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Outlook 2007 PST Redirection/Scripted Move to SAN
Hello,
I would like some feedback to the an effort I have been directed to complete. I currently have 2500+ outlook users with their PSTs on their local systems. We have made a sizable investment in storage 400TB. Storage capacity is not the issue. I need to be able to perform the two actions below either via script or via GPO. 1) Physically relocate every user's PST file to the SAN. 2) Re-map the user's PST file to the new location. Both of the above tasks need to be accomplished without directly touching every system, as this task would require emmence manpower and an almost unlimited amout of time to accomplish. Does anyonw know how to accomplish this task? I am being pressured by my superior to accomplish, but as of now have not found an automated solution to accomplish. I greatly appreciate your time and efforts in review and proposing solutions. TG |
#2
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Outlook 2007 PST Redirection/Scripted Move to SAN
You really do not want to go this route. First of all, connecting to
pst-files on a network share is not supported nor recommended by Microsoft as it could lead to poor performance, data corruption or even data loss. Second, considering the amount of users you are supporting, you might want to consider to disable the use of pst-files in general and invest in a server-side archiving solution which integration which Exchange or a knowledge base solution. You'd then have a centrally managed solution instead of a decentralized solution with pst-files. -- Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook] Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003 http://www.howto-outlook.com/ Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more http://www.msoutlook.info/ Real World Questions, Real World Answers ----- "TG" wrote in message ... Hello, I would like some feedback to the an effort I have been directed to complete. I currently have 2500+ outlook users with their PSTs on their local systems. We have made a sizable investment in storage 400TB. Storage capacity is not the issue. I need to be able to perform the two actions below either via script or via GPO. 1) Physically relocate every user's PST file to the SAN. 2) Re-map the user's PST file to the new location. Both of the above tasks need to be accomplished without directly touching every system, as this task would require emmence manpower and an almost unlimited amout of time to accomplish. Does anyonw know how to accomplish this task? I am being pressured by my superior to accomplish, but as of now have not found an automated solution to accomplish. I greatly appreciate your time and efforts in review and proposing solutions. TG |
#3
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Outlook 2007 PST Redirection/Scripted Move to SAN
Roady,
Thanks for the reply. I have read comments similar to your reply elsewhere in this forum. Although I have to say I have attached to my SAN side PST of nearly three (3) years with no issues of which you noted. I trust your advise, but I haven't any problems yet. My problem is this: 1) I do not own the exchange server as it is managed by a higher organization. Thus any third party solution would not work as they would never consider making a change to the enterprise for one of many sites. Additionally they have instituted the use of the HP RISS tool, however, with the maximum mailbox size being as small as it is, it really does not provide a real benefit. 2) I have a requirement to protect users' PST files. Since PSTs are the common solution and the only provided solution by the higher org, I do not have a choice to move away from their use. This leads me to another question. I have read something about the PST backup tool (or something to that nature). Does this tool only update the deltas after the first full backup of the PST or does it perform a full backup each time? If it performs a full backup each time it runs, this will not be practical in providing real time protection against loss. This is particulary the case if the user is repsonsible for performing the backup themselves. Since many of my users' PSTs are quite large (2gb), and a large degree are mobile users, a backup solution seems to be unlikely to work Am I really resticted to such few options in trying to protect PSTs stored on local HDs. Anyone working in a large environment has seen the failure rate of HDs, and as such, should not feel comfortable knowing it may only be a matter of time until his/her HD fails. Thank you for your reply. Can you or others provide any other solutions to my questions. Regards, "Roady [MVP]" wrote: You really do not want to go this route. First of all, connecting to pst-files on a network share is not supported nor recommended by Microsoft as it could lead to poor performance, data corruption or even data loss. Second, considering the amount of users you are supporting, you might want to consider to disable the use of pst-files in general and invest in a server-side archiving solution which integration which Exchange or a knowledge base solution. You'd then have a centrally managed solution instead of a decentralized solution with pst-files. -- Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook] Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003 http://www.howto-outlook.com/ Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more http://www.msoutlook.info/ Real World Questions, Real World Answers ----- "TG" wrote in message ... Hello, I would like some feedback to the an effort I have been directed to complete. I currently have 2500+ outlook users with their PSTs on their local systems. We have made a sizable investment in storage 400TB. Storage capacity is not the issue. I need to be able to perform the two actions below either via script or via GPO. 1) Physically relocate every user's PST file to the SAN. 2) Re-map the user's PST file to the new location. Both of the above tasks need to be accomplished without directly touching every system, as this task would require emmence manpower and an almost unlimited amout of time to accomplish. Does anyonw know how to accomplish this task? I am being pressured by my superior to accomplish, but as of now have not found an automated solution to accomplish. I greatly appreciate your time and efforts in review and proposing solutions. TG |
#4
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Outlook 2007 PST Redirection/Scripted Move to SAN
Is this a hosted exchange or division within a large company situation?
