The New Exchange 2010 Dumpster
In my previous blog I exposed the naked truth about Exchange deleted items and how easy it is to destroy potential email records.
Microsoft must have listened because the new version Exchange 2010 includes substantial improvements to the “dumpster” and deleted item behavior and closed the potential “leak” for eDiscovery.
The new Exchange 2010 dumpster is a complete new design. Here is a link if you want the complete story.
http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/09/25/452632.aspx
The new Exchange 2010 dumpster features that are key for legal discovery are:
- The new dumpster now includes all deleted items from the mailbox including email, calendars, contacts, and more. The old dumpster only included email.
- The new dumpster is indexed so it can be searched using the new multi-mailbox search tool in Exchange 2010. The old dumpster was not indexed and could not be searched.
- The new dumpster has been extended with new Purges and Versions folders. Users can no longer bypass the dumpster behavior with a manual purge.
- The Purges folder keeps items that users purge from the dumpster and keeps them for the length of the dumpster retention period.
- The Versions folders keeps a copy-on-write snapshot of email that users modify.
The new Exchange 2010 dumpster still operates with a retention period (14 day default) or custom. The new dumpster features are a welcome addition to Exchange.
By capturing all deleted items and by preventing users from purging email, it closes all of the major “leaks” for email discovery and compliance.
