The architecture of the IBM CommonStore eMail Archiving Solution consists of 3 core components:

• The mail archiving application serves as a conduit between the mail server and archive repository. This application is called IBM CommonStore.
• The mail archive repository serves as the datacenter for archived messages. This application can be IBM DB2® Content Manager, IBM DB2 Content Manager OnDemand, or IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager.
• The mail storage infrastructure serves as the physical storage medium for archived content.

IBM CommonStore provides a clean, seamless interface integrated with both Lotus® Notes® and Microsoft® Outlook end-user applications. To enable this advanced functionality, IBM CommonStore ships with an archiving-enabled template that is aesthetically identical to the standard Notes template. This button enables users to perform interactive archiving, search, and retrieve tasks from directly within their mailbox views. Another desirable benefit of a template-based implementation is that a variety of deployment options are available. One such option includes touchless archiving and retrieval, which executes archive and retrieve tasks transparently, without user interaction. Since any customization takes place on the Domino Template, all the functions described above are possible without installing code on the client workstation. IBM CommonStore also ships with an Outlook extension which provides a snap-in toolbar to enable interactive archive, retrieve, and search functionality. To maximize transparency, policy-based archiving does not necessarily require this extension to be installed on the client workstation.

IBM CommonStore allows administrators to define granular archiving policies, specifying:

• What documents to archive -- This selection is based on criteria such as the size of the e-mail, age of the e-mail, and so forth. Criteria may also be compounded together to maximize versatility.
• How to archive -- An e-mail can either be archived in its entirety, body and attachments, or attachments only.
  What to delete -- Both mail and attachments that have been archived can be replaced with a stub, deleted from the mail file entirely, or left untouched. Stubbed attachments can also be replaced with a hyperlink to access the object from within the repository.
• When to perform archiving -- This can be either in real time, or queued for end-of-day processing. In a queued processing setup, you can designate a specific duration for archiving. By default, the archiving process will never exceed the provided timeslot (thus minimizing disruption to the production mail server).
• Whom to apply archiving policies to -- Users and user group definitions in CommonStore integrate with the Notes Address book (LDAP) and Active Directory respectively.

Message headers (containing inbox summary information, such as "to," "date," and "subject") can be retained for objects that have been archived by IBM CommonStore. Once again, this feature minimizes disruption to the end user's day-to-day business activities. If an archived message is retrieved from the repository, IBM CommonStore does not simply abandon the e-mail and force the user to manually re-archive the message. Instead, it provides a powerful "re-stubbing" capability which seeks out and locates retrieved messages, removing them from the mail file after a configurable amount of time.

eMail Search and Discovery

The eMail Search component leverages much of the same infrastructure as the Mailbox Management module described above. 

IBM eMail Search is a WebSphere® Java® application.  This application includes a browser based user interface for search and preservation of e-mails. The e-mail Search application provides the following capabilities:

• Basic Search of e-mail data fields: To, From, Date, Cc, Bcc, and Subject.  Search with keywords, phrases, Boolean logic and wild cards
• Advanced linguistic Search:  Search archive with keywords in the e-mail body or attachment with these conditions, ‘Same Sentence As’, ‘Same Paragraph As’, ‘Stemmed Form of’ or ‘Precise Form of’
• Ability to view individual e-mails returned from the search in ‘html rendering format’ with search term highlighted
• Ability to save and reuse searches
• Ability to view attachments in native viewer format
• Ability to preserve e-mails with one or more Preservation notices
• Ability to release preserved e-mails
• Ability to export selected e-mails to NSF and PST files for external auditors