Retain is the GroupWise message archiving and retention platform from GWAVA; joining products such as GWAVA Reload (which provides GroupWise backup primarily for disaster recovery efforts) and GWAVA Reveal, for GroupWise auditing, monitoring, and policy enforcement. (A version of Retain is also offered by the vendor specifically for the archiving of BlackBerry SmartPhone text messages.)

Retain provides the ability to periodically capture and archive messages from GroupWise Post Offices, storing them in a database for a defined retention period (supported are XML, MySQL, SQL Server 2000/2005, Oracle 9/10, PostgreSQL 8.2, or JDBC connected DBs). While stored, individuals can be granted the ability to examine their own archived messages (via a Web-based portal), while administrators can examine all archived messages. The vendor notes that, in order to ensure that all messages are archived, GroupWise itself must be running with the "Smart Purge" option enabled (prevents a message from being physically deleted from the Post Office data store until it has been archived) and retention flags properly set.

The three primary components of Retain are the central server for the management of archived messages (Windows 2003, SLES 10, and NetWare supported; 2003 and SLES support is for 64-bit), the database for the physical storage of the messages (see above), and the Worker components which provide the link to the GroupWise data stores (Windows XP/2003/Vista; 2003 is supported for both 32 and 64-bit).

Retention of messages is policy-based, with the vendor noting the ability to select a combination of schedules, profiles, and jobs for the archiving and indexing of the messages themselves. Among these is the ability to schedule the indexing of archived messages as either a background or real-time process; and the ability to "un-archive" personal archives (migrate designated personal archives to the central store).

Other features of the platform include integration with eDirectory or LDAP directories for user configurations and credentials; support for EMC Centera and NetApp Snaplock (new) storage; and Single Instance Storage (via GroupWise's own SIS features).

New in the latest release is 64-bit server support (Windows 2003/SLES 10); a new Deletion Manager component (for the automatic removal of records that no longer require retention); support for GroupWise 8; support for the storage and indexing of Internet headers; and logging/auditing enhancements (who is deleting messages, who is forwarding messages), among others.

Retain is available now. Visit the GWAVA Web site for further information.