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Intelligent Storage Management for your Corporate Data

Fact Up to 80% of your organization's data has not been accessed in the last 90 days, and at least 60% of it will not be required in the future.

Because it is impossible to easily identify data that will be needed in the future, companies are retaining increasing amounts of files indefinitely on disk. Consequently online data volumes are growing exponentially, whilst server performance and data access are diminishing.

The resultant data management puts high overheads on network and backup windows, ultimately putting stress on daily management workloads. It is estimated that the annual cost of managing such a storage environment is in excess of 10 times the cost of the physical disk itself.

Effective storage management is therefore becoming more and more critical to ensuring not only cost effective data retention but also the ongoing availability of information.

HT FileStore is a policy-based storage management solution that monitors and cleans up files held on primary storage and then archives those files that need to be retained to secondary storage. The system:

HT FileStore and Active Archive

Using "active archive" methodology, HT FileStore removes files from primary storage. These files are moved to secondary storage where they are fully indexed and secured for future use.

No residual file stubs or directory entries remain and, as a consequence, the ongoing need to backup and manage those files is eliminated.

By reducing online data volumes in this way HT Filestore:

Even though the files are removed from primary storage, administrators and users can view and/or retrieve archived files using the standard Windows Explorer interface. The archive file structure is an exact mirror of the original file system directories.

Active archive can write to low cost disk (including ATA disk), optical disk and tape in any combination, taking multiple copies as necessary to provide data security. These copies may be to devices on different sites to facilitate disaster recovery.

Compliant Archive

Data can be both an asset and a liability. Some data needs to be kept for its worth as a knowledge-base while other data needs to be kept because it is mandated by external or internal requirements. Alternatively, other data needs to be destroyed, as it is either passed its usefulness or could become a liability. As such, data files need to be managed in accordance with their importance and their worth, based on the individual requirements of the organization.

Using its “compliant archive” methodology, HT FileStore recognizes these needs and ensures that only the files that are needed are retained, and these files are only kept for as long as necessary. Compliance is not just a function of data retention. It is also a function of data privacy and data auditability. Compliant archive protects files from unauthorized access and at the same time, monitors and records in an audit trail all authorized access and movement of files in the archive.

Policy Driven Storage Management

HT FileStore allows an organization to
configure its own storage management policies. These policies define what files should be retained, how long they should be retained for, and the most appropriate media type for their storage. Each policy comprises a file selection template, an action to perform (e.g. report, delete or archive), and where appropriate the destination media and retention period.

Policy templates use the file’s attributes to include or exclude the file from selection. Attributes may include:

HT FileStore’s “policy sets” can be made up of multiple policies that allow various actions to be taken against different data sets. For example:

All policies within a policy set are prioritized, specifying the order in which they will be applied and what precedence conflicting rules will take. In this way HT FileStore can be used as an effective storage management tool, monitoring and migrating data according to defined policies and policy sets.

 

 

Can be Fully Automated

Once defined, HT FileStore’s policy sets can be configured to run automatically. The system’s central management console is used to define runtimes and frequency for each policy set. The central console is also used to define which servers, drives, and directories the policies will be applied to.

Once these schedules are defined, the policies should run unattended… literally “set and forget”. Should there be a need for intervention, the administrator is automatically notified.

HT FileStore Consolidates Secondary Storage

HT FileStore can potentially make use of any device and media type across the network for data storage. These include disks, tape libraries, optical jukeboxes, or any combinations thereof. HT FileStore maintains a full catalogue of available devices and media, while also keeping track of media already in use. Given this “map” of the infrastructure and the availability of media, HT FileStore uses its built in intelligence to determine which media/device to use. If ever a device is not available, HT FileStore will use an alternative. HT FileStore also provides complete robot management facilities for automated use of most standard storage devices.


Fig. 2 HT FileStore maps locations of all media.

HT FileStore’s ability to make secondary storage readily available facilitates the transparent and painless addition of new storage resources as corporate data expands. HT FileStore can easy redistribute data as new technologies and platforms become available, while maintaining access to legacy systems for efficient file recovery. These facilities allow an organization to implement effective resource consolidation for existing secondary storage, while at the same time protecting against technology redundancy in the future. This storage consolidation delivers an ongoing return on investment by concurrently utilizing both legacy systems and new technologies as one data store.

Data Access and Security

HT FileStore provides a comprehensive database that stores metadata related to all archived files. This database provides an audit trail of activity for security and management purposes, as well as an index of files for easy data navigation, access, and recovery. The database also manages file access privileges, ensuring that users can only access data that they were originally authorized to view within the online file system. Administrators with appropriate privileges can manage and navigate files across the entire archive, recovering data as required.

Once data is in the archive, only the rules managing this data can enforce the deletion of files. Although users can access the data and recover copies for reuse, the archived version remains “read only” for its entire life cycle. In this way the integrity of archived data can be maintained, and original copies of documents can be kept in line with business and regulatory requirements.

Conclusion

It is often quoted that data is an organization’s most valuable asset. This asset needs protection in line with its value to the organization, regardless of whether this is imposed by business requirements, regulatory bodies, or legal need.
Safeguarding this information and ensuring corporate control is a critical requirement for corporate governance and risk management. The policy-based approach to data retention adopted by HT FileStore:

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