Outlook 2007 PST Redirection/Scripted Move to SAN

  • Thread starter Thread starter TG
  • Start date Start date
T

TG

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
 
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.
 
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,
 
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]



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