The PST Flight Deck Solution
PST Flight Deck is a feature-rich, enterprise grade solution designed to reduce the time and level of effort required migrate PST files to a desired target. PST Flight Deck is designed to minimize many of the issues that plague PST migration projects. PST Flight Deck is able to discover, associate, centralize, process, ingest, and eliminate PST files automatically.
With PST Flight Deck, modules are run prior to the ingestion that are designed to prepare a PST file for quick delivery to the target system. These pre-flight checks are initially configured, then executed on every PST file that runs through PST Flight Deck. This process reduces the effort of an overall PST file migration by automating many of the tasks that would be performed reactively by skilled professionals, whom likely have several other responsibilities.
Architecture
PST Flight Deck is built on a modular framework that permits a nearly infinite number of solution design options. The architectural components of PST Flight Deck can be summarized as those that are required for a functional environment and those that provide expanded and supplemental functionality to the solution.
Required Componants
In its most basic configuration, PST Flight Deck requires at least one server, a SQL database, and Migration Agents deployed. The actual requirements for a given project are dependent on the scope and limitations of the project. For a properly scaled environment, please consult a qualified PST Flight Deck architect to review your environment and its needs as it pertains to a PST Flight Deck deployment.
Below is a diagram showing a high-level architecture of the required components for PST Flight Deck and how they interact in a production environment.
Core
The Core server is responsible for several aspects required for a functional PST Flight Deck system. In a typical configuration, the Core server hosts the PST Flight Deck Core service, the Internet Information Services (IIS) instance hosting PST Flight Deck files, the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) upload directory, and any number of modules.
The Core service is responsible for communication with the PST Flight Deck system database and execution of scheduled operations. All deployed agents also check-in and update the system through the Core server. Essentially, the Core service acts as the conductor of the entire solution.
A typical deployment of PST Flight Deck begins with the installation of a Core server. In most environments, more than one PST Flight Deck server is used, however for non-production installs it is possible to install all the components on a single server. Supplemental components may also be installed on the Core server, either from the Core installer itself or independent installers.