During its initial configuration, each Enterprise Vault server must join an Enterprise Vault site. A site comprises one or more Enterprise Vault servers running one or more Enterprise Vault services and tasks to archive items from specified targets: for example, Microsoft Exchange Servers, Domino mail servers, Microsoft SharePoint Servers, and file servers. A site also contains a collection of vault stores, archiving policies that define how and when items are to be archived, and Retention Categories that define how long items are to be stored before being deleted. A site may also include a list of target computers for the automatic importing of PST files.

An Enterprise Vault site is located in an Enterprise Vault Directory on an Enterprise Vault server computer. An Enterprise Vault Directory can contain one or more sites. The hierarchy of the sites, and Enterprise Vault servers belonging to those sites is shown in the Enterprise Vault Administration Console.

Figure: Enterprise Vault Administration Console showing the contents of an Enterprise Vault Directory describes how the Enterprise Vault Administration Console shows the contents of an Enterprise Vault Directory.

When you configure an Enterprise Vault server for the first time you can either create a Directory and site on the computer you are configuring, or join a site in a Directory on another Enterprise Vault server computer.

The Enterprise Vault Directory is accessed by a Directory Service. The other Enterprise Vault services and tasks use this service to access the configuration information in the Enterprise Vault Directory database.

See Directory Service.

The Enterprise Vault Directory database holds configuration information for each site in the Directory. (In general, configuration information is not shared across Enterprise Vault sites.) This SQL database can be located on a machine separate from the Enterprise Vault servers.

The Enterprise Vault Directory, sites, targets, policies and Retention Categories are all configured using the Enterprise Vault Administration Console. You can use Microsoft SQL management tools to help with managing the SQL database.