Previous versions of files can exist in the archive database only after the files meet the following prerequisites:
You install and configure Novell Archive and Version Services 2.1 on your OES NetWare server.
You configure at least one job to version OES NetWare or NetWare 6.5 NSS volumes where user data is stored. These NSS data volumes can reside on an OES NetWare server or NetWare 6.5 server.
You set criteria to determine which files are eligible for versioning. Files can be included or excluded according to their path, file extension, or filename patterns. If files on a specified volume meet the resultant criteria, they are eligible for versioning.
Versioning occurs for eligible files at scheduled intervals, called epochs. You can also use iManager to pause jobs and run jobs on demand, as needed.
A file’s lifetime must span the end of at least one epoch to be versioned. Only files that exist when the versioning occurs are versioned.
If a user creates a file after an epoch begins, and deletes the file before the end of the epoch, the file cannot be versioned. If a user creates a file that spans the end of a scheduled epoch, but deletes the file before the scheduled job actually copies the file to the archive, the file is not versioned.
It does not matter how much or how often a user changes an eligible file during an epoch. The versioning process captures the file in whatever state it is in at the end of the epoch. A user does not have direct control over which files are versioned, when the versioning occurs, or what the state of any file is when the epoch ends and the file versions are copied to the archive database.
Versioned files typically have a limited lifetime in the archive. You configure a Delete Policy that sets the maximum keep time and the maximum number of versions to retain. The Delete Policy for volumes can be configured to allow indefinite retention of at least one most recent file version of a current file.
To retrieve file versions using the NSS File Version Utility, users must download and install the NSS File Version utility on their Windows 2000/XP/2003 workstations.
To retrieve file versions using Novell NetStorage, users must have a workstation with a compatible Web browser and a network or Internet connection to the Novell NetStorage server.