Solution Architecture

Is MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive (EEA) an in-house deployed solution or a Cloud-based hosted solution? Is MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive (EEA) an in-house deployed solution or a Cloud-based hosted solution? MessageSolution provides both in-house deployed or Cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. MessageSolution is one of the few ISVs to be able to provide hosted cloud services, on-premise archiving, or a combination of the two. MessageSolution was also the first of offer Managed Service Provider (MSP) hosted multi-tenant archiving platform.

Does EEA support multiple DNS domains? Does EEA support multiple DNS domains? Yes, MessageSolution EEA can integrate into multiple domains as well as support multiple SMTP aliases for each mailbox.

Does EEA support multiple email organisations and multiple authentication domains (e.g. multiple Active Directory forests)? Does EEA support multiple email organisations and multiple authentication domains (e.g. multiple Active Directory forests)? Yes, EEA is integrated into multiple directory services and also multiple directory service protocols such as Active Directory, Domino Directory, Novell E-Directory, open LDAP, etc.

Does MessageSolution EEA support multiple archiving databases / stores? Does MessageSolution EEA support multiple archiving databases / stores? Yes, multiple data repositories are supported.

Does EEA allow for business Continuity, resilience and Disaster Recovery implementation scenarios – failover, replication, load balancing, etc? Does EEA allow for business Continuity, resilience and Disaster Recovery implementation scenarios – failover, replication, load balancing, etc? Yes, many disaster recovery and backup options are included into the solution from the flat file, backend design and replication options.

Any other specific requirements for the EEA to work optimally (e.g. network layering, security configuration, etc)? Any other specific requirements for the EEA to work optimally (e.g. network layering, security configuration, etc)? No, there are no special requirements needed to optimize the EEA beyond network access to the mail server and access permissions. A basic, working production environment is sufficient for the deployment, implementation and operation of the MessageSolution Platform.

Does MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive allow for the import of all email residing in the current email server environment into the archive? Does MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive allow for the import of all email residing in the current email server environment into the archive? Yes, historical data on the mail server can be migrated/archived by the Solution. PST/NSF/GroupWise files can be migrated onto the archiving server as well.

Does EEA allow for the import of all email bounded by date? Does EEA allow for the import of all email bounded by date? Yes, messages can be migrated in the archive in batches defined by specific by time ranges.

Does MessageSolution EEA automatically associate imported emails with the correct mailbox and distribution lists? Does MessageSolution EEA automatically associate imported emails with the correct mailbox and distribution lists? Yes, emails from mailboxes will be associated with their specific user accounts. Offline files (e.g. PSTs) can be migrated into specified mailboxes.

Does the solution have the capacity to search and discover PST files on the network as well as people’s computers and move those emails into the retention system? Does the solution have the capacity to search and discover PST files on the network as well as people’s computers and move those emails into the retention system? Yes, the MessageSolution PST migration utility software can crawl the network or be pointed to a specific location to migrate offline messages to the archiving system.

How does the solution manage data capture (e.g. journaling requirements, APIs, etc)? How does the solution manage data capture (e.g. journaling requirements, APIs, etc)? For Exchange environments (Exchange 5.5, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010), EEA uses WEBDAV and Exchange Web Service protocols to capture and archive emails. No special agent or 3rd party software is needed, and Exchange journaling is not required unless compliance archiving is a requirement.

Does EEA allow for the capture of mail for both individuals and entire data stores? Does EEA allow for the capture of mail for both individuals and entire data stores? Yes, granular control of the EEA settings is available in the administrator web console.

Does the solution capture all incoming emails before they reach the recipient’s mailbox? Does the solution capture all incoming emails before they reach the recipient’s mailbox? Yes, this feature is available with the journal mailbox archiving on the exchange server and comparable features on other email servers.

Does MessageSolution EEA capture all outgoing emails at the server level? Does MessageSolution EEA capture all outgoing emails at the server level? Yes, EEA captures all outgoing emails at the server lever for both the journal archiving for compliance or archiving from the end-user mailbox for non-compliance.

