Configure and run the PSTDiscovery.exe Utility
NOTE:
In order to use this utility, you must download PsExec.exe from Microsoft's
Technet website. PsExec is a tool from Microsoft which enables any
Windows process to run on remote clients with desired credentials and
options.
- Ensure a shared location is
available on the Exchange Server. Configure permissions so that the user
whom will be running this tool has write access. This will be the
location where the PST files are copied (if applicable) and the PSTDiscoveryGUI.exe
will be run after the discovery process is complete.
- Get the latest version of
the PSTDiscovery Tool from the Resource Pack. Copy this folder to
a shared location that is accessible by all remote clients that will be
running the tool.
- Configure the pst.ini file
within the PSTDiscovery Folder:
SCANPATH
Use this parameter to specify one or more paths to the drives you wish to
scan. If left blank all drives will be scanned. Multiple drives are delimited
by a semicolon.
COPY
Specifies whether to copy the PST files from the remote clients to the shared
location on the Exchange Server. Valid values are "y" or
"n". If "n" is specified, PST files will be scanned into
the database but not copied to the shared location. If "y" is
specified, all scanned PST files will be copied to the shared location.
DELETE
Specifies whether to delete the source PST files once they have been copied
to the shared location. Valid values are "y" or "n".
SIZE
Specifies the minimum size (in KB) that a PST file must be in order to be
scanned and/or copied to the shared location.
MTIME
Specifies the time in days since the PST file was last modified. Only PSTs
older than this value will be scanned and/or copied to the shared location.
LATIME
Specifies the time in days since the PST file was last accessed. Only PSTs
that have not been accessed since this time will be scanned and/or copied to
the shared location.
MEETALL
Specifies whether the SIZE, MTIME and LATIME criteria
must all be met in order for the PST file to be scanned and/or copied to the
shared location. Valid values are "y" or "n". If
"y" is specified, the PST must meet all three conditions of SIZE,
MTIME and LATIME for it to be scanned and/or copied to the
shared location. If "n" is specified, the PST only has to meet one
of the three conditions in order to be scanned and/or copied to the shared
location.
Sample
PST.ini configuration file:
SCANPATH="C:\
; D:\"
COPY=y
DELETE=n
SIZE=10
MTIME=180
LATIME=180
MEETALL=n
Save any
changes you have made to this configuration file.
- On the client where the
PsExec utility has been copied, create a file called
"clients.txt" containing the list of clients that the
PSTDiscovery tool will be run against.
- Using the following syntax,
run the PSTDiscovery tool:
> PsExec.exe
@C:\clients.txt -u username -p password \\Client\PSTDiscovery\PSTDiscovery.exe
\\ExchangeClient\SharedPSTLocation
where the username and password specified have execute permissions on
the PSTDiscovery share, and write permissions to the shared location on
the Exchange client. An example of this syntax is provided in PSTDiscovery.bat in the PSTDiscovery folder
from the Resource Pack.
- This procedure can also be
scheduled for periodic scanning of the remote clients.
- Once the scan and/or copy
phase of the PSTDiscovery utility are completed, a database file will be
created in the shared location containing information on all PST files
that have been scanned and/or copied.
View and Configure PST files for Archiving using
the PSTDiscovery Wizard
- Open PSTDiscoveryGui.exe on the Exchange Client
that has the specified shared location. In this PSTDiscovery Wizard, two
fields must be configured before you continue.
Status
Database
Click to specify the local path of the database file created in the previous
step. This will populate the display pane with information on all of the PST
files that have been scanned and/or copied.
Staging Path
Click to specify the local path that you would like to use as a staging area
to prepare PST files for archiving.
NOTE: These fields will be automatically populated
each time you open the PSTDiscovery Wizard in the future.
The
following information will be displayed on the screen:
Machine Name
Displays the source client name from which the PST was copied.
Orig-Path
Displays the original path of the PST file.
Net-Path
(Local Path)
Displays the current local path of the PST file.
Size
Displays the
size of the PST file in KB.
Mailbox
Alias
Displays the alias of the mailbox this PST file was created from. To change
the value, double-click on the field and enter a new alias. By default this
value will be blank.
File Owner
Displays the current ownership of the PST file. To change the value,
double-click on the field and enter a new owner.
Status
Displays the current status of the PST file. COPIED, DISCOVERED, MARKED FOR
MIGRATION, and MIGRATED are some of the possible values. To change a value,
double-click on the field and select a new value from the list.
File Time
Displays the last Modified Date of the PST file
Discover
Time
Displays the time of the scan operation that discovered the PST file.
- If PST files have been
added to this shared location since the last time a scan was run, the Local
Scan button at the bottom of the wizard can be used to scan the
folder assigned as the current Status Database location to import more
PST files into the database which will then be displayed in the wizard.
- In order to prepare the PST
files for archiving, the Mailbox Alias field must be manually edited.
For each PST file double-click on this field and specify the alias
associated with the PST file.
- Once the Mailbox Alias
field has been manually edited, choose the PST files you wish to prepare
for Archiving. For each of the desired PST files, change the Status
column to Mark for Migration.
- Once you have selected all
of the desired PST files, click Stage and the wizard will prepare
all the designated PST files for Archiving. Once preparation has
completed, a pop-up window will display the number of PST files that are
now ready for archiving.
Run a Migration Arching Operation of the PST
files
Before You Begin
- Review "Guidelines for Archiving PST
Files" and "Migration Archiving Considerations" in Books
Online before beginning this procedure.
- From the CommCell Browser,
right-click the subclient of the Exchange Mailbox Archiver Agent that
you want to set up for PST file archiving, and select Properties.
- From the Subclient Properties
(Archiving Rules) PST tab, select the PST Location checkbox
to enable archiving of PST files.
- Specify that the location
of the PST files to be archived is a local drive on the Exchange Server,
by selecting Use Local Drive.
- In the PST Location
field, type in or Browse to the local path you have designated as
the staging path in the PSTDiscovery Wizard.
- Click OK to save
your settings.
- Right-click the subclient
that you just set up for PST file archiving, and then click Archive
from the short-cut menu.
- From the Archive Options
dialog box, select when you want to run the job by clicking Run
Immediately.
- If you want to access the Advanced
Archive Options, click the Advanced button.
- After selecting when you
want to run the job and any advanced options, click OK. The
migration archiving job will begin and you can track the progress of the
job in Job Controller.
- After the job finishes,
verify that it completed successfully. One method of verifying that the
migration archiving operation was successful is to open PSTDiscoveryGui.exe and view the value in the Status
column. The PST files that you had selected for archiving will display
an updated status to reflect whether it was successfully archived. If
the PST file failed, an error message is provided to give you an idea of
why the job might have failed.
- If the PST archiving was
successful, it is recommended that the PST Location checkbox be
cleared on the Subclient Properties (Archiving Rules) PST tab, so
that subsequent migration archiving operations on the subclient will be
faster.