Need your opinion on some new policy settings for Mail and a new "cache mode" approach

Mary Beth Raven  February 5 2010 12:41:41 PM

Potential Policy setters,
We are working on some POTENTIAL (no promises!) changes to local mail replicas, and we're calling it "cache mode" (the term is not final, if you have suggestions, make them). I want to check with you to ensure that our proposed new/changed desktop policy settings are OK with you.  Please read thru and see the questions at the end.

Description
Cache mode: essentially a copy of Samantha's data from the mail file is kept locally and Replicated/synchronized automatically with the data stored on the server.  Samantha works with her mail file the same as if she were connected directory to the server, but in fact, she is accessing the data locally.
For the near term, we'll implement local cache using our local replica technology; cache is actually a transparent local replica of Samatha's mail file.
Technically, a cache IS a local replica with some additional characteristics:

• We will initially create it, and do it in the background continuing to use a server copy until it is fully available.
• Once a cache is available, we will prefer to use it over a server copy unless the user specifically tries to open a server copy.
• We will prevent deletion and setting changes.
• If the cache becomes corrupt, we will delete it and recreate it and use the server copy in the interim.
• If the cache needs to be fixed up, we will try to fix it and use the server copy in the interim
  
  Some Use Cases
  Sending a message
  - When Samantha sends a message she does not experience the potential delay that she might experience if it were being sent immediately to the server.  This is because the message is sent to a local outgoing mailbox.  
  - Because the message is sent to a local outgoing mailbox first she is not blocked from continuing with other tasks
  - She is made aware without being blocked by having to dismiss a dialog, that the message has not completed its delivery
  
  I will post more design details and ask more questions about Cache mode in future postings. Today my questions are about the new/different policy settings.
  Specifically, on the Desktop Policy -  Mail tab.
  We're thinking of providing a new choice-- rather than specifying whether to make a local replica, we want to give "Fred the admin"  the ability to do several things. -- We want your feedback on what read admins need here.
• Initially, we had said that if a local replica exists, we would not create a cache.   This is where  we could use some input.
• As you can see from below, we could set an existing local replica as a cache.
• If we converted a local replica into a cache, we would also want to determine what settings, if any we would override (for example, if Samantha already has a local replica that lasts for 365 days, but Fred-the-adin sets a cache policy for keeping it for 180 days, do we let Samantha keep it for 365 or do we apply the new policy completely?, e.g. how much of the server copy to keep local)

So in the policy choices below (second picture)  so these choices seem reasonable? (And do you want some additional setting to respect or not respect any current replica setting?)
Make a local replica
Create a cache
Create cache or convert local replica if present

And we are also re-arranging some of the choices in this Mail tab.

To help you understand, I have posted  a screenshot of the current UI below, and then of the proposed UI below that.
Let me know what, if any, specific things you think we should change about not only the policy UI, but also the version settings of what the admin can specify

Current Mail policy tab:


Proposed changes:


Summary of questions:
1.         Is the term "cache mode" acceptable and if not, what would you suggest?
2.        Are the policy choices for replica vs cache mode appropriate and if not what would you suggest?
3.        Are the UI changes to the mail policy tab acceptable
4.        A THOUGHT for the future: We might want to cache things beyond mail files-- thus, I would expect that the Cache Settings that we have right now only applies to the mail file, but could apply to additional mail files or Dbs in the future (And might impact where in the policy we would want to place the information) - Is creating caches for other Dbs of interest to you and should we be proactive and NOT put these settings in mail policy at all, rather extract them out at a higher level to begin with?
Thanks for your feedback - I realize this is a lot of stuff to read about!

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