Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

When using Outlook and Mail Manager for Windows with a VDI e.g. Citrix, there are several things to note:

 

  1. You should use the 'Per-machine' not the 'Per-user' installer.

  2. Microsoft Exchange Server - On Premise:

  • When Outlook is configured to work in "Exchange Cached Mode" the communication with Mail Manager is all local (i.e. to a .ost file on the PC).

  • When not configured to use cached mode the network connectivity between Outlook on the PC and Exchange Server needs to be very resilient (i.e. at least on the same LAN).

  • Mail Manager expects to be able to communicate with Outlook at various times, when it can’t, it may report that a network error has occurred.

1. Where is the Filing and Search Information stored?

  • The Filing Information is stored in the local part of the user profile i.e. %LocalAppdata%\Oasys\Mail Manager\...

  • The Search information is stored in the local part of the user profile i.e. %LocalAppdata%\28Hands\Mail Manager\...

 

2. Can the Filing and Search Information be redirected?

  • Note: If redirecting the Filing and Search information, you need to ensure that there is good, continuous network connectivity between the VDI server and the redirected folder to avoid any degradation in user experience.

 

3. Do I need to retain messages saved in the filing cache?

  • Messages only need to be retained in the filing cache until filing is complete.

  • If working offline using a laptop it may be useful to open a message that you filed in the past. However, you need to be online to use a VDI system and therefore you don't need to retain messages once filing is complete.

  • See Additional EmailFiling.cfg. and navigate to Limit filing cache size.

 

4. Are there any performance issues when multiple users are searching and utilising individual indexes?

  • Particular effort has been made to ensure that the indexer works well with limited resources, such as networks and servers.

  • If a server appears to be becoming overloaded, the indexer will reduce the rate of indexing dynamically to match the resources available. More information can be found .

 

4. Does it matter whether the filing destination folders are not on the same machine as the Citrix machine?

  • The filing of messages is carried out in a separate process and will therefore will not affect user performance, even with a slow network connection between the Citrix machine and destination folder.

 

5. Not everyone will be using Mail Manager, can we control which users have access to Mail Manager?

  • Yes, by setting up two security groups and using Add-in load behaviour.