Summary #
As a Domain Admin, you own and control your own data. With Gabriel you can operate your own Domain Servers for your users. The best way to meet some legal/regulatory compliance requirements is to run your own domain server. A key function of a Domain Server is to facilitate delivery of messages when not all users/devices are online at the same time. To learn how to install your own Domain Server on Linux, see How to Install Gabriel on Linux. Once you have installed Gabriel on Linux, you can provision it as a Domain Server on the admin portal, here https://www.myvirnetx.com/server/provision
Your Gabriel Domain Server is responsible for routing your user’s messages to the target recipient devices. When a user sends a chat or mail message, it is first sent to your Domain Server for routing.
Once on your server, Gabriel will forward the message to the intended recipients. After the message is delivered to the recipients, your server will confirm delivery and create carbon copy messages for the senders other devices (so messages remain in sync across devices).
Since all messages flow through your Domain Server, you have the ability to keep history per your organization’s requirements.
Finally, when one a user activates a new Gabriel client device, your Domain Server will automatically send them their recent conversations and mail.
History & File Details #
By default all email and chat messages are saved on your server in sqlite database files.
- Secure Messaging
- Location: /home/gabriel/Gabriel/secure_msg_history_v3.sqlite
- History: By default all chat messages are saved for 60 days. Records older than 60 days are automatically deleted from the database. This setting is independent of the settings local to a user’s client Gabriel device.
- Audit: If you do not have “Audit” enabled for Secure Messaging, users may be able to go “Off The Record” which would prevent messages from being saved. Enable “Audit” to be sure all messages are stored. Learn more about Audit
- More: When a user shares a file in chat, the file will be stored in the “/home/<gabriel>/Gabriel/Share/<servers.domain.scom>/ServerClients/<user.domain.scom>/Peer Files/” folder on the server. When a message expires and is removed from the history database, the file is also removed
- Secure Mail
- Location: /home/gabriel/Gabriel/securemail_v6.sqlite
- History: Messages are kept forever until the user deletes the mail.
- Audit: Messages are always saved. However, enabling “Audit” for Secure Mail will add additional tracked activity. Events like “New Secure Mail”, “Mail Deleted”, and “Mail Read” will saved to the audit log. Learn more about Audit
- More: When a user attaches a file to an email, the file will be stored in the “/home/<gabriel>/Gabriel/Share/<servers.domain.scom>/ServerClients/<user.domain.scom>/Peer Files/” folder on the server. When a email is deleted by the user, the attachments are also removed
Note 1: In order to read the contents in the sqlite databases, you will need a database application, like DB Browser for SQLite: htps://sqlitebrowser.org/.
Note 2: Timestamps in the databases are saved in the Unix epoch (or Unix time or POSIX time or Unix timestamp) time format. You will need to convert the time to a human readable time in your current time zone. A site like https://www.epochconverter.com/ will help with this task.
Note 3: Support for using a SQL database server instead of the file-based SQLite databases is also available for larger implementations.
If you are not sure where your sqlite files are, you can find them using the Linux command:
sudo find /home/ -name secure_msg_history*.sqlite
