Net Folder synchronization is a critical in Filr because it enables files and folders to be viewed in Filr apps. Only metadata (names, ACLs, etc.) is synchronized. The files and folders themselves remain on the back-end file servers.
Net Folder synchronization can happen in four ways:
Scheduled Full Synchronization of Net Folder Servers: You can schedule Full synchronizations for each Net Folder Server. All of the Net Folders associated with that server are then synchronized as scheduled.
If the folder structure is large, full synchronizations can take a while to complete.
Scheduled Full Synchronization of Net Folders: You can also schedule Full synchronizations for individual Net Folders.
Because these override the Net Folder Server schedules, you can synchronize the Net Folders either more or less frequently than the Net Folder Server schedule dictates.
Manual Full Synchronization of Net Folders: You can perform these when you create Net Folders (or anytime) to ensure that Filr users can browse and access the files and folders that they contain as soon as the schedule completes.
Just-in-Time Synchronization (JITS) (Folder-Only): If JITS is enabled, then when Filr users browse to a folder in a Net Folder, only the information about the files and subfolders in that folder are synchronized with Filr.
JITS gathers as much information as it can in 5 seconds (a configurable setting), then it displays the results and continues processing in the background. Depending on the connection with the back-end file server, Filr can process a lot of metadata in 5 seconds. However, if the folder is large or the connection slow, users might need to refresh to see all of the folder’s content.
Table 10-5 Synchronization Type Benefits and Drawbacks
|
Synchronization Type |
Benefits |
Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|
|
Full Synchronization |
|
|
|
JITS Synchronization |
|
|
When you plan the type of synchronization to use for a given Net Folder, consider the nature of its content and how it will be used after it is synchronized.
Table 10-6 and the sections that follow describe which synchronization method is most suitable for certain types of content and the way you intend to use that content in Filr.
Table 10-6 Full Sync vs. Just-in-Time Sync
|
Static Content |
Dynamic Content |
Large Amounts of Data |
Searchability of Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Full Synchronization |
X |
|
|
X |
|
Just-in-Time Synchronization |
|
X |
X |
|
Full synchronization is more suited for static content, while Just-in-Time synchronization is more suited for dynamic content.
For example, a Net Folder that contains only historical, static files might be best synchronized by running one manual synchronization and disabling the scheduled synchronization as well as the Just-in-Time synchronization. The files could then be accessed via Filr without any unnecessary load being placed on the Filr system.
Conversely, a Net Folder that contains dynamic files that users actively collaborate on, such as marketing documents for a company’s current products, might be best synchronized using Just-in-Time synchronization. Users would have the latest information when they access a file.
In some cases, you might want to enable both scheduled synchronization as well as Just-in-Time synchronization. In such cases, consider also the amount of data that is located on the Net Folder.
If a Net Folder contains a large amount of data, a scheduled synchronization might consume a large amount of system resources more frequently than is necessary.
If you have a large amount of data but still want the data to be searchable, you might run one full synchronization so that all the data gets indexed, and then use Just-in-Time synchronization thereafter.
Consider the following when planning the synchronization schedule:
The schedule that you choose can greatly affect system performance. Avoid the following scenarios, which can cause your Filr system to be slow or sluggish:
You configure Net Folder synchronization schedules among various Net Folders and Net Folder Servers in such a way so that Filr is constantly synchronizing information.
A single synchronization schedule is so frequent that a new synchronization begins as soon as the previous one finishes.