I have a client with SmarterMail Version 14.6.5974 running on Windows Server 2012. The server is also the domain controller and file server. The client is a small office with needs for reliable mail service and unlimited mailbox sizes. Everything was fine until two months ago. It appears the server has developed a problem resulting in slow disk access. The server still runs effectively, but a simple reboot of the server requires 54 minutes before SmarterMail will provide the web interface. It isn't SmarterMail's fault as it take about 30 minutes to get to the swirling dots of death on the boot. IIS responds on the default site at about 40 minutes. I know I need to do maintenance on the server but the problem now is the downtime. The client needs reliable email to support their service model. The data size of the SmarterMail installation is a bit over 126 GB and takes three hours to back up to another local disk. The downtime to migrate the server is becoming my biggest concern.

 

Is there any way to minimize the dataset of the running server, say to the last 30 days of email, then merge the email after I have migrated the installation to a new server? If I delete the message files in a mailbox after a backup and continue the server receiving new messages while I bring up the new server, can I move the new message files to the new server once it is running? Assuming the server times are synchronized, will they messages index correctly? Is there a way to regenerate the index?

 

I have the resources to build a SmarterMail server in a VM as an interim server while I diagnose the root problem with the client's server. I am asking for suggestions on the best way to migrate the data with the least downtime. I've tried backing up the data online, to a USB disk, to another disk on the scsi chain and all have excruciatingly slow transfer times. Your suggestions would be very helpful.