Unity Connection Message Archiver - New Exciting Tool

[Anil Verma]

I would like to annoce the availability of a exciting new tool for the Cisco Unity Connection - The Conection Message Archiver.

The tool can be downloaded here -

http://www.ciscounitytools.com/Applications/CxN/MessageArchiver/MessageArchiver.html

The tool allows an administrator to look into a users mailbox as a read only view and save off voicemails if required.

[studer_je]

I'm attempting to use the message archiver.

I've configured all the appropriate settings.

I can connect, select a mailbox or messages, but when I click the actual archive button, it sits for a few minutes and then fails.

I get the following error: "(error) Failed establishing IMAP connection in the ConnectionMessageBackupFunctions constructor:Failed to attach to Connection server on port 7993 for IMAP login in AttachViaImap. Client error=ChilkatLog"

I've started the process to open a case with TAC, but I thought I'd take a long shot and reply to this post to see if you can provide a response.

Thanks,

-Jon

[lindborg]

not likely a tool issue - just installed the latest version and tested it against 9.1 and 10.0 servers and it works perfectly as always.

It uses IMAP only when fetching the message (the list of messages shown is pulled via ODBC) - mostly likely your IMAP service is turned off on the Connection server (this is not the case by default - but worth checking if you haven't) or you have a security package on your client server blocking the port - both things the client cannot overcome or report on (it has no way of knowing the port is being blocked up stream - it can only report that the connection timed out as you're seeing).

I tried this on Windows 7 x32 and Windows 8.1 x64 - both worked fine.  I reproduced your error by turning off the IMAP service on Connection.

[studer_je]

How do I tell if the IMAP service is running?

I navigate to: Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability -> Tools -> Service Management."Connection IMAP Server".  The service is running.

When I attempt to telnet to port 7993, the connection is actively refused.

Suggestions?

[lindborg]

Are you running an unrestricted version of Unity Connection by any chance?  The unrestricted version (which can be installed anywhere in the world) does not allow secure IMAP connections by design... that's the only other thing that comes to mind.

[studer_je]

You are correct. Turns out the vendor we used to upgrade from 7.x to 8.6 installed the unrestricted version.

I've found that COBRAS can be used to extract messages with a command line switch.

http://www.ciscounitytools.com/Applications/General/COBRAS/Help/COBRAS_Briefcase/COBRAS_Briefcase.htm

NOTE: Unrestricted versions of Connection (those that lack high encryption capabilities) cannot allow message exports using IMAP via COBRAS because the super user IMAP access needed by COBRAS for this works only over TLS/SSL which is not supported on unrestricted versions.  To get messages from an unrestricted version you need to use the /UseCUMI command line option which extracts messages via HTTP which is slower than IMAP but does not require the SSL support missing in unrestricted versions

The problem I have is that I need to include messages in users deleted items folder. We have secure messages enabled. The COBRAS documentation states:

COBRAS Export only fetches read and unread voice messages.  It does NOT include deleted messages in the backup.

I may be trying to build a new (restricted) machine in VM, restore the .tar backups and see if I can pull the messages from there. Still waiting on TAC to provide a solution.

[lindborg]

I've added the "/UseCUMI" type command line option for the Message Archiver to the to-do list - it's a fair bit of work (essentially providing two completely separate ways to fetch and construct message pieces) - wont be as complex as COBRAS was (that took almost 3 weeks to add and test) but a chunk of work anyway - not sure when we'll have a version to test but a week at any rate.

Run into a number of sites that have installed the unrestricted version for whatever reason - the majority of those installs were mistakes it looks like...

[studer_je]

That would be great. Yes, Our install was definitely a mistake.

Ensuring that the deleted items folder can be extracted as well is very important, especially for those of us using secure messaging.

[studer_je]

Any idea on the time line for adding "/UseCUMI" to the Message Archiver application?

[lindborg]

hoping for next week - other projects are in process that need to be wrapped up first...

[lindborg]

Just to follow up on this, the work for allowing CUMI access to messages with this tool (to allow it to work with unrestricted installs) is complete and is being tested - an install and updated help and TOI videos (required for a TAC supported tool) should be available on the tools page before the end of the week.

[lindborg]

Version 1.0.11 of the Message Archiver tool now support the /UseCUMI command line option that fetches message contents via the REST based CUMI interface instead of the secure IMAP interface (not supported on unrestricted installs) - I put a copy of the version we tested this week on the temporary download page here:

Temp Files

I'll move it to the main download page after you've had a chance to test it out and verify our testing here...

[studer_je]

Thanks. I have downloaded the updated version and it works without issue.

I was successfully able to capture several mailboxes without issue.

I would say that the only thing this tool is missing is that ability to capture multiple mailboxes, simultaneously, to their own discrete .zip files.

Other than that, it works great!

[lindborg]

glad it worked out.  We still need to add an "all messages" option (for IMAP users) such that folks can download NDRs, faxes and the like.  We'll move this version to the main download page after that is in and tested.

Another request has been for scripted support for the "download all messages for a user" option - we may look at combining that with multiple user options such that you can send a list of alias strings down in the command line for the script option as opposed to working that into a GUI interface.  The result would be a series of ZIP files for each mailbox identified...

It'll be a bit before we can circle around on that - some 10.5 related work items need attention first...

[lindborg]

It’d be a little easier if you started a new thread on this rather than piling on large numbers of threads and sub threads to the blog post – the site doesn’t do a great job of threading all those lines together and I know there’s more comments from you recently but can’t get it to show me those… the bogs are meant really for announcements, not as a starting off point for comment threads.

The Message Archiver has a “/UseCUMI” switch in it already… has for a while. If this message notification I got is from another thread and you have a different problem or concern, please start a separate comment thread specific to that problem so we can properly address it.

-Jeff