Item retention category is not changed when moving folder in mailbox that exists in the archive.

[Rune_Helsinghof]

I have created a new folder with EVPM to the users mailboxes with a “KeepForever” retention category. EV policy is set to update moved items with “All” and “Include items with Retention Category selected by the user, set by a custom filter, or set by PST migration” selected.

If I move a folder in the mailbox where some of the items has been archived then the archived folder location is also updated in the archive, that’s all good, but I noticed that the items that was archived before the move still got the old retention category and only new items archived to the folder are set with the new "KeepForever" retention category (have tried to sync the archive and refreshed the AE view).

It works when mailbox items are moved to the new “KeepForever” folder in the mailbox and then archived or if items in Virtual Vault are moved to the folder in the archive or even if it is a large subfolder structure as long as the corresponding folder does not exists in the mailbox.

Hope that someone had the same issue, is there a configuration that I am missing or is it a EV software function that are incomplete?, kind of destroys our solution to the users to get organized before enabling e-mail expiry.

EV server/client version is at 10.0.3 HF2 on Windows Server 2008 R2

[GabeV]

Hi Rune,

This behavior seems to be an issue that was found back in Enterprise Vault 8 but it was fixed in EV 9.0.1+ and EV 10.0+:

Unable to update retention on shortcuts moved to subfolders of EVPM managed folders
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH139761

However, since you are running Enterprise Vault 10.0.3 CHF2, I strongly suggest you to open a case with support to review this issue further.

I hope this helps.

[JesusWept3]

It could just be that the items are actually just awaiting update from the index and could also be a caching issue in Archive explorer, you may just need to right click and hit refresh in AE

 

[Rune_Helsinghof]

Hi GabeV

We don't use shortcuts in our EV setup so I don't think that update suits the issue, I have just open a case with support.

It seems like this move operation do not trigger the update retention feature on the server, all other senarioes works just fine with changing the retention.

[Rune_Helsinghof]

Have tried to wait and refresh AE but no luck (should I try to rebuild the index for the archive? maybe overkill...), the other move operation works and sometimes AE refresh is need before it will display the new retention category :) AE is always an old view for me until refresh.

[JesusWept3]

Probably the best thing you can do is first look at the SQL Server....

So i would do the following

1. Run a SQL query to see if the folder and its custom retention category has been logged

SELECT A.ArchiveName,
       REPLACE(CAST(EMAF.FolderPath as varchar(max)), '?', '\') "Folder Path",
       RCE.RetentionCategoryName
FROM   ExchangeMbxArchiveFolderView EMAF,
       Archive A,
       Root R,
       RetentionCategoryEntry RCE
WHERE  EMAF.ArchiveVEID = R.VaultEntryId
  AND  R.RootIdentity = A.RootIdentity
  AND  EMAF.RetentionCategoryID = RCE.RetentionCategoryId
  AND  A.ArchiveName = 'Your User'
ORDER BY "Folder Path"

2. Query the Saveset table to see if the item itself has the correct retention
Open Internet Explorer and go to http://yourEVServer/EnterpriseVault/Search.asp
Enter in some criteria to find the email, like subject, sender etc and find the item on the result page
Right click the email and go to Copy Link
Go to Copy Shortcut and paste it in to a notepad

At the end there is a part of the URL that says something like
SaveSetID=201303203815437%7E201303202126020000%7EZ%7EE0953804A2352B8BD440B08F92809891

quickly do a replace of %7E to ~ just to make it easier to read
so now you have a string that looks like the following

SaveSetID=201303203815437~201303202126020000~Z~E0953804A2352B8BD440B08F92809891

The part we're interested in is the 32 characters after the ~Z~ part
E0953804A2352B8BD440B08F92809891

Format it by adding a dash ( - ) 8-4-4-4-12, so it becomes
E0953804-A235-2B8B-D440-B08F92809891

