Everything You Need to Know About Online Archive in Office 365

-

Everything You Need to Know About Online Archive in Office 365


Office 365 (O365), now referred to as Microsoft 365, is a cloud-based suite that offers a range of applications designed to boost productivity and collaboration. One key feature of Microsoft 365 is the Online Archive, a service designed to help users manage large email mailboxes by offloading older items to a secondary storage.

This blog post will dive into what Online Archive in Office 365 is, how it works, the different licensing requirements, and why it's an essential feature for users managing vast amounts of emails.

What is Online Archive in Office 365?

🔍 What is Online Archive in Office 365? (Detailed Step-by-Step Explanation)

Microsoft 365 Online Archive, also known as In-Place Archive, is a mailbox feature in Microsoft Exchange Online (part of Office 365) that provides users with an additional mailbox storage space when their primary mailbox gets full. This is especially useful for organizations with strict compliance, retention, and storage requirements.


✅ 1. Definition & Purpose

➤ What is Online Archive?

Online Archive is a separate mailbox (called the archive mailbox) provided to users in Office 365 to store older or less frequently accessed emails. It:

Helps manage mailbox size by offloading old emails.

Is accessible just like the primary mailbox.

Is hosted in Exchange Online.

Supports retention policies to automatically move older emails to the archive.


✅ 2. Benefits of Using Online Archive

Feature Benefit

🔄 Auto-archiving Automatically moves old emails from the primary mailbox.

📦 Additional storage Default 100 GB (can grow beyond this with auto-expanding archive).

🔍 Searchability Users can search both primary and archive mailboxes at once.

🛡️ Compliance & retention Supports legal hold, eDiscovery, and retention policies.

🖥️ Seamless experience Accessible from Outlook, OWA, and mobile apps.


✅ 3. Requirements & Licensing

🔑 Licensing Requirements:

To use Online Archive, users need:

Microsoft 365 E3/E5

Office 365 Enterprise E3/E5

Exchange Online Plan 2

Exchange Online Archiving add-on for users with Plan 1


✅ 4. How to Enable Online Archive (Step-by-Step)

🔧 Option 1: Enable via Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Login to Microsoft 365 Admin Center

URL: https://admin.microsoft.com

Navigate to Users > Active Users

Click on the user whose archive mailbox you want to enable.

Under Mail tab, click Mail settings > Manage mailbox archive.

Toggle the setting "Archive mailbox: On".

Click Save changes.


⏱️ Provisioning may take a few minutes to an hour.

🔧 Option 2: Enable via Exchange Admin Center (EAC)

Go to Exchange Admin Center: https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com

Click on Recipients > Mailboxes

Select the user.

In the right pane, click Enable Archive under "Archive mailbox".

Confirm to enable.


🔧 Option 3: Enable via PowerShell

Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell:

Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName admin@yourdomain.com

Enable archive for a user:

Enable-Mailbox -Identity "user@domain.com" -Archive

Verify archive status:

Get-Mailbox -Identity "user@domain.com" | FL Name,ArchiveStatus


✅ 5. Accessing the Online Archive

In Outlook Desktop App:

The archive mailbox appears as a separate mailbox folder beneath the primary one.

Automatically accessible once enabled.

In Outlook Web App (OWA):

Archive folder appears in the left-hand pane under the user's primary mailbox.


✅ 6. How Auto-Archiving Works

Once Online Archive is enabled, default retention policies can move items from the primary mailbox to the archive after a specified period.

Example:

Move items older than 2 years to the archive mailbox.

Apply retention policy manually:

Right-click folder > Assign Policy > Select archive policy.


✅ 7. Advanced Features

Feature Description

🔄 Auto-expanding archive Grows beyond 100 GB limit automatically (E3/E5 plans).

🔍 In-Place eDiscovery Search across primary and archive mailbox for legal cases.

🧾 Retention tags & policies Fine-tuned control over what and when to archive.

📜 Litigation Hold support Archive mailbox is also preserved under legal hold.


✅ 8. Best Practices

Use custom retention policies for specific departments.

Educate users on how to access and use the archive.

Monitor mailbox sizes using PowerShell and compliance center reports.

Apply auto-expanding archive for power users.


✅ 9. Disable Archive (if needed)

Disable-Mailbox -Identity "user@domain.com" -Archive

⚠️ Disabling the archive mailbox does not delete it immediately. You can reconnect it later within 7 days.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank You for Sharing your feedback, We hope article was helpful in some way to you.

Popular posts from this blog

How to Add a Custom Domain in Office 365 and Set Up Users with Business Standard License

-
Image
How to Add a Custom Domain in Office 365 and Set Up Users with Business Standard License Introduction Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) allows businesses to use their own domain for email and collaboration services. In this guide, we will walk through adding a custom domain in Office 365, creating users, assigning licenses, logging into webmail, and configuring Outlook for desktop and laptop. Step 1: Adding a Custom Domain in Office 365 Sign in to Microsoft 365 Admin Center Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center Log in with your administrator credentials. Add Your Domain Navigate to Settings > Domains Click Add Domain and enter your custom domain (e.g., yourcompany.com). Verify Domain Ownership Microsoft will provide TXT, MX, and CNAME records. Add these records to your domain registrar's DNS settings. Click Verify after adding the records. Update DNS Records Configure MX records for email and CNAME records for Autodiscover. Save changes and wait for pr...
Read more

Migrating from an on-premise system to Office 365 over view

-
Image
Migrating from an on-premise system to Office 365 requires careful planning and execution to ensure minimal disruption and to maximize the benefits of the cloud environment. Below is a step-by-step guide to help your team through the migration process: Step 1: Assessment and Planning Understand the Current Environment Assess the existing on-premise system. Identify which services are in use (email, file storage, collaboration tools, etc.). Analyze the size of the data, number of users, and system configurations. Define Migration Goals Set clear objectives for migration. Are you moving all services to Office 365, or just specific ones (e.g., Exchange Online, SharePoint Online)? Determine the timeline for migration. Evaluate Office 365 Licensing Needs Determine which Office 365 plans (e.g., Business Basic, Business Standard, Enterprise E3, E5) meet the organization’s needs. Ensure the appropriate licenses are purchased for all users. Create a Migration Strategy ...
Read more