Managing the FSS Folder List for an Attached Database

In order for the File System Service to start synchronization process for a DSM database, the list of folders with which the database is to be synchronized must be specified.

Specifying the List of Synchronized Folders

For each database attached, the File System Service supports the following classification of the folders to be processed:

Production Folders—Under this group you would normally place file server folders being constantly modified and in active production use.

Archive Folders—Under this group you would normally place folders that does not undergo any changes and are categorized as archived.

Undefined—Folders are automatically placed into this group when there is a mismatch with the archiving status on folders and the folder type. This can happen if you try to assign an Archive share to the Production Folders group (or vice versa).

In DSM, each digital resource is assigned an archiving status that reflects its role in the archiving workflow: “Production”—for digital resources residing in production folders; “Archive”—for digital resources moved to the archive location (archived). The archiving status of each digital resource is preserved in the inheritable database field called “Archiving Status”. The value of this field is calculated only once for the digital resource representing the root parent folder and then propagated to all its children recorded in the database. To learn more about inheritable fields, see “Setting Fields to Be Inheritable (Digital Resources Only)” on page 350.

By placing a folder in one of the folder groups (Production or Archive) you explicitly assign its archiving status: “Production”—if placed in Production Folders; “Archive”—if placed in Archive Folders. The File System Service ensures that the folder’s placement corresponds to the folder’s archiving status stored in the database. A consistency check is performed both when the folder is being added to the list of synchronized folders and during the process of folder’s synchronization.

When you add a folder to be synchronized, the File System Service searches for corresponding digital resource record in the database. If no record is found, the File System Service will add folder and its contents to the database with the archiving status reflecting the folder’s placement.

If the digital resource record already exists in the database and the folder’s archiving status does not match its placement, you are provided with two options: update the digital resource record with a new archiving status reflecting the folder’s placement or cancel the addition.

If inconsistent archiving status settings are detected for a folder while in process of synchronization, the FSS excludes the folder from scanning (disables the folder configuration) and moves the folder to the group that matches the folder’s current archiving status. For example, the folder residing in the Production Folders group but having the “Archive” status in the database (set by a user in the client application) will be disabled and moved to Archive Folders. A folder is moved to the Undefined group if its archiving status is set as undefined (blank) in the database. A folder configuration disabled as a result of the folder relocation may be enabled either manually or by the FSS if it detects that the folder archiving status has been changed to meet the original folder placement. In the latter case, the folder original placement is restored.

To add a folder to a database’s list of synchronized folders:

1. In the MetaCommunications Services:File System Service:Databases sub-tree of the Management Console, expand the database entry whose list of synchronized folders you would like to modify, right-click either Production Folders or Archive Folders, and select New Folder from the popup menu. This will open a new folder’s Properties dialog window, particularly its Parameters folder tab, allowing you to add a new folder to the database’s list of synchronized folders.

TIP: You may also add a new folder by expanding the appropriate database sub-tree, clicking either Production Folders or Archive Folders and selecting New Folder from the Actions menu or clicking the New Folder button located on the tool bar.

1. If you would like to enable/disable scans of the folder configuration by the File System Service, select/clear the Enable this configuration check box. Only enabled configurations are scanned by the File System Service. If the check box is cleared, the folder is not scanned and changes in its contents are not reflected in the DSM database.
2. Production Folders only: Select/clear the Delete digital resources from database for this folder check box to enable/disable deletion of digital resources for this location. If the check box is selected, digital resource records corresponding to the files and folders stored within the folder will be removed from the database when the files/folders are deleted from the file server.
3. Select the appropriate protocol for the FSS to access the folder, either SMB or AFP (AppleTalk Filing Protocol). If AFP has been selected, specify the port number to be used by the protocol.

Important! It is strongly recommended to use SMB for folders located on the Windows Server computer on which the File System Service is installed.
In a mixed environment of Windows and Macintosh computers, use AFP to ensure availability of Mac-specific file information (resource fork, file type, file creator, etc.) if connecting to a remote folder. This file information is used by the MDS while generating thumbnails and extended previews for Mac-produced resources.