Now run a query like this in SQL
 

SELECT A.ArchiveName,
       REPLACE(CAST(AF.FolderPath as varchar(max)), '?', '\') "Folder Path",
       S.IdTransaction "Transaction ID",
       RCE.RetentionCategoryName
FROM   EnterpriseVaultDirectory.dbo.Archive A,
       EnterpriseVaultDirectory.dbo.Root R1,
       EnterpriseVaultDirectory.dbo.Root R2,
       EnterpriseVaultDirectory.dbo.ArchiveFolder AF,
       EnterpriseVaultDirectory.dbo.RetentionCategoryEntry RCE,
       EVVSYourVaultStore_1.dbo.ArchivePoint AP,
       EVVSYourVaultStore_1.dbo.Vault V,
       EVVSYourVaultStore_1.dbo.Saveset S
WHERE  S.ArchivePointIdentity = AP.ArchivePointIdentity
  AND  S.VaultIdentity = V.VaultIdentity
  AND  S.RetentionCategoryIdentity = RCE.RetentionCategoryIdentity
  AND  AP.ArchivePointId = R1.VaultEntryId
  AND  V.VaultId = R2.VaultEntryId
  AND  R1.rootIdentity = A.RootIdentity
  AND  R2.rootIdentity = AF.RootIdentity
  AND  S.IdTransaction = 'E0953804-A235-2B8B-D440-B08F92809891'

[JesusWept3 · Accepted solution]

"We don't use shortcuts in our EV setup so I don't think that update suits the issue, I have just open a case with support."

Thats may be your issue right there! EVPM applies filters to a Folder in a mailbox
that folder does not get created in the archive, if the folder exists, it does not update the settings in the archive UNTIL an item is archived manually or via regular archive

BUT if you drag drop items within Virtual Vault, that archive folder won't have a custom retention set until its been updated from the mailbox

So for instance if i have a folder

\My Folder\ created and it has a retention of a default 3 years
and then i apply EVPM to set to 7 years and then move an item in it, the retention will remain 3 years

However, if i manually archive an item in the mailbox, it will see the filter in that mailbox folder, see that the retention is 7 years and the item gets archived as 7 years, then it should have updated the ExchangeMbxArchiveFolder table with the new retention set via EVPM

Now if i drag another item to it, the item will be set with the new retention

But until something gets archived from the mailbox, the retention will remain the same

[GabeV]

Rune,

If you are not using shortcuts, then this technote might apply to this issue:

Retention Category of moved items in an EVPM folders not updating
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH193319

Issue

When an item is archived, a retention category is applied to the item. If the Mailbox policy is set up properly, and the retention categories do not prevent deletion of archived items in the category, the item's retention category is expected to be updated, when the item is moved, but it is not.

Cause

The retention category updates in the mailbox are handled by Shortcut Processing. In the Virtual Vault (VV), it is handled by the synchronization process.

Shortcut processing will compare the retention category that is assigned to any given folder, and compare the retention category that is applied to the shortcuts within the folder. If they do not match, and the Mailbox policy is configured to update retention, the shortcuts will be treated as moved items and the retention will be updated.

VV  synchronization will only update the retention category applied to the items in VV, if the item has been moved to a different folder.

This is by design.

Solution

To update the retention on an item, one of two things must be true.

1. There must be a shortcut in the mailbox to be processed.
2. The item must be moved within VV from one folder to another.

For this reason, it may be advisable to maintain shortcuts in the mailbox, as moving items within VV may not be a viable option.

[Rune_Helsinghof]

@JesusWept3  & GabeV thanks for your replies, that seems to be the issue with no shortcuts and updating the retention category for “Moved Items” even in version 10.0.3 (technote is for 9.0.2) hope it can be fix in newer versions.

All users have VV so no shortcuts is needed for our users and if we had shortcuts it will definitely be with automatic shortcut deletion, the EV environment is too large for shortcuts on all archived items.

JesusWept3, I performed the SQL queries on some items and can confirm that items in folder moved with VV are changed to the new retention category and items in folder moved in mailbox (that has been archived) are not changed.

This can be a hidden treat in many EV environments with email retention by folder and automatic shortcut deletion, which will course a mix of items that would be updated to the new retention category, some items can mistakenly be deleted.