Exchange 2010 offers some additional help for PST files in the form of a new Archive Mailbox. Archive Mailbox is an actual Exchange mailbox that is licensed, exists in the same Exchange database, and appears in Outlook alongside the primary mailbox. The seamless integration of Archive Mailbox with Exchange is done very nicely, and this will no doubt increase its acceptance.
Email content that exists in offline PST files is imported into the Archive Mailbox via a new PST archive tool that comes with Exchange 2010. The PST Import tool is basic in its initial release, but gets the job done. I recommend you allow time to manually organize PST files first because the PST Archive tool does not include a crawler to go out and find PSTs.
The advantage of moving PST data into the Archive Mailbox is to unclog your file share and desktops. Email content in the Archive Mailbox is centrally managed, protected, and searchable. This eliminates the risk of losing email content in existing PSTs.
If your organization is struggling with PST file overload--as many are--Exchange 2010's Archive Mailbox will be a big help.
... Bob Spurzem
One Comment
Why in the name of all thats holy would we want to move all that crap BACK into our DBs? This sounds like a big waste of time from my perspective.
K
To Kevin
Because that simply makes managing PST’s more MANAGEABLE. PST sprawl is a big problem that cant be ignored due to email compliance/data retention and the need for users to access historic data. I think this is a brilliant addition by MS that enables organistions to reduce their TCO and most of all get a maximum return on their investment.
A user having two mailboxes don´t solve anything unless u could separate the archive database from the primary, but you can´t. So if you just made the existing mailbox for each user bigger that would do the same thing. And you need a licens for the archiving mailbox. Hope they fix this in a service pack.
Archives need to be separated from the main Database. Anything else is a waste of time.