1. Type the folder location in the corresponding field, or click to browse for folder locations. If you are trying to specify a folder located on a removable media (CD/DVD) to be in the Production Folders group, you will be prompted to move the folder to Archive Folders or cancel addition.

Important! The path to folders stored on non-removable media must be specified in the appropriate format for the used protocol (“\\<*Server_Name>\<Share_Name>\ ...” for SMB , or “<Server_Name>:<Share_Name>: ...*” for AFP). This policy ensures that only folders available for all DSM users (shared folders) will appear in the database. Use the Windows path format (for example, “E:\<Folder_Name>\ ...”) for folders located on removable media (CDs/DVDs) installed on your local computer.

1. Specify the account that the File System Service should use when accessing the folder. Choose between the service logon account and the default file access account, or specify another account using the user name and password fields. For information on how to provide the default file access account to be used by the service, refer to “Providing Default Access Accounts” in the “Setting Miscellaneous Service Parameters” section.

Note: All service programs running on Windows are provided with logon accounts. The FSS is unable to connect to a remote computer using its default “LocalSystem” logon account. It is not recommended that you change the service logon account. Instead, if you need the FSS to access a folder located on a remote computer, use the other two options to specify an access account with appropriate security permissions.

1. If you would like to modify the default File System Service filter and schedule options for the folder, click the Filters and Schedule folder tabs (refer to the “Excluding Certain Folder Content from Scanning” subsection for detailed instructions).
2. Click OK to add the folder to the list of synchronized folders and close the folder’s Properties window. At this point the following checks are performed:

Whether the FSS snap-in can convert the folder’s path to the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) format.

Whether the folder path contains the share name that already exists in the database. No two folder paths associated with the database are allowed to have the same share name. The share names must be unique regardless of the server names preceding them.

Whether the digital record corresponding to the folder already exists in the database and, if so, whether the folder’s archiving status matches its placement in the folder group. If no match is found, you are provided with two options: update the digital resource record with a new archiving status reflecting the folder’s placement or cancel the addition.

Whether the folder is accessible using the provided access account. For example, the FSS cannot access remote folders using its default “LocalSystem” logon account.

To edit settings for an enabled production/archive folder:

1. Right-click the desired folder and select Properties from the popup menu.

To delete an existing folder:

1. Right-click the desired folder and select Delete from the popup menu.

At this point, the list of file server folders with which the DSM database should be synchronized has been specified, and the configuration of the File System Service for the database is complete. The File System Service will begin synchronizing the DSM database with the file server folders you have specified.

Excluding Certain Folder Content from Scanning

For each enabled production and archive folder, the File System Service may be configured to exclude certain files/subfolders of the folder from scanning. It is done by setting filter options in the Filters tab of the Folder Properties window.

Note: You may also set filter options for a folder while adding it to the database’s list of synchronized folders (refer to the “Specifying the List of Synchronized Folders” subsection).

To set filter options for a production/archive folder:

1. Open the Properties window for the folder whose filter options you would like to modify. To open the window, expand the appropriate database subtree under the File System Service snap-in, right-click the desired folder entry in the Production Folders/Archive Folders group, and select Properties. You can also open the Folder Properties window by selecting the desired folder and clicking the Properties button located on the tool bar.
2. In the folder Properties window, click the Filters folder tab to start specifying filters based on which certain folder contents may be excluded from scanning.

1. Select/clear the Do not scan mounted/linked subfolders checkbox to instruct the File System Service whether it should ignore the subfolders that represent links (Unix) or mounted folders (Windows).

Important! The File System Service should only be allowed to scan mounted/linked sub-folders if the file system is organized in a way that supports this type of scan (i.e. there is no cross-linking).

