i have a client where we have 10 notebook users. we want to back up their email (pst files), no option to install exchange at this location, and a common folder on their notebook named like their userid. It is in this folder that they will save their working documents.
they currently have a windows 2003 server just set up as a workgroup, there is no option to set up a domain since the employees buy their own notebooks and we have to use what they get. Typically it will be windows xp and Windows 7 business. (i can't get everyone to agree to join the domain since it is used for business and personal use too, i know it is not a good thing to work this way but this is what i have to deal with)
my concern is pst open files and missed backups, i was leaning towards something like deltacopy but it will not do open pst files. is there a best practices approach to this scenario, i can't take that much time to baby sit the backups, i just expect people to let the backup finish but there has been occasion where they have stopped it since it interfered with the "other" work they were doing.
any suggestions or help since this is becoming frustrating to police. thanks
Assuming the disks are NTFS formatted, a file copy program that uses the Volume Shadow Copy Service can backup snapshots of open files, such as the pst file. I personally use SyncBackSE, which can e.g. email failure reports, but if all you want is a basic open file copy then I believe Microsoft's SyncToy is also VSS aware. Wrap the copy command in a batch file that first checks whether they are they on the office LAN, so you don't start a backup over the internet when they are firing up their notebook at home. Launch that bach file from an appropriate trigger using the task manager (e.g. 10 minutes after logon)