Voicemail Garbage Collect

[momo]

Can anyone enlighten me about the Garbage Collect Option in the Voicemail System? We have received conflicting info regarding this. First told to do it; then told not to do it because it didn't really do anything. Now, we are being told to it. When a garbage collect is run, what exactly is being collected? Also, we have been told to select (N) when asked to update all drivers. Any ideas?

[cavagnaro]

Told by who? Alcatel support?

[momo]

Not sure why that matters - but yes; originally told by the group that installed the system that it wasn't needed; then later was told by vendor and Alcatel we did need it; then told by Alcatel not to do it; and now am being told by another Alcatel person that to clear some issues we have been having that the first thing we need to do is a Garbage Collect. I want to know if I do need to do it and if so, how to do it correctly. And, what exactly is being collected when this option is run. (FYI - this saga has gone on; back and forth for a long, long time)

Thanks.

[cavagnaro]

Well following your bad mood answer...not sure why does it cares what it does, just do it, send it, and if still fails then you have something less to check.

[momo]

Not in a bad mood at all. Frustrated -- we just want to know if this garbage collect is needed and if so what does it do exactly - what is it collecting? The history of who said what to whom doesn't concern me as much as learning what to do and to do it correctly.

[knightr1der]

Well if Alcatel Support Services told you - then that might mean that something in the feature may have changed that we are not aware of and it would make a few of us jump to attention and chase our Alcatel friends for answers. If some other vendor told you - then the chances are the feature does what it always used to and a more accurate response would follow.

Cavagnaro was not asking out of the sarcastic tendencies he might sound like he has.

[momo]

Thanks -- but do either of you know what Garbage Collection is suppose to do ???? No one seems to be able to provide me with more detailed info as to what is does; what it is collecting: why it is necessary and if all the drives should be updated once the collection is run. We have been told to select (N). We are working with our Alcatel support guys and they are very helpful -- I just want to understand this.

I will keep searching - thanks.

[knightr1der]

during normal vmail operation, many temp files are created but not necessarily deleted. So, prior to upgrading the vmail system or once in a long while, it is good practice to run this garbage collect utility to remove such rubbish.

My advice - not that you asked for it, but i will give it to you anyway - is to do what Alcatel are telling you and if you feel you need some real in depth knowledge because they are not telling you or you just have an urge/desire to know everything, then consider going on a professional training course at Alcatel University.

[iourid]

Here is from Octel docs.

Garbage Collect
Use the Garbage Collect utility to check user records for errors, to report errors, and to update the
record-allocation table. This utility is used primarily during software upgrades and drive
replacements.
Run garbage collect whenever message drives are replaced. Using this utility is optional for
system drives, although Octel recommends it.

Caution!
Do not run garbage collect when any special
drive (such as a master drive) is in slot 0 or
1. If garbage collect is run with an
inappropriate drive in slot 0 or 1, all
messages are lost.

The Garbage Collect utility runs in two passes. During the first pass, the server checks each user
record for the locations of messages belonging to each mailbox. After finding a message and
checking its validity, the system flags the message as valid. If the user record contains a message
location but the system cannot locate the message (or the message is not in a readable format), the
result is reported on the screen during the procedure.
The second pass, if chosen, purges damaged messages, updates the record allocation table, and
lists the affected user records.