The personal store
Adesh Rampat
When you create an exchange mailbox for a user, selecting the location to store the personal store (.pst) file can be a little tricky. Here are the available options for the personal store:
The Exchange Server
Storing the personal store file at the Exchange Server can always guarantee the Personal Store gets backed up as part of the normal backup routine. However you'll notice the backup process will be longer, especially if the organization has a lot of mailboxes. Longer backups probably mean longer restores.
As fast as users receive mail their personal store file size will increase, so you'll have to manage hard-drive space properly. You can do this by setting limits to the personal store for each user. But if you do that, users will get a warning when their mailbox size goes beyond a certain limit. And that can mean you spend more time managing mailboxes than you wanted to.
The Workstation
With personal computer prices on a decline, most organizations have large hard drives included in their workstations. Storing the personal store file on these hard drives is another option you can look at. By doing so, you can spend less time managing the personal store file for each mailbox. The main disadvantage of this scheme is that the personal store does not get backed up as part of the routine backup procedure. The responsibility is left for the user to manage the personal store. That means you must inform the user of what is being done so that the user can save important documents to the shared user directory on the application server. This can also help the user to manage files instead of having all information in a personal folder and having to search through each folder for information.
Depending on which option you select, users must be aware of how their email is managed, and should be educated on the use of the options listed above.
Adesh Rampat has 10 years experience with network and IT administration. He is a member of the Association Of Internet Professionals, the Institute For Network Professionals, and the International Webmasters Association. He has also lectured extensively on a variety of topics.
Did you like this tip? Whether you loved it or hated it, why not let us know? Email us to sound off, or go to our tips page to rank this and other tips, or to submit one of your own.
Related Book
Exchange 2000 Server Administration: A Beginner's Guide
Author : Bill English and Nick Cavalancia
Publisher : Osborne
ISBN/CODE : 0072131195
Cover Type : Soft Cover
Pages : 473
Published : Mar 2001
Summary :
Implement and manage Microsoft's leading messaging and collaboration system using this instructive guide. You'll quickly learn everything you need to deploy and administer the system effectively, and learn about migration and coexistence with Exchange 5.5 Server. If you are a Windows administrator new to Exchange 2000 Server, this is the book for you.
