Management BYOD Infrastructure IoT Storage Security Privacy

Current Filter: Network>>>>>Review>

PREVIOUS

   Current Article ID:4192

NEXT



PST Enterprise from C2C

Editorial Type: Review     Date: 05-2014    Views: 2319   





PST files are a challenge for network administrators for numerous reasons. They're difficult to find, virtually impossible to manage, rarely backed up - and yet they must be strictly controlled to achieve data related legislative and regulatory compliance

PST Enterprise from C2C offers a deceptively simple solution which hunts down rogue PSTs no matter where they reside on the network. Using the C2C policy based tools, the discovered PSTs can either be migrated back into Exchange and hosted services such as Office 365, or they can be moved to a preferred centralised location.

PST Enterprise stands out from the competition as it doesn't require an agent to be permanently deployed. Furthermore, not only does it automate PST discovery but it can also determine their ownership using four different algorithms, including those PSTs already open in Outlook. Along with an administrative web interface, PST Enterprise provides a self-service portal so that administrators can efficiently delegate the more onerous tasks. It allows users to log in and view their discovered PSTs and decide whether they want them to be migrated or removed.

The admin interface is a tidy affair and you start by creating administrative users and configuring global settings. For all discoveries PST Enterprise will attempt to determine ownership of each unattached PST file by looking at the senders and recipients contained within. Integration with Active Directory is a given and you can also define up to ten filter attributes. You could, for example, use the department, company name or OU to group to link unattached PST files after discovery.

PST Enterprise uses a different approach for running network discoveries as this isn't controlled from the admin console. Instead, the client is executed via a Group Policy login script where it only runs in memory and reports its findings back to the main web site. The administrator decides how the client behaves by defining default and client specific settings from the admin interface. These determine when the client starts, the daily time periods during which it is allowed to run and where discovered PSTs should be moved to.

Locations that the client should examine can be defined and these can range from the user's Outlook profile, local drives and custom paths. Access to existing local PSTs can also be controlled as you can stop users adding new data to them and even prevent them from creating new ones. Client settings also determine how PSTs are migrated as you can preserve their folder hierarchy. Network traffic is minimised during migration as PST Enterprise does this directly from the source PST to the target mailbox without routing through the admin server.

As PST files are discovered, they are listed under separate tabs in the web interface. Those connected to Outlook are classed as assigned, while those where ownership can't be determined are placed in the unassigned group for manual intervention where you can either assign an owner or delete them.

Policies are used to process messages within assigned PSTs and apply an action. Using criteria such as age, delivery date or date range, you can delete, migrate, or archive messages and, on completion, disconnect the PST from Outlook or delete it. Policies are applied to assigned PSTs simply by selecting them from the web console and choosing one from the drop-down menu. You can also decide which policies are visible to users in the self-service console.

Microsoft's PST Capture 2.0 may be free but it pales into insignificance when compared with the features, capabilities and reporting tools offered by C2C's PST Enterprise. If you need to take complete control of your user's PST files then this solution comes highly recommended. NC

Product: PST Enterprise
Supplier: C2C Systems
Tel: 0118 951 1211
Web site: www.c2c.co.uk
Price: From £4.90 per user

Like this article? Click here to get the Newsletter and Magazine Free!

Email The Editor!         OR         Forward ArticleGo Top


PREVIOUS

                    


NEXT