09-16-2015 08:15 AM
Good morning!
I have an issue I'd like some community assistance with... We have two Journaled Mailboxes, we'll call them Old Journal and New Journal. They both share the same retention category, at this time... "Permanent" (Brilliant idea from whomever the "first" admin was...), and I need to purge all but the most recent two years on the Old Journal, while leaving everything in the New Journal as Permanent. I realize this can't be done without some interesting solutions, and that's what I'm here for... the interesting solutions.
What would everyone recommend as the best way to do this? I contacted support, and their recommendation was to export the New Journal to a .pst, create a new retention category specifically for it, then import the .pst to the mailbox via Exchange, and let the archiving re-archive using the new retention category. I'd like to avoid that solution if at all possible, because we're talking about a .pst file that's 100 mailboxes over the last 2+ years. Not something I want to even try.
So, what can I do? My end result, I'd like to have the Old Journal with a retroactive retention of 2 years, and the New Journal still permanent, or perhaps legal hold?
Am I correct that if I change the category of one of either Journal, it has no effect on the items which were archived using the previous retention category? And that only if I change the retention time on the existing retention category will it be retroactive?
Thanks for everyone's time!
Tim Dasher
Solved! Go to Solution.
09-16-2015 10:04 AM
09-16-2015 08:49 AM
The export recommendation is a good option. If you set a new Retention Category it does not retroactively change what is archived. You would have to do this in SQL, which Symantec does not support. But I've had success doing this in the past.
09-16-2015 09:23 AM
It will take some work ins SQL but I would create a new retention category of 2 years and then find (in SQL) all the Savesets in the old VS and change their retention category to the new 2year retention category. Obviously you'd need to do a full backup of the SQL databases first. I can help with the specific tables/columns it requested. Exporting and importing will work, but its a very long process and has lots of potential for mangled data.
09-16-2015 10:04 AM
09-16-2015 10:35 AM
Thank you all for your informative and candid comments!
I'm not sure what to do now, at all... I would like to avoid SQL modifications, as they're not supported, which could land us in a scary situation, but as you said, we have thousands, or more likely, hundreds of theousands of emails that we'd be exporting into a .pst, and re-importing, and hoping all goes well. That's not much more pleasant-sounding than the SQL modifications. Heheh.
I'll have to discuss with my manager and our legal department, and try to determine what course of action they want me to take.
Joyous. :p
Thanks again, everyone... I'll let you know what we decide on and how it goes, asap.
09-16-2015 11:22 AM
As a side note, how old is the oldest item in the New Journal Mailbox?
Did both Journal Archives get items added, or is old really old, not used anymore?
I am thinking like this:
Journal Old = old mails
Journal New = only mails younger than 2 years.
Create an (again) new Journal Archive, set the new retention on that one. Set the existing retention to a safe value (like 3 years?) then let EV expire items from the 2 now 'closed' archives. When done, you might be looking at a much smaller export, and or lesser items to modify.
There are re-classification tools, but those have a cost obviously.
Og, and about ' permanent', I've seen a few environments, and there are not many companies who actually have a retetntion policy implemented. They either don't care (let's keep everything forever, just in case), or think about this when it is too late.