1. Select from the following filter options that are applied on top of the criterion specified in step 3:

Include all contents—If this option is selected, the File System Service will scan all files/folders within the file server folder.

Filter out all contents—If this option is selected, the File System Service will exclude all files/folders when scanning the file server folder.

Custom filters—If this option is selected, the File System Service will exclude certain files/folders when scanning the file server folder (and include all other files/folders). To instruct the File System Service to ignore hidden files/folders when scanning the file server folder, check the Exclude hidden files/folders checkbox. To specify additional criterion for the File System Service to employ when deciding which files/folders to exclude from scans of the file server folder, check the Exclude files/folders which satisfy the criterion checkbox.

1. Click OK. This will save the modifications you have made to the Folder Properties and close the Folder Properties window.

Managing Scan Modes for Production Folders

As it was mentioned above (refer to “The InterSync File System Service” in the “Introducing the InterSync Technology” section), the File System Service may operate in two scan modes—the Full Scan mode and the Journal Scan mode. If possible, the FSS will always use the Journal Scan mode to process local production folders from its working scope. In some situations, the FSS will switch to the Full Scan mode even for a local folder (for example, when the last change journal record referencing the folder is not up-to-date).

Note: The FSS monitor production folders constantly as opposed to archive folders that are scanned only once using the Full Scan mode.

The FSS properties allow you to govern how often the NTFS volume change journals are scanned.

To set the Journal Scan period:

1. Open the Properties window associated with the FSS snap-in and locate the NTFS change journal group of parameters on the General tab. Note, that this setting will affect only local scanning of production folders.

Additionally, the File System Service may be configured for each production folder individually by setting schedule options that allow management of the scan mode(s) used by the FSS. The schedule options are presented in the Schedule tab of the Properties window associated with a particular production folder.

Note: You may also set schedule options for a production folder while adding it to the database’s list of synchronized folders (refer to the “Specifying the List of Synchronized Folders” subsection).

To set schedule options for a production folder:

1. Open the Folder Properties window for the folder whose schedule options you would like to modify. To open the window, expand the appropriate database subtree under the File System Service snap-in and right-click the desired folder entry in the Production Folders group. In the popup window select Properties. You can also open the Folder Properties window by selecting the desired folder and clicking the Properties button located on the tool bar.
2. In the Folder Properties window, click the Schedule folder tab to manage the scan mode(s) used by the File System Service for the folder.

1. Select from the following options that control how often the file server folder will be scanned.

Process location once—If this option is selected, the folder will be scanned only once using the Full Scan mode.

Process location constantly— You can manage scan mode(s) used for the folder only if this options is selected.

1. If the Process location constantly option has been selected, set up the scan mode(s) used by the File System Service when processing the file server folder (refer to “The InterSync File System Service” in the “Introducing the InterSync Technology” section for an overview of the scan modes).
2. If you would like the File System Service to only use full scan mode when scanning the folder, select the Always use full scan mode check box and specify the interval between scans (type “0” in the Interval between scans field for the folder to be scanned constantly) in the Full scan mode area. If the checkbox is left unchecked, the service will use the Journal Scan mode if possible.

Note: Because the scans performed by the File System Service when in Journal Scan mode are faster and use fewer server resources, it is recommended that the check box remains cleared unless Journal Scan cannot be used for the folder (because volume change journals cannot be read remotely, the Journal Scan mode can only be used for a file server folder when the File System Service and the folder are located on the same Windows 2003 computer). However, if Journal Scan cannot be used for the folder, the File System Service switches to Full Scan and executes it using the specified interval between full scans.

1. If you would like the File System Service to perform periodic full rescans when in the Journal Scan mode, select the Enable periodic full rescan check box and specify the interval between scans in the NTFS Change journal scan mode area. To disable periodic Full Scan mode rescans of the folder, clear the Enable periodic full rescan checkbox.

