Environment
Retain 3.x
GroupWise
Situation
I'm getting an error on a mailbox that reads, ""Retain cannot read this attachment. This is apparently due to a bug in Novell's SOAP protocol, due to be fixed in future GW revs".
Resolution
This is actually not a bug in Novell's SOAP protocol. We've found that the attachments (to date) are videos inside a zip file and the zip file is over 1 - 2 GB in size. It is too large for the POA to handle. Tests where trying to perform an HTTP GET request using a Java application to retrieve the large attachment fail with a memory exception. The file is simply too large for an email system and a 32-bit client.
When we have the user open the message and try to save the attachment, the 32-bit client cannot do it because 32-bit programs have a 2 GB program space.
We recommend educating the users on appropriate technologies for file sharing and not using email, which was not designed for the transfer of large files.
To resolve the issue, manually advance the retention and/or the item store flags at least 1 hour beyond the date/time of the problematic message. Most customers' profiles are set to key off the retention or item store flag for setting the beginning date/time of the items to request from GroupWise. The job will automatically take the flag date/time and go back 1 hour; thus, the need to advance the flag by at least 1 hour beyond the flag date/time.
We have written up a request to have the error read differently, to reflect the fact that it is due to a file larger than what the POA can send to Retain and not a bug in Novell's SOAP protocol.
Additional Information
This article was originally published in the GWAVA knowledgebase as article ID 2499.