MailStore Server - Features
Archiving Emails
Archiving Methods
MailStore Server can archive emails from various email servers, email clients and files while letting you choose from several different archiving methods.
- No changes are made to the server or any of the emails when archiving
- No administrative access is necessary
- Reducing the size of mailboxes after archiving is possible with rule-based deletion
- The users’ folder structures are also applied in the archive
Archiving Microsoft Exchange Server
Supported Versions
- Exchange Server 2003
- Exchange Server 2007
- Exchange Server 2010
- Incl. Windows Server Small Business Edition and Essential Business Edition
- Compatible with Hosted Exchange mailboxes
Supported Archiving Methods
- Archiving all emails in full immediately while sending and receiving
- Existing mailboxes (manually or time-controlled)
- Public folders (manually or time-controlled)
Archiving IMAP and POP3 Compatible Email Servers
Supported Servers
- Compatible with all IMAP4 and POP3 compatible email servers
- Examples: MDaemon, GroupWise, Kerio MailServer, Google Mail
- For many of these email servers, Implementation Guides are available describing in detail how to set up the archiving process
Supported Archiving Methods
- Archiving all emails in full immediately while sending and receiving
- Existing mailboxes (manually or time-controlled)
Archiving Email Clients
Supported Email Clients
- Microsoft Outlook 2000, XP, 2003, 2007, 2010
- Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0
- Microsoft Windows Mail
- Microsoft Windows Live Mail
- Mozilla Thunderbird
- Mozilla SeaMonkey
Supported Archiving Methods
- Manually
- Time-controlled
Archiving Email Files
Supported File Formats
- RFC822/MIME compatible email files (.eml)
- PST files
- MSG files
- MBOX files
MailStore Proxy Server
If you do not have your own email server, the MailStore Proxy Server can be used to archive the entire incoming and outgoing email traffic automatically. The MailStore Proxy Server is available to all MailStore Server customers free of charge.
User Access to the Archive
User Access to the Archive
All users can access their archived emails using Outlook integration, an internet browser or a mobile terminal device such as the iPhone.
MailStore Server offers several ways to access the archive so all users can browse their archived email within fractions of a second.
Option 1: Seamless Integration in Microsoft Outlook
With the MailStore add-in for Microsoft Outlook, the archive can be accessed directly from the user’s familiar work environment. The Outlook add-in is compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2000, XP, 2003, 2007 and 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit versions).
Option 2: Access Using an Internet Browser
MailStore Web Access provides access to the archive using any internet browser. Archived emails can be browsed, viewed and restored this way.
Option 3: Perfect Integration into any Email Application
MailStore Server has an integrated IMAP server available. Behind this inconspicuous feature lies the option to integrate the user’s email archive into any IMAP-enabled device or email application. These include Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Windows Live Mail, various Nokia cell phones as well as the Apple iPhone and iPad, for example. From the user’s perspective, the email archive presents itself simply as an additional mailbox which he can access like any other regular mailbox (read-only, of course).
Features
Fast Full-Text Search
MailStore’s full-text search works even with extremely large amounts of data without any noticeable time lag. In addition, not only emails but also any type of file attachment is included in the search. Queries can be saved and also be stored in search folders.
Adoption of the Source’s Folder Structures
When archiving email, MailStore Server adopts the original folder structure of the source. This means that after archiving, folders created in Microsoft Outlook or an Exchange mailbox, for example, can be found in the archive unchanged.
1 Click Restore
Users can restore emails from the archive with a single click of the mouse. For administrators, several export features are available.
Teamwork
Depending on the assignment of permissions, individual users can access parts of the archive of other users.
Storage Technology
Storage Technology
MailStore Server uses powerful and scalable storage technology enabling it to safely and flexibly manage any amount of data.
- For any amount of data and any number of users
- Field-tested in companies with over 3,000 mailboxes
- No licensing fees for Microsoft SQL Server or other database servers
Scalability
Unlike other archiving solutions, MailStore does not store data in one single database which over time will eventually reach its limits of performance. Instead, a MailStore archive can be composed of any number of individual archive units also called file groups.
Each archive unit consists of:
- Embedded database - Here, header and administrative information is stored
- Full text indexes - These are set up for each user and provide for fast searches of emails and file attachments
- Container files - In these encrypted files, with a manageable size of about 8 MB each, the actual data is stored
Regularly adding new archive units (e.g. every quarter) ensures continually high performance for searching and archiving tasks; it can be done either manually or automatically. Even though there may be any number of archive units, users only see one complete archive.
