All Features

All Features of Northern Storage Suite

Below you can find a complete list of all the features in Northern Storage Suite V8.

NSS:DASHBOARD

An overview of your storage situation as the NSS start page or in your mailbox.

Storage Analysis:

• Current state - Total usage and total capacity within the environment.
• Current paths - Paths at specific usage brackets and path growth rates.
• Critical paths - Highlighting paths at dangerous levels.
• Future critical paths - Paths that require immediate action.
• Current users - Revealing average and excessive usage.
• Future users - Projected levels of usage and future distribution among users.
• File type growth - Changes in the size of file type groups and projected future sizes.

Warnings and Action Recommendations:

• Warning flags: current status - Immediate communication of where action is needed.
• Warning flags: future status - Dashboard identifies trends within the storage environment and projects what effect these trends will have. Dangerous trends are instantly identified and communicated.
• Action recommendations - Taking the next step from identifying current and future problem areas – Dashboard offers expert, environment-specific advice as to how the identified problem areas can be managed and how the predicted future issues can be easily avoided.

STORAGE REPORTER

Information-rich drill-down interface shows general storage status:

• General status - view status at enterprise, host group, host and path levels
• Distribution across data types - view usage by file type group and individual file type
• Distribution across users - view usage by user
• History of usage - view history graphs for host group, host and path levels
• History of file type content - view history graphs for file type group and file type levels
• History of user levels - view history graphs for individual users
• Projected usage - view projected usage for host group, host and path levels
• Projected file type content - view projected file type group and file type levels
• Projected user levels - view projected usage by user
• Largest files - view largest files at host and path levels
• Oldest files - view oldest files at host and path levels
• Disk and I/O performance data - identify weakening devices
• Customizable graphical displays - choose to display data as column chart, pie chart, a plain list or as icons
• Export to MS Excel - export any data shown in the interface to Excel

Comprehensive scheduled reports reveal specific details of your storage environment:

• File size - list all files above a certain threshold
• File accessed date - list all files that haven't been accessed since a certain date
• File modification date - show all files that haven't been modified since a certain date
• File creation date - report on all files that were created before, after or on a certain date
• File type - list all files of a specific type, using file extension or header data
• File backup status - show all files that have their backup attribute set or not set
• Files containing hidden streams - report on files that contain hidden streams
• File type growth rates - show the file types that have grown the most during a specific time period
• File duplicity - identify true duplicate files by matching file content, not just name and size
• User accounts - list all files owned by a specific user
• User accounts that are obsolete - report on all files owned by obsolete accounts
• Users that consume the most space - list the top users within your environment
• User growth rates - show users with the fastest growing space consumption
• Host forecasts - which hosts will reach a dangerous level of usage on a specific date
• Path forecasts - which paths will reach a dangerous level of usage on a specific date
• Export to Excel - export report output to blank work books or customizable templates

QUOTA SERVER

Advanced quantity control policies allow you to minimise usage and growth rates:

• User-based quotas - set quotas on individual user accounts [available for Windows, Windows Cluster and SAN]
• Group-based quotas - make quota settings dependant on a users Primary Group membership [available for Windows, Windows Cluster and SAN]
• Directory and object level quotas - set quotas on all levels of file structure
• Exchange quotas - set quotas on individual exchange mailboxes
• NetApp quota integration - add, edit or delete NetApp quota rules [available for NetApp NAS]
• Automated user quotas - create a template quota that automatically controls all existing and any new users [available for Windows, Windows Cluster and SAN]
• Automated directory quotas - create a template quota that automatically controls all existing and any new directories
• Asynchronous quota monitoring - user and device activity are not stalled by quota processes
• Real-time quota controls - quotas are evaluated, displayed and enforced in real-time
• Hard quotas - allow users to edit and save existing files, only save open files or save no files at all
• Hard exchange quotas - lock mailboxes or just stop the possibility to send mail
• Soft quotas - encourage compliance with notifications only
• Active quotas - execute programs at quota thresholds to take remedial action when a quota is exceeded
• Trigger notifications at usage intervals - send emails and popup messages at thresholds of quota usage
• Customizable notification templates - localize quota notification templates to suit your specific needs

Content control policies allow you to prohibit unwanted file types:

• File type blocking - do not allow users to store specific file types [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, NetApp NAS and SAN]
• File type group blocking - mass-prohibit music, movie or program files [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, NetApp NAS and SAN]
• Efficient file block - real-time scanning at file extension level [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, NetApp NAS and SAN], binary-level scanning performed in a scheduled report

Advanced quota management to achieve specific results:

• Customizable quota workspaces - edit existing or create new workspaces, include or exclude columns, filter, subtotal and group
• Delegate permissions - allow user groups controlled access to manage certain aspects of the quota policy
• Storing quota settings - quota configurations can be stored in the local registry, in MS SQL or in Active Directory
• Command-line tools - utilities offer straightforward integration into batch operations
• Custom quota labels - label quotas for quick recognition and mass-management
• Automated notification setup - use LDAP queries and custom variables to automate notification configuration

STORAGE PORTAL

User-focussed storage portal makes users responsible for the data they own:

• Storage quota integration - portal reports scan quota paths and are provided through quota threshold notifications
• User specific reports - individual storage reports offer users the tools they need to manage their own storage use
• Quota status report - displaying the users current quota status
• File age report - provide users with a interactive report listing their oldest files
• File size report - provide users with an interactive report of their largest files
• Media file report - provide users with an interactive report showing their true media files, a report generated by a binary level scan
• Duplicate file report - provide users with a list of their true duplicate files, a list generated by a binary level scan and pattern matching
• Files owned by others report - show users all files owned by other accounts that are stored within the path of their storage quota
• Interactive reports - users can open, move or delete files or groups of files from directly within these reports

Controlled growth rates and decreased administrator involvement:

• Grace limit rules - define rules to handle quota increase requests, allowing usage to grow by a specific percentage over a specific period
• Group membership dependency - define different rules for different User Groups
• Automatic or manual handling - have increase requests evaluated automatically or queued for administrator approval

Customizable user experience:

• Localize portal language - translate the component text to ensure quick understanding
• Localize portal message - use the available text fields to describe the details and motivations behind the company's SRM policy
• Remove components - if the users should not have the option to request a quota increase, simply remove it from the interface

STORAGE ASSISTANT

Use flexible event logics to trigger pre-defined actions:

• Calendar events - use dates, date ranges, days and times to trigger actions
• Timer events - use time intervals to trigger actions
• File watching events - use changes in file or directory properties as triggers for actions
• Internet watching events - monitor for specific strings or simply any changes in web pages and trigger actions when changes occur
• System watching events - monitor for system events like a service start-up and trigger actions
• Multiple events - group events to create advanced triggers
• Integrated events - create logical relationships between events to only trigger actions when all are true, only one, or none are true
• Repetition control - control the number of times the event can be true

Define flexible actions to automate your specific processes:

• File delete action - permanently remove unwanted files, filter on type, size, modified or accessed date
• File copy action - make copies of files for backup or simple monitoring purposes
• File move action - archive or quarantine files according to type, size, accessed or modified date
• Directory replicate action - maintain a mirrored copy of directories across multiple devices or sites
• Execute program action - trigger compression tools, custom scripts or batch files
• FTP/HTTP actions - upload, download or run scripts via ftp or http protocols
• Notification actions - send smtp or popup notifications include variables to make notifications event sensitive
• Multiple actions - group actions to extend automation processes
• Integrated actions - create logical relationships between actions to add fault tolerance into the automation process
• