In Place Archiving in Exchange Server 2016

In place archiving in exchange server 2016 help admin to eliminate PST fillies and regain access to users data, an archive mailbox is setup for the user, user can access the archive mailbox in outlook 2010 and above or in outlook on the web, user can move emails between the archive mailbox and there primary mailbox.

In a hybrid scenario an archive mailbox can be enabled in exchange online.

Note: In place archiving is an premium feature and require an enterprise CAL.

Moving messages to the archive mailbox

There are several ways to move messages to archive mailbox.

1. Move or copy messages manually
2. Move or copy messages using Inbox rules 
3. Move messages using retention policies Archive and retention policies
4. Import messages from .pst files Mailbox import and export requests.

Default MRM policy

A Default MRM Policy is created when the exchange is first installed, this policy contains retention tags that have the Move to Archive action

Retention tag name	Tag type	Description
Default 2 year move to archive	Default (DPT)	Messages are automatically moved to the archive mailbox after two years. Applies to items in the entire mailbox that don't have a retention tag applied explicitly or inherited from the folder.
Personal 1 year move to archive	Personal	Messages are automatically moved to the archive mailbox after one year.
Personal 5 year move to archive	Personal	Messages are automatically moved to the archive mailbox after five years.
Personal never move to archive	Personal	Messages are never moved to the archive mailbox.
Recoverable Items 14 days move to archive	Recoverable Items Folder	Messages are moved from the Recoverable Items folder in the user's primary mailbox to the Recoverable Items folder in the archive mailbox. Users attempting to recover deleted items in their archive mailbox must use the Recover Deleted Items tool in the archive mailbox.

A default MRM policy is applied to user mailbox once then archive mailbox in enabled, and default tags are available for users to be used.

Before provisioning archive mailboxes for your users, it is recommend that users are informed about the archive policies that will be applied to their mailboxes and provide them with subsequent training and documentation.

This should include details about the following:

• Functionality available within the archive, and the default archive retention policies.
• Information about when messages are automatically moved to the archive.
• Information about the folder hierarchy created in the archive mailbox.
• How to apply personal tags (displayed in the Archive policy menu in Outlook and Outlook on the web).

In-Place Archiving and other Exchange features

This section explains the functionality between In-Place Archiving and various Exchange features:

• Exchange Search For Exchange Search, there's no difference between the primary and archive mailbox. Content in both mailboxes is indexed. When searching the entire mailbox in Outlook and on “Outlook on the web”, search results include the users' primary and archive mailbox.
• In-Place eDiscovery When an In-Place eDiscovery search is performed, users' archive mailboxes are also searched. Archived mailbox can’t be skipped when searching from the Exchange admin center (EAC), though you can exclude the archive by using the DoNotIncludeArchive switch when using the Powershell. For details, see New-MailboxSearch. To learn more, see In-Place eDiscovery in Exchange 2016.
• In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold In-Place Hold or Litigation Hold is placed on both the primary and the archive mailbox. To learn more, see In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold in Exchange 2016.
• Recoverable Items folder The archive mailbox contains its own Recoverable Items folder and is subject to the same Recoverable Items folder quotas as the primary mailbox. 
• Archiving Skype for Business content in Exchange instant messaging conversations and shared online meeting documents can be archived in the user’s primary mailbox. The mailbox must reside on an Exchange 2016 Mailbox server and you must have Skype for Business Server 2015 deployed in your organization.