Important! The Windows 2003 operating system maintains a single volume change journal used by all processes registered in the system. For this reason, the interval between scans of the change journal (i.e. the frequency with which the File System Service attempts to read the volume change journal for changes in the folder’s contents) is specified for all folders in the general File System Service parameters.

1. If you would like the File System Service to send the “Started full scan” and “Stopped full scan” messages to the system event log when it starts and stops full scans of the folder, select the Send Start/Stop events to System Event Log checkbox in the Reports area.
2. Click OK. This will save the modifications you have made to the Folder Properties and close the Folder Properties window.

Enabling/Disabling Folder Configurations

As it was explained above (refer to the “Specifying the List of Synchronized Folders” subsection), a production/archive folder may be automatically excluded from processing (the corresponding folder configuration disabled) by the FSS if the folder’s archiving status stored in the database does not correlate to its placement in the folder group (Production Folders/Archive Folders).

You can also disable a production/archive folder manually through the Folder Properties window, particularly by clearing the Enable this configuration check box located on the Parameters tab.

The enabling procedure is common to all disabled folders. However, when enabling a production/archive folder that was excluded from processing based on inconsistency in its archiving status, you will be provided with two options:

Correct inconsistency by changing the folder’s archiving status in the database to meet the folder’s original placement in the Production Folders/Archive Folders group.

Cancel the enabling operation.

When enabling folders from the Undefined group, you will be provided with two options:

Correct inconsistency by changing the folder’s archiving status in the database to meet the folder’s original placement in the Production Folders/Archive Folders group.

Cancel the enabling operation.

To enable/disable a folder configuration:

1. Open the Folder Properties window for the folder whose configuration you would like to enable/disable. To open the window, expand the appropriate database subtree under the File System Service snap-in, right-click the desired folder entry, and select Properties. You can also open the Folder Properties window by selecting the desired folder and clicking the Properties button located on the tool bar.

Note: The list of folders is displayed in the right-hand portion of the console. The folders whose configuration is disabled have a grayed out icon ( ). The folders placed in the Undefined group are always disabled. The Properties window may be opened for enabled as well as for disabled folders by using the methods described above.

1. On the General tab of the window, select/clear the Enable this configuration check box to instruct the FSS whether it should include the folder into its synchronization process.
2. Click OK. This will save the modifications you have made to the Folder Properties and close the Folder Properties window. The change you have made will be reflected in the Status column of the folders listing. The disabled folders will be displayed with a grayed out icon ( ).

Specifying the Number of Folders to Scan Simultaneously

For each attached DSM database, the File System Service may be configured by setting the maximum number of folders to scan simultaneously. To specify this number you utilize the Options tab of the Properties window associated with a particular database.

To set the number of folders to scan simultaneously for a DSM database:

1. Open the Properties window associated with the database you would like to configure by expanding the FSS snap-in in the tree portion of the Management Console, right-clicking the database name and selecting Properties from the popup menu; or selecting the desired database and clicking the Properties button on the tool bar.
2. Click the Options folder tab and specify the number of folders to scan simultaneously. Note, that by specifying “0” you instruct the File System Service to scan all folders attached to the database simultaneously.

1. Click OK to save the modifications you have made to the database properties and close the database’s Properties window.

Rescanning Production and Archive Folders

To ensure proper synchronization of the DSM database with the production and archive folders residing in the FSS working scope, you can instruct the FSS to rescan particular folders. By instructing the FSS to rescan a folder, you force the service to perform a full scan even if the folder resides on a local computer. For example, you may need to rescan an archive folder so that all minor changes made to it are reflected in the DSM database.

To rescan production and archive folders attached to a DSM database:

1. Expand the name of the appropriate database under the File System Service snap-in of the MetaCommunications Management Console and locate the desired folder in the Production Folders/Archive Folders group. The content of each folder group, i.e. the list of folders, is displayed in the right-hand portion of the console.
2. Right-click the appropriate folder and select Rescan from the popup menu.

1. In the dialog window, click OK to rescan folder.