Does the EEA solution support contemporaneous indexing of email and all attachments? Does the EEA solution support contemporaneous indexing of email and all attachments? Yes, full text indexing is available for the content of all emails messages and attachments.

How scalable is the MessageSolution platform? Is it able to scale to support 10 or more email servers? How scalable is the MessageSolution platform? Is it able to scale to support 10 or more email servers? Yes, unlike competing solutions, there is no reachable limit to the number of Exchange servers MessageSolution can support. In fact, MessageSolution currently holds the industry record in software scalability with over 25k user on one archiving server, about 5 times more than other solutions in the marketplace.

Is MessageSolution EEA able to scale to support up to 10,000 users? Is MessageSolution EEA able to scale to support up to 10,000 users? Yes, as the industry record-holder in software scalability, the EEA has implemented production systems that archive for over 25,000 users per individual archiving server. With a clustered archiving server configuration, the solution is actually capable of archiving over 100,000 users per cluster.

Does the MessageSolution archiving software implement compression algorithms in order to save storage space? Does the MessageSolution archiving software implement compression algorithms in order to save storage space? Yes, a high compression ratio and single instance storage (SIS) allows for a saving of around 75% of data storage space after the data archiving and replication process.

Do MessageSolution products support the single instance storage of emails? Do MessageSolution products support the single instance storage of emails? Yes, single instance storage (SIS) combined with a high compression ratio allows for a saving of around 75% of data storage space after the archiving process.

Does the solution support the use of low-cost storage media (e.g. low cost hard disk drives, USB external storage, writeable DVDs, etc)? Does the solution support the use of low-cost storage media (e.g. low cost hard disk drives, USB external storage, writeable DVDs, etc)? Yes, any storage device, from a UNC or absolute path, can be used to store archived data. However, a fast and raided storage location is recommended for most enterprise level customers depending on usage model.

How do you add capacity to the EEA solution; specifically the need for additional storage space and requirement to archive more mailboxes? How do you add capacity to the EEA solution; specifically the need for additional storage space and requirement to archive more mailboxes? Any available storage space from an UNC or absolute path can be designated as additional archive storage. Multiple repositories are simultaneously supported for large amounts of data. Archiving for additional mailboxes is a simple matter of purchasing additional licensing from your the MessageSolution Account Management Team and having the system administrator select the desired mailbox(es) for active archiving in the administrator EEA console.

Does the solution support cross-media database scalability across media either singly or as multiple databases? Does the solution support cross-media database scalability across media either singly or as multiple databases? Yes, the MessageSolution EEA database is part of the repository and can be divided if needed. This allows the solution to maximize the hardware capacity to support most users possible –up to 25,000+ users per archiving configuartion server.

Does the solution allow archived data to be stored in encrypted format? Does the solution allow archived data to be stored in encrypted format? Yes, archived data is converted to highly secured & data-scrambled binary files & compressed. All archived data is safe guarded with a CRC hash code to validate data integrity and for single instance calculation which prevent data tampering. Additionally, the option for AES 256 bit encryption for further security is available.

Does EEA integrate with Microsoft implementation of Active Directory? If so, which versions are supported? Does EEA integrate with Microsoft implementation of Active Directory? If so, which versions are supported? Yes, MessageSolution software integrates with Active Directory (version 2000 and up). A domain-user only service account with access to the Exchange mailboxes is required for the integration.

Does the solution allow for Active Directory password authentication for user access? Does the solution allow for Active Directory password authentication for user access? Yes, AD password authentication for the end-user can be configured for the Archiving Web Console, Email client, and Email Web Console. Please see EEA Administrator Manual for more details.

Can administrators create unique passwords for each user? Can administrators create unique passwords for each user? Yes, this can be done through the Archiving Web Console. This function is usually used when the directory service is unavailable in DR situations.