Don't you regularly back up the data on the hard drives to protect against failure? What works for one pst is much different than reading and writing 400 different pst files to the same drive - outlook frequently writes to the pst files and the high network traffic will cause delays which will cause corruption. PST files on a local network drive will not work for mobile users. The pst backup tool makes new copies. There may be other backup tools that work on deltas - look for backup tools that work with all files and support psts. I would consider a logon script that copies the pst to a folder that gets backed up - this pst would not be connected to outlook and can be backed up even if outlook is open. In a failure you'll only lose data since the last logon. -- Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook] Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/ Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com Outlook Tips by email: EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange: Do you keep Outlook open 24/7? Vote in our poll: http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=22205 "TG" wrote in message ... Roady, Thanks for the reply. I have read comments similar to your reply elsewhere in this forum. Although I have to say I have attached to my SAN side PST of nearly three (3) years with no issues of which you noted. I trust your advise, but I haven't any problems yet. My problem is this: 1) I do not own the exchange server as it is managed by a higher organization. Thus any third party solution would not work as they would never consider making a change to the enterprise for one of many sites. Additionally they have instituted the use of the HP RISS tool, however, with the maximum mailbox size being as small as it is, it really does not provide a real benefit. 2) I have a requirement to protect users' PST files. Since PSTs are the common solution and the only provided solution by the higher org, I do not have a choice to move away from their use. This leads me to another question. I have read something about the PST backup tool (or something to that nature). Does this tool only update the deltas after the first full backup of the PST or does it perform a full backup each time? If it performs a full backup each time it runs, this will not be practical in providing real time protection against loss. This is particulary the case if the user is repsonsible for performing the backup themselves. Since many of my users' PSTs are quite large (2gb), and a large degree are mobile users, a backup solution seems to be unlikely to work Am I really resticted to such few options in trying to protect PSTs stored on local HDs. Anyone working in a large environment has seen the failure rate of HDs, and as such, should not feel comfortable knowing it may only be a matter of time until his/her HD fails. Thank you for your reply. Can you or others provide any other solutions to my questions. Regards, "Roady [MVP]" wrote: You really do not want to go this route. First of all, connecting to pst-files on a network share is not supported nor recommended by Microsoft as it could lead to poor performance, data corruption or even data loss. Second, considering the amount of users you are supporting, you might want to consider to disable the use of pst-files in general and invest in a server-side archiving solution which integration which Exchange or a knowledge base solution. You'd then have a centrally managed solution instead of a decentralized solution with pst-files. -- Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook] Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003 http://www.howto-outlook.com/ Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more http://www.msoutlook.info/ Real World Questions, Real World Answers ----- "TG" wrote in message ... Hello, I would like some feedback to the an effort I have been directed to complete. I currently have 2500+ outlook users with their PSTs on their local systems. We have made a sizable investment in storage 400TB. Storage capacity is not the issue. I need to be able to perform the two actions below either via script or via GPO. 1) Physically relocate every user's PST file to the SAN. 2) Re-map the user's PST file to the new location. Both of the above tasks need to be accomplished without directly touching every system, as this task would require emmence manpower and an almost unlimited amout of time to accomplish. Does anyonw know how to accomplish this task? I am being pressured by my superior to accomplish, but as of now have not found an automated solution to accomplish. I greatly appreciate your time and efforts in review and proposing solutions. TG |
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