Overview

FaxMaker offers the option to archive faxes in several methods. Some companies have requirements for keeping sent and/or received faxes for a certain period of time. The requirements could be due to compliance or just policy for the company. Some compliance standards do not allow information to traverse email systems as well so archiving to a database is an option that is highly useful for use with such compliances. FaxMaker has the capability to archive faxes and SMS messages to a specific mailbox, a Firebird database, a SQL database or GFI Archiver.

This article covers the following components:

FaxMaker archiving methods
Troubleshooting FaxMaker archiving

FaxMaker archiving methods

Archiving to Mailbox
- Options under Archive to Mailbox:
  - Archive received faxes.
  - Archive sent faxes.
  - Archive failed faxes.
  - Specify the email address for archival.
  - Specify the file format for archival.
- The archive to email is created like a regular transmission report that is sent via email. Both are sent to the server listed in the Email2FaxGateway, to the recipients required.
Archiving to Database
1. When archiving to a Database setup you will choose a Firebird database or a SQL Database. SQL is recommended for higher fax volumes that create larger databases.
2. The fax server service will take the database archive information and drop it in the FaxMaker\archive\dbcache folder. From here the Attendant service will pick up the items and insert them in the specified database.
3. Whenever archiving to database changes are made a restart of the Attendant service will be required to make the changes active.
  - Options for Firebird database archival:
    1. Enter path for firebird database, C:\Program Files (x86)\GFI\FaxMaker\Data\Databases\FaxMakerArchive.fdb by default.
    2. This database can get quite large and is included with the troubleshooter logs when the troubleshooter is run.
  - Options for SQL database archival:
    1. When archiving to SQL database you must first select the SQL server.
    2. Then enter the credentials required to write to a database on that SQL server. SA credentials are recommended unless knowledge of SQL and required database permissions are available.
    3. Finally, select or enter the name (if a new database) of the database you would like to use for archiving.
    4. Select “Test”.
    5. If an existing database name was used it will let you know the database test succeeded. If a new database name was used, you will be told the database does not exist and asked if you would like to create it.
    6. FaxMaker will create the database for you and this is recommended rather than creating the database yourself.
4. Archiving to GFI Archiver:
  - Options for archiving to GFI Archiver:
  - When configuring the Archiver connection you will need GFI Archiver URL (http(s)://servername/archiver, a username with admin privileges, and the password for this account.
  - In GFI Archiver you will need to enable the fax archiving search option:
    1. Select the Configuration tab and click General Settings.
    2. Click Additional Settings.
    3. In the Fax Archiving and Notification Settings area, perform all the required modifications from the list of available options.
    4. Show the Fax search tab in the Archive page.
    5. Send archiving status notifications.
    6. Go to Archive tab and verify that the Fax search option appears in the Simple search window.

Troubleshooting FaxMaker archiving

Troubleshooting Mail Archiving:

Mail archiving, from a logging perspective, appears just like a transmission report. In the fax server log excerpt below we can see the MXLArchiveEvent, which is used for reporting and archiving to a database or GFI Archiver. The key thing to note is the CreateFaxSentReport. This transmission report is created and we will then follow this to the notifications log.
In the notifications log we can see the new notification process start in the excerpt below:
Next, we see the tags being replaced with the actual data about the fax that was sent. All tags are not listed here in the excerpt as there are quite a few of them. The first thing to note is that the thread ID for each individual transmission report will be different. Other key things to note are the file name being used, the template being used and finally, we see the tags beginning to be replaced.
In the next excerpt, we see the tag replacement was successful and it starts to prepare the notification. The key here is the user that will be in the TO field. In this case, this is the user that sent the fax, not the user set in the mail archiving.
In the next excerpt, we see a new notification being processed. Note the same thread ID so this will be for the same fax. All of the settings appear to be the same as the screenshot above except the username. The username listed here is the user listed in the mail archiving. Listing both the screenshot of the mail archiving and the notifications log.
With the archiving enabled we see that two notifications were created for the same fax. Also note the timestamp as this will be the easiest way to trace through the other logs. (2019-07-30,14:41:06) In the fmmta log (fmmta.gfi_log.txt) we find the following excerpt. As we learned from the GFIFM-301::Services, the fax server service drops items that are completed in the faxmaker\in folder and the message transfer agent picks them up from this location. In the excerpt, we see the timestamp within 10 to 15 seconds picking up the files from this location and the message transfer agent is using the upload thread. We see the mail server IP address being set, which is entered in the Email2FaxGateway > SMTP connector in the FaxMaker configuration. Finally, we see two messages being uploaded through SMTP and the processing completes.
In the smtpin.fmlogger.txt we find, using the same timestamp, the results of the messages being uploaded. Tracing things in this log can be a bit tedious, especially with a very busy server.
When troubleshooting archiving by mail, the process should look like what was listed above. Finding the break in the information flow will be the easiest way to isolate the issue. Key things to ask when troubleshooting:
- Was a transmission report created in the fax server log?
- Was a transmission report created in the notifications log for the archive mailbox?
- For these first two issues can range from wrong paths in the registry to a full HDD. If the report was not created there will be an error in the fax server log.
- In fmmta log, were the message shown uploaded to the right IP address?
- In the smtpin log did the message show as successful.
If either of these shows a failure an SMTP error message will be given to assist in further troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting Database Archiving

As with troubleshooting archiving via email, we start with the fax server log with database archiving as well. We see the faxsrvXMLArchiveEvent listed and the status is OK.
The next step in this process is the fax server service deposits the XML file and the attachment, depending on the database type being used, into the FaxMaker\Archive\dbcache folder. This is always done whether archiving is enabled or not for the reporting database. From here the attendant service will take the XML file and the attachment, if applicable, and will insert the information into the database.
Here there will be a couple of logs to monitor if required. These logs are used when troubleshooting database issues and are not used often.
ArchiveDB.txt: This log shows connections to the database/Archiver. The error in the screenshot below was an intentional typo of the "sa" password.
Archiving.DataLayer.txt: This log shows preparing the information that is placed into the database. The error below was caused by the Archiver services not being started.
AS.Plugins.Archiving.ArchiveAudit.txt: This log shows data being inserted into the database. The excerpt below shows normal operation for inserting data into both types of databases as well as Archiver.
AS.Plugins.Archiving.Connection.txt: More details about connection errors to the database or Archiver. Here we can see other connection errors to the SQL server as well as the Archiver server.
Finally, a screenshot of the SQL database loaded in SQL Server Management Studio.

Troubleshooting Archiver Archiving:

Once the connection with GFI Archiver is set up, you can log into GFI Archiver to view them. In the Archiver screenshot below, we can see 3 received faxes and one sent fax.
Also when the highlighted arrow is selected we can see the fax tab in the search tool has been enabled, as was done previously in the course. You can also see a preview of the transmission report in the bottom right pane.
Troubleshooting Archiver archiving will use the following additional logs:
- AS.Plugins.Archiving.Connection.txt: More details about connection errors to the database or Archiver.
- AS.Plugins.Archiving.Processing.txt: This log monitors the transaction of sending the data from FaxMaker to Archiver.
- This log is very similar to the AS.Plugins.Archiving.ArchiveAudit.txt: file except that it shows the information that is sent to Archiver.
- In the log excerpt below we can see parameter: number ( the fax number ) has an issue. The rest of the fax data was processed and sent to Archiver.
- We also check if the ArchivePlugin has initiated and started which usually happens with a service restart.