Does MessageSolution EEA allow administrators to add users by individual user name, team, and membership group? Does MessageSolution EEA allow administrators to add users by individual user name, team, and membership group? Yes, all of these archiving methods/filters and more are supported. Please see EEA Administrator Manual for more details.

Does the solution allow administrators to automatically revoke access privileges when a user is disabled in the Active Directory? Does the solution allow administrators to automatically revoke access privileges when a user is disabled in the Active Directory? Yes, the solution is synchronized with Active Directory and does not require manual intervention to revoke or grant archiving privileges separately from the AD unless special cases arise.

How does the MessageSolution EEA implement Role Based Access (RBAC)? How does the MessageSolution EEA implement Role Based Access (RBAC)? Both synchronized Active Directory roles and granular access controls (such as supervisor access) are available for configuration in the Web Console settings.

Is the EEA able to grant or restrict general access to a user, a set of users, or a specific user group across a set of specified mailboxes defined by administrators? Is the EEA able to grant or restrict general access to a user, a set of users, or a specific user group across a set of specified mailboxes defined by administrators? Yes, elevated search privilege can be granted to individual users or user-groups for auditing and granular search privilege by mailboxes. This can be done through the administrative console.

Can the solution grant or restrict access to a user, a set of users, or groups to search across a specified server, data store, or distribution list? Can the solution grant or restrict access to a user, a set of users, or groups to search across a specified server, data store, or distribution list? Yes, elevated search privileges can be granted to individual users or user-groups for auditing and granular search privilege groups. This can be done through the administrative console.

Does the solution grant or restrict access to a user, a set of users, or groups to search across a body of email specified by keywords or any search criteria as defined later within this document? Does the solution grant or restrict access to a user, a set of users, or groups to search across a body of email specified by keywords or any search criteria as defined later within this document? Yes, elevated search privileges can be granted to individual users or user-groups for auditing and granular search by customized search criteria.

Is the EEA Common Criteria certified? If so, which Criteria? Is the EEA Common Criteria certified? If so, which Criteria? Yes, MessageSolution EEA is certified by Microsoft Gold Partner’s Solution Testing & Certification in Boolean options, data redaction, legal holds, and tagging.

Is the solution compliant with PCI DSS? Is the solution compliant with PCI DSS? Yes, the data redaction feature is available for PCI compliance requirements. Administrators can configure redaction settings to recognize the specific formatting structure of sensitive information. Using regular expression to configure the filter patterns, EEA can ensure that sensitive information is kept private without compromising the integrity of the original message.

Does the EEA allow retention policies to be set to any length (i.e. 1 day, 15 days, 1 month, 2 years, 10 years etc)? Does the EEA allow retention policies to be set to any length (i.e. 1 day, 15 days, 1 month, 2 years, 10 years etc)? Yes, data sets can be flexibly configured with deletion dates ranging from 0 (an indefinite retention policy require manual deletion) to 99999 days (approximate 273 years). Pre-set date ranges includes; 1 day, 15 days, 1 month, 2 years, 10 years, 20 years, 100 years, 200 years, 273 years or indefinite retention.

Does the solution allow retention policies to be applied to individual users (mailboxes), teams (AD or solution groups), departments and/or entire organizations? Does the solution allow retention policies to be applied to individual users (mailboxes), teams (AD or solution groups), departments and/or entire organizations? Yes, retention policies can be set at various levels - by global level for all users in a company, by server level for all users on one particular server location, by group level for department or a team, by individual, and by folder. Legal holds can also be used to override normal polices upon court mandate.

Does MessageSolution EEA allow for retention policies that can be explicitly prioritized to determine which policy takes precedence? Does MessageSolution EEA allow for retention policies that can be explicitly prioritized to determine which policy takes precedence? Yes, EEA has a built-in hierarchy structure that allows clearly defined retention policies that can be set in accordance with an organization’s priorities.

Does the solution allow new users to automatically be placed under the appropriate retention policy based on their group membership? Does the solution allow new users to automatically be placed under the appropriate retention policy based on their group membership? Yes, EEA utilizes directory service integration to automatically place new users under the appropriate retention policy based on their group membership.