Flexible Storage Management
The archive store can be managed flexibly at runtime. Existing parts of the archive, for example, can be moved to other hard drives or network drives without having to disrupt operations.
Performance Characteristics
- Archiving performance of up to 1,000 emails per minute
- Reduction of storage requirements through single-instance archiving
- Compression of file attachments
- Tamper-proof storage by using SHA1 hashes
- Internal AES256 encryption of email texts and attachments
- Support of iSCSI, Fibre Channel, NAS and SAN
Easy Backups
Backups can be done using the integrated backup feature or any backup software. The software must simply be configured to include the MailStore data directories which were optimized for incremental backups.
The distribution of the archive among multiple file groups also makes backups easier. Old file groups can be write-protected and thus excluded from the ongoing backup procedure. A one-time backup is sufficient.
Easy Backup Restore
In the event of damage or loss, an existing backup can be restored to a new MailStore Server installation within minutes. Because the backup includes not only all archived emails but also the complete settings (such as existing users and privileges), there is almost no downtime. The recovery can be performed as simple copy procedure in the file system.
Email Compliance and eDiscovery Features
Retention Policies
Companies that are subject to regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC 17-3/4, NASD 3010, or HIPAA must establish a retention policy to ensure that emails are stored for a defined period of time. However, the introduction of a retention policy is also recommended for companies that are not subject to any equivalent laws or provisions. A retention policy enables emails to be used as an information resource over the long term and protects the company in the event of legal proceedings or eDiscovery requests.
MailStore Server allows retention policies to be easily implemented and ensures that all emails are available at any time in a tamper-proof and efficient manner.
Legal Hold
If a company becomes involved in a legal dispute, it may be compelled to prevent any changes from being made to its entire email database as soon as possible. MailStore Server provides a legal hold function for this purpose. This function can be activated by the administrator at the click of a mouse and applies for the entire archive. The legal hold function also protects the archive if the user rights configuration or the retention policy allows the deletion of emails.
Auditor access and multi-mailbox search
MailStore Server enables the creation of an auditor user, who has read-only access to the entire archive. The auditor user can therefore search the emails of all employees in a single step.
Auditing
The auditing function allows the user to define which MailStore Server events are to be logged in the Windows Event Log. Such events could include, for example, access to emails, changes to user rights, or the modification of the storage configuration.
Security
MailStore uses various procedures and technologies to prevent the manipulation of email content.
- Generation of SHA1 hash values from email content
- Internal AES256 encryption of email texts and attachments
- It is not possible to change email content, either in the graphical interface or in the internal program
- All emails and their file attachments are archived in a MIME-compatible manner without any loss of information and can also be recovered at any time
- An integrated authorization system ensures that only authorized users can access the archived emails
Integrity
MailStore Server enables automatic and immediate archiving of all emails as they are received and sent. This ensures the integrity of the archive and prevents emails from being manipulated before they are archived. In addition, existing emails amassed over recent years (e.g., from inboxes and PST files) can be transferred to the archive in a once-off operation.
Long-term access to the archive
MailStore Server is not tied to a proprietary file format. All archived emails can be exported in a single step at any time in the standard RFC822 format, which has established itself over 25 years. In addition, MailStore Server offers many other export and recovery functions.
MailStore Server can protect you from the negative consequences of non-compliance by helping you to meet the terms of retention regulations applicable to your business.
Export and Recovery
MailStore Server is not a one way street: Its powerful export features make your business independent - even of MailStore itself.
MailStore Server offers several export features for restoring individual emails, entire mailboxes or all emails from the archive.
Supported Export Destinations
- Microsoft Exchange mailboxes
- Mailboxes on any email server (IMAP)
- Forwarding via SMTP
- Any directory in the file system (RFC822 EML, MSG and PST files)
- CDs/DVDs (RFC822 EML and MSG files)
- Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail
Advantages for Your Business
Independence for Your Business
The contents of the entire archive can be exported in standard formats (e.g. RFC822 EML files), so they can be processed by any email or archiving system. This makes your business independent even from MailStore itself.
Restoring of Emails by Users
Users can restore individual or multiple emails from their respective user archives with a click of the mouse. This completely eliminates expensive and time-consuming recoveries from backups by the administrator.
Disaster Recovery
Should your email server be subject to any damage or loss, MailStore Server can restore all mailboxes to a new email server in form of a disaster recovery.
Migration of Emails
The option to archive emails from different sources and to export them to various destinations afterwards makes MailStore Server a flexible migration solution.