cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

FSA-what happens when an archived file is copied/moved with Windows Explorer?

tluncefo
Level 4
Partner

My environment EV 8 SP4 on Windows Server 2K8 Enterprise R2 SP2 64 bit archiving a Windows Server 2K8 file shares.

My question is:  what happens to both the placeholder and the archive when a user copies a file in Windows Explorer and what happens when a user moves a file?

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

FreKac2
Level 6
Partner Accredited Certified

If a user copies a placeholder it will be recalled (meaning it will download the file from EV) and the file will be copied to whatever location you copied it to.

If a user move the placeholder it will depend on where the user moves it to.

If it's on the same volume as it already exist, the placeholder will be moved as it is, the placeholder will work as per normal but if the location that it was moved to is not archived it won't be turned back as a placeholder if/when someone open/recall the file. In other words, as long as nothing touch the placeholder it will remain as a placeholder, if it's opened it will be recalled but what happens afterwards depends on whether the location is archived or not.

If it's moved to a different volume or server, it will be recalled and then the file will be moved.

Unless it has changed since the last time I checked :)

View solution in original post

7 REPLIES 7

FreKac2
Level 6
Partner Accredited Certified

If a user copies a placeholder it will be recalled (meaning it will download the file from EV) and the file will be copied to whatever location you copied it to.

If a user move the placeholder it will depend on where the user moves it to.

If it's on the same volume as it already exist, the placeholder will be moved as it is, the placeholder will work as per normal but if the location that it was moved to is not archived it won't be turned back as a placeholder if/when someone open/recall the file. In other words, as long as nothing touch the placeholder it will remain as a placeholder, if it's opened it will be recalled but what happens afterwards depends on whether the location is archived or not.

If it's moved to a different volume or server, it will be recalled and then the file will be moved.

Unless it has changed since the last time I checked :)

kboorgu
Level 3

what happens if the placeholder is moved to another folder, which has a different retention category within the same archive?

AndrewB
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited

as far as i know, when a placeholder is moved the retention is not updated.

kboorgu
Level 3

in that case

If I have a retention folder heirarchy for eg. 1 year, 3 year, 5 year etc applied to the user's home folder, what happens when the user moves a place holder from 1 year folder to 3 year folder. Also, does the archived file location get updated in the archive when the placeholders are moved?

AndrewB
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited

kboorgu, the bevarior of a moved placeholder is as follows:

If the destination is on the same volume, the placeholder is moved.

If the destination is on a different volume, the archived file is restored and then moved to the destination.

see this technote for info on the other scenarios: http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO49604

FreKac2
Level 6
Partner Accredited Certified

As far as I know, only by moving placeholders using FSA utility will update the backend (database entries etc.)

Rob_Brenner
Level 5
Employee

The first response on this thread, from FreKac is correct.

The additional questions from kboorgu should really be addressed in a new thread. Nevertheless let's try to throw some ideas.

When a file is archived and converted to a PH shortcut, it will have an associated entry in the EV database and upon creation, the PH is set with an additional stream which contains the ReparsePoint information including the SavesetId and the VaultId, which is the ID that uniquely identifies the folder from which the file was archived. The VaultId is important as it allows the enumeration of the original folder structure based on ParentFolder relationship. The Retention Category is also set within the Placeholder.

When you move a Placeholder within the same 'Volume', therefore the PH is not recalled during the move, the reference to the original path is no longer valid for that PH, however, changes are only processed during the execution of the Archiving Task and as the file is still a PH, when the Task runs, it will detect that the file is a correctly formed PH and which will be ignored by the hard-coded rule that prevents from archiving existing PH.  Therefore there is no possibility for the Retention Category to be updated if the PH is moved as described above.

If this PH is recalled, however, as the retrieved file now resides in a folder where it has never been archived from, if it matches the archiving rule eligibility defined at the policy level, it will be archived as a new file and the corresponding Retention Category will be set.