Does EEA allow for the retention of emails for employees who are no longer with the company? Does EEA allow for the retention of emails for employees who are no longer with the company? Yes, EEA allows for the retention of emails for employees who are no longer with the company.

Does the solution provide for the creation of retention policies allowing mail to be retained based on the membership of the user at the time of capture? Does the solution provide for the creation of retention policies allowing mail to be retained based on the membership of the user at the time of capture? Yes, retention policies can be managed using directory service integration and will retain mail based on custodial group memberships at the time of capture.

Does the solution allow for the creation of retention policies allowing mail to be retained based on the current job function, distribution list membership, geographical location or domain membership of a user? Does the solution allow for the creation of retention policies allowing mail to be retained based on the current job function, distribution list membership, geographical location or domain membership of a user? Yes, in addition to using directory service integration to manage by user or user-group(s), retention policies can also be managed by server location.

Does the solution provide for email record permanency (e.g. that the archive record is read only and unavailable for deletion or modification)? Does the solution provide for email record permanency (e.g. that the archive record is read only and unavailable for deletion or modification)? Yes, for compliance regulation, MessageSolution EEA ensures email record permanency. All archiving records, logs and subsequent dashboard reports are read-only and unalterable by either end-users or administrators.

Does the solution provide for the designation of mailboxes for legal holds? Does the solution provide for the designation of mailboxes for legal holds? Yes, legal holds can be placed either on individual emails or on entire mailboxes. Legal hold notifications serve to notify custodians, administrators and other applicable parties of new or escalated legal holds to enforce governance. Multiple legal hold policies can be active on each mailbox and applicable emails will be retained in accordance with the longest lasting hold policy.

Does the solution provide for the automatic flagging of messages for legal hold based on set rules and criteria? Does the solution provide for the automatic flagging of messages for legal hold based on set rules and criteria? Yes, EEA supports the automatic flagging of messages for litigation hold based on certain sets of configurable rules and criteria.

Can the EEA provide for the automatic flagging of mailboxes for litigation hold when triggered by a specific event (e.g. user AD account deleted or disabled)? Can the EEA provide for the automatic flagging of mailboxes for litigation hold when triggered by a specific event (e.g. user AD account deleted or disabled)? Yes, tagging workflows are in place to within the EEA to facilitate any legal hold process triggered by certain events. Directory integration and synchronization also allows for the automatic classification and subsequent implementation of a legal hold triggered by changes to AD or other directory service.

Does MessageSolution provide for the ability to add a policy per case for legal hold? Does MessageSolution provide for the ability to add a policy per case for legal hold? Yes, EEA supports the ability to add a unique policy for each legal hold case for ad-hoc messages and/or users.

Can MessageSolution allow for the retention of historical data from a user mailbox that is no longer being archived (e.g. as a result of policy change or user having left the company)? Can MessageSolution allow for the retention of historical data from a user mailbox that is no longer being archived (e.g. as a result of policy change or user having left the company)? Yes, the solution allows for retention of historical data for a user mailbox that is no longer being archived. Furthermore, the license that was formerly being used to archive this mailbox can be applied to a new mailbox.

Does MessageSolution EEA allow data to be recovered back to the primary data source to restore data to only a single server? Does MessageSolution EEA allow data to be recovered back to the primary data source to restore data to only a single server? Yes EEA can recover data back to the primary data to restore only a single server.

Does the solution allow data to be recovered back to the primary to restore only a single mailbox? Does the solution allow data to be recovered back to the primary to restore only a single mailbox? Yes, emails can be restored to individual mailboxes as well as the original data source. The feature is available for both end-users and administrators.

Does the solution allow end-users to perform searches only of their own mailbox(s) from a browser? Does the solution allow end-users to perform searches only of their own mailbox(s) from a browser? Yes, via the Archiving Web Portal, end-users have the ability to access their own archived mailbox. Users with supervisor permissions are able to search and access supervisee email as well. Searching through outlook integration piece(s) is also available.

