CONFIGURING


Understanding mail archiving and policies

Administrators can centrally control mail file archiving using policies. Archiving the mail file frees up space and improves the performance of the mail database by storing documents in an archive database when they are old or not in use anymore.

The mail archive database is a Notes® database, and can be accessed like any other Notes database. The views in a user's mail archive mirror the views in the mail file and includes all the folders that exist when mail is archived. So users can find and retrieve archived messages easily from within their archive database.

You can also use archiving policy settings to define a document retention policy for your mail files. With document retention, you define the criteria for old documents, and then simply delete them from the mail database without archiving them.

If you choose not to include archiving policy settings in your policies, Notes users can still archive mail files using archive settings in their mail files.

Mail file archiving is a three-step process that includes document selection, copying files to an archive database, and mail file cleanup.


The information provided here applies to Notes clients. For information on setting up archiving using policies for HCL iNotes®, see the HCL iNotes Administration product documentation in the related information.

Client-based and server-based archiving

When you use policies to manage archiving, you use either server-based archiving or client-based archiving. In either case you can archive to a server. The terms server-based or client-based refer to where the archiving process occurs, either on a server or on the client's workstation. If you choose to archive on a server, you must create a program document to run the Compact server task. If you choose client-based archiving, however, the workstation must be running in order to archive documents. If archiving is scheduled at a time during which the workstation is not running, archiving will not occur. You can archive mail files to the following:


Example: Using policies to manage mail file archiving

The Renovations administrator is happy to learn of policy-based archiving because of these issues with archiving mail files:


To resolve the Renovations archiving issues, the administrator uses these Archive policy settings, and applies them to all users, via organizational policies.
Related concepts
Understanding mail archiving criteria and the archive database

Related tasks
Running Compact using a Program document
Creating an archiving policy settings document
Creating a policy document