Product Review: Stampede's AutoZip Eases E-Mail Attachment Woes
by Joe Hertvik
E-mail attachments are a headache for <a target="new" href="http://www.ibm.com">IBM</a> Lotus
Domino administrators. Larger and ever-expanding e-mail attachments increase backup time, consume
Domino server disk space, and affect server performance, increase mailbox administrative costs, and slow
down network transmission speeds. No matter how you view it, servicing large e-mail attachments is
costly, in terms of network administration and performance.
To ease these woes, <a target="new" href="http://www.stampede.com">Stampede Technologies</a> offers
TurboGold AutoZip. AutoZip is Stampede's Lotus-based client and server software for the automatic ZIP
file compression of large Domino e-mail file attachments. By reducing Domino attachment storage space in
a mailbox, AutoZip helps your network efficiently transfer e-mail among users. It also helps users to
quickly retrieve large attachments from mail boxes, reducing bandwidth use in the process.
<b>HOW IT WORKS</b>
AutoZip uses a compression technology that transforms e-mail attachments into ZIP files. Compression can
be performed on the server for all attachments in a Domino database or be performed inside a Notes client
as users attach files to outgoing e-mails. Server compression is performed through the AutoZip Server
Utility, while Notes client compression is performed with AutoZip's client software.
E-mail attachments are converted and stored in the industry-standard ZIP file format (with an attachment
extension of ".tg.zip"), which can easily be read by ZIP file compression utilities, such as PKZip or
WinZip. If a zipped e-mail attachment is sent to a Notes user who has the AutoZip client installed, AutoZip
automatically translates the attachment back to its original format when it is opened. And the nice thing is
that both the compression and the decompression of e-mail attachments are performed transparently,
without the user making any decisions or clicking any buttons.
According to Stampede, attachment compression savings of 85 percent or more is possible. Benchmark
compression statistics are available on <a href="http://www.stampede.com>Stampede's Web site</a>.
<b>TURBOGOLD AUTOZIP CLIENT FEATURES</b>
The AutoZip client runs on Windows 9<i>x</i>/ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP
machines. It requires 2.5 Megabytes of disk space, and it is compatible with Lotus Notes clients 4.6.2 and
later. If you are going to use AutoZip's caching capability, the client cache can be configured up to 1.0
Gigabyte and higher.
Stampede offers two clients to meet different network needs: the Ultra-Low Footprint client and the Full
Image installation, which includes an optional user interface. Installation is relatively simple, and installs
can be customized with an "answer.ini" text answer file.
AutoZip compression settings for the Ultra-Low Footprint are set by the administrator and distributed with
the installation.
In the Full Image client, AutoZip client compression is enabled by using the TurboGold AutoZip Gearshift
program, which is accessed through an icon on the Windows taskbar. The Gearshift screen has two buttons,
labeled "Turn It On" and "Turn It Off," which enable and disable AutoZip compression inside the Notes
client. For fun, the gearshift graphic on this screen is always shifted toward the client's currently active
Turn It On/Turn It Off setting.
The Gearshift program also contains an AutoZip and cache configuration option that allows you to set up a
database cache for opened attachments, so that the server does not have to download an attachment twice, if
the attachment has recently been opened. You can also configure your AutoZip settings so that the client
will either automatically zip all mail attachments, only zip attachments that will be delivered inside the
internal network, or only zip attachments intended for specific e-mail addresses. In addition, AutoZip is
automatically configured to bypass ZIP file compression for stream file data, such as .exe, jpg, and mp3
files, which would be damaged by compression.
When compression is enabled and the user adds an attachment to a new e-mail inside the Lotus Notes
client, AutoZip displays a checkbox called "Compress on the Lotus Create Attachment." When the box is
checked, the attachment will be compressed as a ".tg.zip" file. The user can bypass automatic compression
by unselecting the Compress checkbox, in which case the attachment will be added to the e-mail as an
uncompressed file. This enables users to send both compressed and uncompressed attachments in their emails. The check box is enabled by default for every single attachment a user adds to an e-mail.
<b>TURBOGOLD AUTOZIP SERVER UTILITY</b>
The AutoZip Server Utility supports Domino Versions 6.<i>x</i>, as well as previous Domino releases
back to 4.6.2. It runs on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 with Service Pack
3 or later installed. The Server Utility requires five megabytes of disk space, it runs as a Domino add-in
task, and it supports multiple Domino partitions.
To enable compression, database owners and Administrators can set a tgAutoZip role in their database's
Access Control List. This role tells the Server Utility whether to convert e-mail attachments in that database
into ZIP files. The utility also contains an Index Enabler that allows administrators to tell the Lotus Notes
Indexer task to include compressed files in a full text index file. In addition, the utility offers Multiple
Processing Scales to enable many concurrent instances of the task to run on a Domino server, so that the
program can take advantage of enterprise servers with multiple CPUs. (Please note that the AutoZip Server
Utility was not tested for this review.)
<b>NETWORK ADMINISTRATION</b>
TurboGold AutoZip can be set up for massive deployment by editing a text-based answer .ini file that can
be distributed with a custom image installation. The AutoZip client can be used with Domino servers that
are hosted on most Domino platforms, and the AutoZip Server Utility runs on several different platforms,
including IBM's iSeries and pSeries boxes.
<b>PRICING</b>
Pricing for TurboGold AutoZip is based on the number of users on your server. Volume discounts and site
licensing are available. For pricing details, call Stampede at 800-763-3423, or call (937) 291-5035 from
outside of the United States.
<b>FINAL RECOMMENDATION</b>
TurboGold AutoZip is a valuable product for reducing the clutter that Domino e-mail attachments can
produce. Its most valuable service lies in the overall effect the software provides for your network. Using
attachment compression produces a number of positive network benefits, including:
<ul class="fb">
<li><font face="'times new roman',serif"><span class="fad">Reducing the amount of disk space used on
your Domino servers.<br><br></span></font></li>
<li><font face="'times new roman',serif"><span class="fad">Increasing e-mail access speed.
<br><br></span></font></li>
<li><font face="'times new roman',serif"><span class="fad">Increasing network bandwidth capability due
to smaller attachment sizes being transmitted. <br><br></span></font></li>
<li><font face="'times new roman',serif"><span class="fad">Reducing e-mail administrative costs by
reducing the size of e-mail mailboxes. <br><br></span></font></li>
<li><font face="'times new roman',serif"><span class="fad">Increasing backup speed and reducing the
amount of backup media needed to use Domino servers. <br><br></span></font></li>
<li><font face="'times new roman',serif"><span class="fad">Making it easier to send or forward e-mail to
devices with lower capacity disk drives, such as PDAs or cell phones. </span></font></li>
</ul>
TurboGold AutoZip is a valuable addition to any Domino shop interested in improving server and network
performance. Stampede has fashioned a good product that meets these needs, and it is stable and easy to
use.