Does the solution allow end-user, self-retrieval and eDiscovery searches by sender and/or recipient? Does the solution allow end-user, self-retrieval and eDiscovery searches by sender and/or recipient? Yes, many different syntax options are available to search for messages by sender and/or recipient. These, along with other advanced search features, provide accurate and comprehensive search results.

Does the solution allow end-user and eDiscovery searches across all sender or recipient alias and distribution lists? Does the solution allow end-user and eDiscovery searches across all sender or recipient alias and distribution lists? Yes, EEA uses the user SMTP alias information replicated from directory service synchronization to allow searches across different sender/ recipient aliases and groups/distribution lists.

Does EEA allow end user and eDiscovery searches by date range, message content, attachment, etc? Does EEA allow end user and eDiscovery searches by date range, message content, attachment, etc? Yes, in a basic search, users can locate messages with wildcard and fuzzy searches by keyword or phrase across multiple criteria fields. Users can specify sender/recipient, message content, attachment, predefined or customized time ranges, header information, size and more. Several syntax options are available for more accurate search results. The Combined Search Feature allows users to search through all data repositories at once.

Does the solution allow messages to be exported back to the original mail server in the native format? Does the solution allow messages to be exported back to the original mail server in the native format? Yes, users are able to easily restore archived messages to the original mail server in native format. They are viewable in outlook or through standard mail clients. Restored message will display all the original content, header, attachments, etc (including original timestamps).

Does the solution allow search results to be exported to a single mailbox or to individual users’ mailboxes? Does the solution allow search results to be exported to a single mailbox or to individual users’ mailboxes? Messages can be forward or exported selectively to individual users’ mailboxes or as a group export to one mailbox and merged backed into the exchange server.

Does MessageSolution EEA provide advanced search features like full wildcard or quoted search? Does MessageSolution EEA provide advanced search features like full wildcard or quoted search? The EEA provides advanced search features such as proximity searching, Boolean logic and fuzzy keyword or quoted searching. The Combined Search Feature allows users to search through all data repositories at once.

Does the solution allow search results to be sorted based on varying criteria (e.g. sender, recipient, date, subject, etc)? Does the solution allow search results to be sorted based on varying criteria (e.g. sender, recipient, date, subject, etc)? Yes, all search results can be sorted in ascending or descending order based on sender, recipient, date, subject, and other common fields.

Does the solution provide logging and auditing of key archive usage (e.g. granted access permissions, searches, etc)? Does the solution provide logging and auditing of key archive usage (e.g. granted access permissions, searches, etc)? Yes, MessageSolution EEA provides several unalterable logs and reports. The Search log details search history, the Archiving Report contains information on retention policy history, among other information, and the Access Log includes deletion records, access privileges, etc. Administrators can also implement unique Message Reports that can be customized to log a variety of email and archive server properties including a list of emails containing set keywords, top 50 outgoing mail domain destinations, oversized attachments, number of outgoing messages and more.

Does EEA provide contain reports concerning archiving status information (e.g. archived data volume, licensing information, etc)? Does EEA provide contain reports concerning archiving status information (e.g. archived data volume, licensing information, etc)? Yes, MessageSolution EEA provides information on stubbed data volume, archived data volume, licensing and archived mailbox count, public folder archiving and more.

Does the solution have statistical reports with statistics on system activity? Does the solution have statistical reports with statistics on system activity? Dashboard review in the log section and when administrators log into the web console.

Can the system reports be filtered at runtime to give subsets of the report? Can the system reports be filtered at runtime to give subsets of the report? Yes, customizable reports can be configured by assigning start and stop times in month-date-year format.

Does the Solution continue to function even if the email server and directory service are unavailable? Does the Solution continue to function even if the email server and directory service are unavailable? Yes, when directory service is not available, EEA can run off of internal SAM accounts.

