When a new instance is created, two users are automatically set up:
- $archiveadmin
- admin
The $archiveadmin user is predefined and is usually used by the MSP (partners and also Elovade) to administer parts of the instance. For example, it can be used to create archiving profiles and jobs, or to check the instance for errors in general. However, this user cannot, for example, view archives or create export profiles, nor does it have access to retention policies. The $archiveadmin account has no archive and is therefore not billed.
A user within the instance should, however, have administrative rights in order, for example, to view data, export emails or define retention policies. The instance admin (user “admin”) is usually used for this purpose and should therefore not be removed under any circumstances.
The reason for this is that when a user is designated as an admin (technically, this can be done within the user’s properties), whilst they can administer everything within the instance, there is a risk that if a user account elevated to admin status were to be hacked, the hacker could also gain access to services such as MailStore. Furthermore, this user account designated as an admin would not be accessible if the user designated as an admin is not present.
For this reason, a separate admin (such as the instance admin) is often the best solution. This user is automatically assigned an archive upon creation of the instance, but is not charged from the sixth licence onwards, provided their archive does not receive any messages. In environments with fewer than six licences, or if their archive contains emails, the instance admin is subject to a charge.
As a general rule, there should always be dedicated accounts for different roles to ensure that only authorised users have access to the relevant modules.
With EL mailarchive, you can quickly set up legally compliant archiving from the cloud – it’s simple, requires no hardware investment and is fully managed via our intuitive web interface.