.zdb file is actually a .pst file?

[Kirkaiya]

Hi -

I had a question from a user about the difference between Zimbra's offline storage file (the Zimbra.zdb file, unless it's been renamed) and Outlook's native .pst file. They were asking about the file-size limits, since Outlook is somewhat notorious for corrupting .pst files that approach 2 GB in size.

After searching the forum (always!) and not finding anything on the subject, I tried renaming Zimbra.zdb -> Zimbra.pst

Then, from a non-Zimbra profile in Outlook 2003, I did "File -> Open -> Outlook Data File", and ... it mounted in the left folder-tree fine. I could go in and see all my calendar, mail, etc...

So, 2 questions that are more "out of interest" than anything else (read: low priority). First - does the Zimbra.zdb file suffer the same inherent instabilities as pst files as it approaches 2 GB?

Second (and I'll try this later) - If I just rename a .pst file to be .zdb, and then create a Zimbra profile in Outlook pointing to that zdb file, will it push up all the data to the server, thus bypassing the whole need for the Import Wizard? (I'm sure there are great reasons why doing that would be horrible... just curious).

Thanks to anybody who happens to know answers to either of these!

[KevinH]

The current zdb has ~ 1.8GB limit. In a release coming very soon this limit will be removed. The zdb currently is closely related to a pst hence the way you can use tools to view it etc. This will not be the case going forward so do not depend on it.

It is possible to use Outlook's PST import to bring a PST into Zimbra. Do not rename the pst to zdb but use the import ability in Outlook itself after you create your Zimbra profile. In general the PST import wizard will be faster as it's optimized for importing mail and contacts. In a future release calendar data will also be supported for import.

[Kirkaiya]

Ah - so for now, the dreaded 1.8 GB limit is still in effect - very good to know!!

And I have become very familiar with the ZCS Outlook Import Wizard, since I've now been thru 3 x test installations, and a trouble-prone attempted install (the whole 64-bit thing), and the "File -> Import ..." to import my calendar items.

Very VERY glad to hear that the calendar items will be included in a (hopefully soon) refresh of the ZCS wizard.

I'm also glad you're moving away from the .pst format for offline storage - I'm amazed how many people I run into that have 1.5+ GB pst files, and are constantly archiving, and pruning, to avoid corruption problems.

Thanks again for the info - and don't worry, for users, I'm not going to suggest anything but "by the book" (actually, I'm writing a "Quickstart" for users that gives a single set of instructions on getting them up and running with Outlook). It was just my techie curiousity that got me playing wth that in the first place...