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Managing
file servers
IT administrators face constant demands for more
disk space and must deal with the permanent challenge
of providing redundancy and backup strategies
for virtually unlimited data volumes. However,
limiting this wave of information by setting storage
quotas may result in the loss of valuable information,
or extensive (and expensive) duplication on individual
workstations. In addition, regulatory initiatives
in many industries require the long-term secure
storage of business information.
OpenStore for File Server solves these problems,
providing a transparent archiving solution that
is tightly integrated into the Windows operating
system. This powerful, easy-to-use application
manages the contents of NTFS volumes under Windows
2000 and Windows 2003. Integrated with IBM DB2
Content Manager or IBM DB2 Content Manager OnDemand,
OpenStore for File Server complements the IBM
Enterprise Content Management offerings.
Fast & flexible archiving and retrieval
OpenStore for File Server significantly reduces
the disk space required for file servers, as well
as the effort and time required to administer
and backup those servers. Millions of file objects
can be stored on relatively inexpensive media
such as tape libraries or optical media, as required
for compliance reasons as well as inexpensive
disk drives where these are suitable. From there,
business content can be transparently retrieved
and distributed in seconds. This saves time and
money, promotes faster customer service, and enhances
the reliability of business processes.
Complying with retention rules
In several industries, data retention rules dictate
the long-term storage of various types of business
information on non-erasable media. For example,
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires
brokers and dealers to apply strict retention
rules to all documentation and communication related
to business transactions.
To avoid fines or other penalties resulting from
non-compliance, businesses must define which documents
and correspondence have to be kept. With OpenStore
for File Server, these retention rules can be
easily applied to manage critical data stored
on Windows file servers.
Transparency for the user
With traditional solutions, end-user access to
the archived data typically requires administrator
intervention and complex, time consuming restore
procedures.
With OpenStore for File Server, users can directly
and transparently access any archived file from
their normal Windows environment. For a user,
no difference exists between a file physically
located on a file server and a archived file.
When a user or an application opens a archived
file, it is automatically recalled from the backend
repository and is made available for all edit
and update functions.
Efficient and easy administration
Administrators can easily set up archiving policies,
and OpenStore for File Server automatically executes
the policies at predefined times, without requiring
any end-user knowledge or intervention.
The administration of OpenStore for File Server
does not require knowledge of the backend repository.
The administration tool for OpenStore for File
Server is a state of the art Windows application
that provides Windows administrators with a familiar
standard interface.
Using this interface.
- Archives can be organized as logical groups of files
from directories and subdirectories
- File groups and file types (extensions) may be included
and/or excluded
- Files may be included and excluded based on the date
of creation, modification and last access
- Files may be included and excluded based
on the size of files
- Archives may refer to a complete disk volume or
any part of a directory structure
Data Migration and Archiving
Running in default mode OpenStore for FileServer
replaces each archived file by a stub containing
a pointer to the archive in which this object
is stored. However, an administrator may override
this option for specific archiving jobs by specifying
that the original data is either kept on disk
or completely deleted. This can be useful in particular
in a Content Management environment, where files
and other types of content are organized by business-related
item groups or index classes and users have access
to this repository via a specific client or application.
These different post-archiving options increase
the usefulness of the solution in different application
scenarios and provide features to cope with data
retention requirements.
Versioning
As OpenStore for FileServer provides enhanced
functions for retention requirements and auditing
purposes, the product can keep any number of versions
of a file in the repository and provides administrator
functions to retrieve any of these versions. The
basic functionality of user transparency is not
affected by this added value as a user-initiated
recall of a file is always directed to the latest
version.
Search and Retrieve
Last but not least, search and retrieve options
are available to the OpenStore for FileServer
administrator for archived files. Selected files
or complete file spaces can be searched using
SQL-like criteria and selected files or the complete
results of a search can be retrieved either to
their original location in the file system or
to a different location in the file system.
Lifecycle Management
In addition use of the IBM TotalStorage DR550
system in conjunction with IBM Content Manager
can provide the means to apply retention rules
to data stored on Windows file servers. The synergy
of the physical view of data with the logical
view of information from Content Management allows
the use of the product in a broad range of application
scenarios from classical Hierarchical Storage
Management to industry specific data retention
requirements - contributing to a comprehensive
strategy for Information Lifecycle Management. |
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