How to add additional Enterprise Vault Sites into Discovery Accelerator

Description

Each DA Customer that needs to access multiple EV Sites cannot connect to those Sites by default unless all share the same EnterpriseVaultDirectory database. With no shared EnterpriseVaultDirectory database, each Site's primary EV Directory Service server must be identified to the DA customer.

When using the same EnterpriseVaultDirectory database, the different Enterprise Vault Sites will be listed in the Discovery Accelerator (DA) Archives automatically. When the Enterprise Vault Sites use different EnterpriseVaultDirectory databases, the alias for each Enterprise Vault (EV) Site or Site's primary server running the EV Directory service must be entered into the Directory DNS Alias field of the Customers' Properties page in order for the EV Site to be visible.

1. Log into the DA server as the Vault Service Account (VSA).

2. Launch Internet Explorer to the EVBAAdmin webpage (for example - http://localhost/EVBAAdmin).

3. In left task pane, right-click the Customer that needs to access the other EV sites.

4. Choose the Properties option.

5. In the Directory DNS Aliases field, enter the name of each additional Enterprise Vault Site alias, each on a separate line. For example:
evsiteAPJ
evsiteEMEA
evsiteUS

6. Click the OK button to save the change.

7. Restart the Enterprise Vault Accelerator Manager Service (EVAMS) on the DA server.

After EVAMS has finished the restart, the Vault Stores and Archives from the other Sites will either be present or will begin populating until all current Vault Stores and Archives are listed in the Application tab's Archives sub-tab.

Notes

1. An Enterprise Vault Site Alias is the Enterprise Vault DNS CNAME alias pointing to the Primary Enterprise Vault server. The Primary server is typically the first Enterprise Vault server created in the EV Site. In a standard configuration, there will be 2 DNS CNAME aliases configured for the primary server: Site alias and a Server alias. The Site alias should be added to the Directory DNS Aliases field.

2. Long aliases or server names have been found to cause issues when accessing the EV Directory Service. Names should be kept to under 14 characters where possible. If the EV server IP address works but the Alias or server name do not, verify the DNS entries and consider creating a new Alias of less than 14 characters to be used in the Directory DNS aliases field.

Additional Considerations For EV Sites In Different Active Directory Domains

When additional EV Sites are installed in different Active Directory (AD) domains, this introduces additional configuration complexity and possible reduced performance of communicating across Wide Area Networks (WANs) and/or multiple communications/network carriers and/or geographical regions. For such an environment to function, the following criteria must be met as a minimum set of requirements:

1. If each EV Site is in its own AD domain, each AD domain must have at least a one-way trust set to trust the AD domain in which the DA server has been installed.

2. The VSA in the site containing DA must have:

2.1. At least Read access to each EV Site's Archives that are to be searched by DA. This allows for each site to have its own VSA as long as the DA Site's VSA has proper access.

2.2. The proper AD permissions to read the contents and properties of each Site's AD user and group entries if each EV site has its own VSA. This includes the ability to read properties of any contents in each EV Site's AD Deleted Objects container for DA's Custodian Manager to properly work to automatically deactivate Custodians who have had their AD accounts deleted.

3. The VSA in the Site containing DA must have the EV Role assignment of Directory Search Service Administrator in order to apply or remove Legal Holds.

4. All EV Sites MUST be running the same version and release update as the EV Site hosting DA. This is required due to the need for EV binary file versions matching those installed on the DA server with those installed on the EV servers. Mismatched EV binary files can cause failures in Searches, Analytics, Exports and Legal Holds.

5. The LMHOSTS file on the DA server(s) may need to be edited to add entries pointing to a Global Catalog server in each of the other Sites in order to synchronize with those domains and obtain a listing of user/group accounts that could be used to assign Roles or be configured as Custodians. See Microsoft Article LMHOSTS File Syntax (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-nbte/c5693938-5750-4e6c-9ff2-beaa83e90cba) for more information about the syntax.

Other criteria may be identified as also required for proper functionality in multiple EV Site environments. The preferred configuration would be for each EV Site to have its own DA server locally installed within each Site. The DA Clients installed in one Site can be configured to access the DA servers in the other Sites, as long as they are the same DA version and release update, and the users are granted the appropriate Role assignments as needed.