Best practice .pst files on network shares for backup purposes

[Nickneem]

We encourage our users to periodically move their e-mail items from
the users mailbox to a .pst folder thus preventing their exchange
mailboxes from 'growing bigger and bigger.

Those .pst files resided in the C:\Documents and Settings\{user
profile name}\Local folders but because we had a couple of problems
with users with a corrupt / lost .pst file and the fact that we don't
have backups of their local disks we decided to put the .pst files on
a network share.
This way we'd always have a backup on tape of the file in case
something went wrong

But it seems Microsoft doesn't advice putting .pst files on network
shares?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297019 Personal folder files are
unsupported over a LAN or over a WAN link

I noticed because in Outlook 2007 you can't index a .pst file on a
network share and I was unable to search in my history pst folder...

I don't want my users to keep all their old e-mails in the exchange
mailbox but if they store it somewhere in a .pst file I want to have a
backup of it without (as MS puts it) using 'unsupported
configurations'?

Regards,

Michael

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

they can certainly archive old items and place a copy on the network for
backup - you can use a log on script for this or tell users to only open the
archive as needed (not to leave it connected to the profile when they aren't
using it) and run a script weekly to copy it.

Better yet, give them larger mailbox quotas and use an archive solution on
the exchange server. If your industry needs to keep email to meet regulatory
requirements, you should be using a server side solution anyway.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I don't want my users to keep all their old e-mails in the exchange
mailbox but if they store it somewhere in a .pst file I want to have a
backup of it without (as MS puts it) using 'unsupported
configurations'?

Where I work, there are two habits: the first is to have the Personal
Folders Backup utility installed (PFBACKUP, from Microsoft's Office download
area) and have its frequency set to a couple of days. The destination of
the copy PFBACKUP makes is a network share so that it will be backed up.
The second approach is that some people start Outlook from a shortcut that
runs a batch job. That batch job first copies the local PST to a network
share and then starts Outlook when the copy completes. It takes a bit
longer to start Outlook that way, but they know they have a fresh backup at
the start of their day. I myself prefer the PFBACKUP utility.

And, of course, we have people who keep their PSTs on a network share and
have Outlook access it directly, but they're the ones running the risk, not
I.

 

[Nickneem]

Thanks for your help Diane / Brian!