Archive Manager for Files 8.7 - Quick Start Guide

Introduction

Metalogix Archive Manager for Files is a software solution for archiving files transparently while preserving the existing structure of disks, folders and files. It provides full version management with the ability to retrieve any of the versions. Archived files are replaced on a file server with a shortcut, which takes up much less space, yet they are available for end users who can work with them as usual. Moreover, our full-text search engine searches through the archives by applying various search criteria.

With Metalogix Archive Manager for Files you can increase the capacity of fast and expensive storage media by using cheaper slower devices without increasing access time to frequently used files. The administrator can define which files are considered as frequently used (fast access to them is crucial) and infrequently used (fast access to them is not crucial) by specifying a time interval from the time of their last usage. When that interval elapses, the file is automatically replaced with a shortcut during archiving. Administrators can define more such time spans and group files included in categories, assigning each category a different time span.

The system is fully automated and the administrator needs to specify only the attributes of its behavior. It allows centralized search through company data which is faster and more efficient than searching through different machines/systems.

The primary components of Metalogix Archive Manager for Files are as follows:

Archive Manager for Files - archival solution for files.

Hierarchical Storage Manager (HSM) - file storage manager that manages one or more dedicated or shared file-servers across the organization. HSM ensures that files with identical content are stored only once regardless of where their respective original file is located.

Metalogix Archive Manager for Exchange can be extended with optional components to enhance its capabilities. The following optional components are installed with the Express installation.

Archive Manager Search - full text search engine capable of searching archived emails.

ArchiveWeb  - online archive interface with advanced search and reporting functionality.

Metalogix Archive Manager is a highly scalable product that can be installed into a more complex environment than described within this guide. To secure load balancing and facilitate multiple archiving for large organizations, Metalogix Archive Manager provides you with the ability to configure several Archive Manager servers. For more information about advanced installation in distributed environments please refer to the Advanced Install Guide for Archive Manager for Files.

File archive and retrieval process

Archive Manager for Files transfers files to HSM which manages the storing and retrieving of files. The file is replaced by a shortcut and the information in the shortcut is stored either in an Oracle or MS SQL Server database that is used by HSM. The HSM system passes the original file to a file store that is specified by the administrator which compresses the file “on the fly”. Only shortcut of a few kilobytes remains at the file’s original location. This shortcut includes information about the new location of the archived file and bears the same name and the same file extension as the original file (in the case of FSA [standard] shortcuts). The only difference a user notices is that the shortcut is displayed with a slightly modified icon and the name of the file is written in blue (in Explorer view).

Users work with archived files as usual. When an archived file is reopened, Archive Manager for Files passes the information from the shortcut to HSM which restores the file from the store. Users experience a seamless transition as if they are working in a normal environment.

HSM uses the Single-instance storage (SIS) service that takes multiple copies of the content and replaces them with a single shared copy. It allows version control, eliminates data duplication, and increases storage and retrieval efficiency. With version control activated, HSM keeps track of who modified the document, when did the modification occur and what was modified. The administrator can retrieve older versions including files whose shortcuts were deleted from the file server.

Deployment Plan

Planning the deployment of the Metalogix Archive Manager for Files depends on the storage capacities required in your organization. The quick start guide describes the deployment for lightweight usage scenarios that are based on the following assumptions:

·You have acquired a trial license for Metalogix Archive Manager for Files and you want to evaluate the product in a test environment.

·Your organization does not have a dedicated file storage system.

The following illustration describes the way in which the constituent parts are interrelated and arranged for a typical lightweight deployment.

Figure 1. Topology for a standalone Metalogix Archive Manager for Files deployment

In this deployment topology, the Metalogix Archive Manager for Files is installed on a standalone server and interacts with the HSM component to archive and restore files. Users retrieve archived files from shortcuts that are displayed in their file folders.

When you choose the Express installation option Metalogix Archive Manager for Files is installed on the standalone server with the full set of components: Archive Manager for Files, Hierarchical Storage Manager (HSM) and ArchiveWeb. The server also contains the Archive Manager Database instance that contains the configuration databases for various features and components. If you do not have a dedicated network share for archive storage, HSM uses the local hard drive for storing archived files.

