Network File Storage Management J. Greg MacKinnon, CNE CIT Client Services University of Vermont

Old model: Run programs from network drive, store large graphical files, application installers, driver sets, databases, all personal files

New model: Keep all application files local= more efficient use of network resources, better performance. Store all personal files remote= more secure, universally accessible, and recoverable. Store only difficult-to-retrieve installers and drivers remotely= less redundancy in storage.

Why it has changed: In the mid 80's, hard-drives were small and expensive. Share storage was more cost-effective. Up to the mid 90s, it made sense to store ALL data on a file server (this is why we have Novell servers on campus). Currently, local file storage is very inexpensive. Network storage is not inexpensive and IS limited (we have instituted personal storage space limits) so there is little sense in storing easily-restored system files (operating system files, application files, installers, drivers) in your network storage space. However, network storage still offers many advantages, these being:

Advantages of Network Storage universal accessibility shared storage file security scheduled backup and proven recovery

Network storage is an ideal for: personal files (work data) shared project files application patches needed by whole workgroups Operating System drivers common to workgroups (such as printer drivers)

Do: Store any and all Word documents, spreadsheets, and databases All web documents under development All "power points“ Application patches and drivers needed SPECIFICALLY by your workgroup. Application data (such as mail archives and bookmarks)

Don't: Store large volumes of "Clip Art" which are easily retrieved from CD Application installers such as MS Office, VirusScan, FTP Voyager, Netscape, etc. These are available at the UVM FTP site and on CD. Executable programs such as Eudora and Cardfile- these run more efficiently from your local system. Backup data from other servers!!! All servers should have their own backup systems. There is not enough room to store data from other servers here.

Personal vs. Shared: Personal data is any data you do not want to share with your workgroup or need to keep private. Personal data should be stored on your "H" drive. This directory is available only to you and only when you are "logged in".

Shared data: Shared data is any file you need others to view or work on. Should be stored in the "S" drive. These files are available only to your workgroup (unless you "open" them to other groups).

File Management Guidelines: Organize directories by workgroups or projects Use descriptive file names Avoid excessively large directory listings (100+ files in one directory) Avoid excessive directory nesting (8+ directory depths, single files in directories).