Can MessageSolution EEA allow users continual retrieval of email through a web-based client with archive access during internal infrastructure outages? Can MessageSolution EEA allow users continual retrieval of email through a web-based client with archive access during internal infrastructure outages? Yes, passwords can be assigned to users that do not require directory service integration. Users can then access their archive from the archive web console.

Does EEA allow the automatic recovery of messages to the primary exchange servers after any outage? Does EEA allow the automatic recovery of messages to the primary exchange servers after any outage? Yes, when the primary Exchange server returns online, EEA will automatically recover any new messages.

What email applications is EEA compatible with? What email applications is EEA compatible with? MessageSolution EEA supports Microsoft Exchange 5.5 - 2010, GroupWise 6.5 to 8, Domino 6.5 to 8.5.x and most other mail servers.

Are any administrator and end-user training materials available? Are any administrator and end-user training materials available? Yes, please reference the MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive Administrator and User Manuals for comprehensive training and system configuration instructions.

How easily can capacity be added to solution? What would the timeframe look like? How easily can capacity be added to solution? What would the timeframe look like? MessageSolution software is highly scalable; in fact, we are currently the industry-leader in scalability. However, because of its unique back-end design, increasing the EEA capacity is fast and effortless. Once the requisite number of licenses has been purchased, system administrators can instantly manage archived and un-archived mailboxes by checking or un-checking the archiving option after each user. Since licenses are not specific to a particular user, turning off the archiving for one mailbox will free up that license for another mailbox. No additional hardware is required.

Does MessageSolution EEA require any routine maintenance? Does MessageSolution EEA require any routine maintenance? Yes, the continued use of the EEA is contingent upon the annual renewal of the MessageSolution Software Maintenance Program (SMP) to protect each organization’s investment. SMP includes continual licensing, new EEA software upgrades and unlimited technical support. Please refer to the MessageSolution On-Line Terms & Conditions for more details.

What is the timeframe necessary to provision the solution and have it ready to begin real-time archiving? How long has it taken the average client to have the system configured for their needs? What is the timeframe necessary to provision the solution and have it ready to begin real-time archiving? How long has it taken the average client to have the system configured for their needs? Depending on the scope of the project and the standardization of the email server environment, EEA can be configured within around 1-3 hours to archive from the email server. However, the ingestion of historical data into the archive before turning on real-time archiving is recommended. The timeline for archiving historical data is entirely dependent on the data volume.

What kind of training is required to use MessageSolution EEA? What kind of training is required to use MessageSolution EEA? Typically, around 2-4 hours of online training for the EEA is covered during the deployment process. Fee online training is also available for the first 6 months in the form of group sessions done through WebEx or GoToMeeting. Additional training option are available upon request.

MessageSolution EEA will only import 1000 messages from folders with greater than 1000 messages from and Exchange 2010 environment. How can this be fixed? MessageSolution EEA will only import 1000 messages from folders with greater than 1000 messages from and Exchange 2010 environment. How can this be fixed? This occurs because of a throttle configuration built into Exchange 2010. Even with the 1k limit, the batching process will eventually get everything archived (1K at a time for each schedule archiving process). So it is a great way to throttle the scheduled archiving process. If you need to speed things up then it is possible to remove the throttling policy set by Exchange 2010 but it does require some configuration/registry changes. It is very similar to current blackberry server configurations. To remove the throttle policy, use the Exchange power shell and issue the following commands to set it up: Create a new throttle policy: New-throttlingPolicy-name “MessageCountPolicy” – EWSFindCountLimit50000 Associate new policy to a particular mailbox (XXX is the mailbox name): Set-Mailbox XXX – ThrottlingPolicy MessageCountPolicy Or Apply the policy to all mailboxes: get-mailbox | set-mailbox -ThrottlingPolicy MessageCountPolicy

Does the on-site Agent Buffer Server need to authenticate to the domain? Does the on-site Agent Buffer Server need to authenticate to the domain? The agent does not need access to the domain controller.