System Requirements

The requirements described below  are applicable for installing the Archive Manager for Files server

Hardware

Operating System

·Windows Server 2012

·Windows Server 2012 R2

·Windows Server 2016

·Windows Server 2019

·Windows Server 2022

Windows Server Roles

·Web Server (IIS)

oWeb Server / Common HTTP Features / HTTP Redirection

oWeb Server / Performance / Dynamic Content Compression

oWeb Server / Security / Basic Authentication

oWeb Server / Security / Windows Authentication

oWeb Server / Application Development

§.NET Extensibility 4.5

§ASP.NET 4.5

oManagement Tools / IIS 6 Management Console

oManagement Tools / IIS 6 Management Compatibility / IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

oManagement Tools / Management Service

Windows Features

·Remote Server Administration Tools

oRole Administration Tools / AD DS and AD LDS Tool / Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell

·.NET Framework 4.5 Features

For Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2

·.NET Framework 4.5 Features / .NET Framework 4.5

·.NET Framework 4.5 Features / ASP.NET 4.5

·.NET Framework 4.5 Features / WCF Services (all checkboxes under this item)

For Windows Server 2016

·.NET Framework 4.6 Features / .NET Framework 4.6

·.NET Framework 4.6 Features / ASP.NET 4.6

·.NET Framework 4.6 Features / WCF Services (all checkboxes under this item)

For Windows Server 2019

·.NET Framework 4.7 Features / .NET Framework 4.7

·.NET Framework 4.7 Features / ASP.NET 4.7

·.NET Framework 4.7 Features / WCF Services (all checkboxes under this item)

For Windows Server 2022

·.NET Framework 4.8 Features / .NET Framework 4.8

·.NET Framework 4.8 Features / ASP.NET 4.8

·.NET Framework 4.8 Features / WCF Services (all checkboxes under this item)

Redistributable packages

·Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable Package (x64)

·Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable Package (x64)

·Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable Package (x86)

.NET 4.8

Download and install .NET Framework 4.8 from the following link:

https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet-framework/thank-you/net48-web-installer

Database Servers and Drivers

·Microsoft SQL Server 2012 to Microsoft SQL Server 2019

oMicrosoft OLE DB Driver 18 for SQL Server, or newer

·Azure SQL Database

·Oracle 12c to Oracle 19c

oOracle client (x86 or x64)

Web Browsers

Web browsers are required for ArchiveWeb and is included here because this optional component is installed automatically if Express installation is considered.

·Microsoft Edge current version

·Mozilla Firefox current version

·Chrome current version

·Opera current version

File Systems (Sources)

·Windows Server 2012

·Windows Server 2012 R2

·Windows Server 2016

·Windows Server 2019

·Windows Server 2022

·NTFS including mount-point support

·ReFS

·NetApp Filer (Cluster Mode only)

·EMC VNX

Clients and protocols

·Windows Clients

·Macintosh clients when CIFS/SMB protocol is used

·AFP protocol (e.g. ExtremeZ-IP software)

Additional Information

·Installations on Domain Controllers are not supported.

·For remote archiving on Windows shares, NetApp (Cluster Mode) or VNX, we recommend installing the software on a dedicated server.

·The software installs web applications into the Default Web Site. This could cause conflict with other applications like Microsoft CRM or Microsoft SharePoint. To change the installation website, manual changes are required after the installation. Please contact Technical support in such cases.

·Metalogix Archive Manager for Files is fully supported in a virtualized environment.

Pre-installation Tasks

Before you begin installing Metalogix Archive Manager for Exchange, your environment must be configured to ensure a successful installation and usage experience of the Metalogix Archive Manager for Exchange.

·Setup a Superuser account

·Download the install media

Setup a Superuser account

A Superuser account is a windows account that runs the Archive Manager services and has elevated privileges to work with the Metalogix Archive Manager for Files administration tools, database and exchange server. For the Express installation we will use the Enterprise Administrator as the Superuser.

The Superuser must be granted the following memberships/privileges on the Metalogix Archive Manager for Files server:

1.Must be a member of the local Administrators group.

2.Must be granted log in rights to the Archive Manager database instance with the sysadmin role.

3.Must be granted remote desktop access if necessary. For more information see Steps to grant Remote Desktop Access.

Steps to download the install media

1.From your browser, navigate to the https://www.quest.com/products/metalogix-archive-manager-for-files page

or

navigate to the http://www.quest.com/trials page. Locate the product Metalogix Archive Manager for Files.

2.Click the Download Free Trial button.

3.Fill the Download Your Free Trial registration form and click Download Trial. The file download page appears.

4.Download the install media zip file.

5.The the trial license key is specified in the email that is sent to you.

6.Ensure that the files are available locally on the computer on which you are planning to install the Metalogix Archive Manager for Exchange components.