Full path to search index storage location box or else by selecting the folder visually from the list.

Click Next to continue.

15. The wizard finish page displays a summary of the settings you configured. Review the settings and click Finish to complete the wizard.

16. The table in the Archive Stores page lists the newly created archive store. To save the archive store in the configuration, click Save Settings.

NOTE: To use this option, you do not need to have Firebird installed on the machine, since the GFI MailArchiver installation installs the required Firebird support libraries.

In this type of archive store, archived email metadata is stored in the GFI MailArchiver (Firebird) database, while the archived email binary source is stored in compressed format on disk (NTFS). The search index is also stored on disk (NTFS).

To configure an archive store based on GFI MailArchiver (Firebird) database and file system, follow these steps:

1. In the Archive Stores page, click Add Archive Store, to display the Archive Store Wizard.

3. If you want to grant your network users the ability to browse and search through the archived emails, select the Allow users to browse and search this archive store check box.

4. Since you are now configuring a new archive store, leave the Do not allow further archiving into this archive store check box clear. This option is useful when you want to attach a Firebird database that contains archived emails for browsing and searching, but do not want to archive further data into the database.

5. Click Next to continue.

6. Click GFI MailArchiver database and file system and then click Next.

7. In this page, you need to specify the full path, including database file name with extension .fdb, where you want to store the Firebird database for this archive store. You can do this either by typing it in the Full path to the Firebird database file box or else by selecting the folder visually from the list. If you specify an inexistent path or file name, the wizard will create it automatically for you.

NOTE: The Firebird database should be stored on a disk with ample free space available, since it can consume a lot of disk space. The Firebird database consumes more disk space as additional emails get stored in the archive store.

Click Next to continue.

8. In this page, specify the full path where you want to store the archived emails compressed binary source for this archive store. Type the path in the Full path to original emails storage location box.

Click Next to continue.

9. The wizard will create the specified database with the schema required by GFI MailArchiver. When the wizard completes the schema creation and verification, it displays Database verification successful. Click Next to continue.

10. GFI MailArchiver creates a search index, based on the content of the emails archived, to speed up user search requests. GFI MailArchiver stores the search index on disk (NTFS). In this page, you need to specify the full path where you want to store the search index for this archive store. You can do this either by typing it in the Full path to search index storage location box or else by selecting the folder visually from the list.

Click Next to continue.

11. The wizard finish page displays a summary of the settings you configured. Review the settings and click Finish to complete the wizard.

12. The table in the Archive Stores page lists the newly created archive store. To save the archive store in the configuration, click Save Settings.

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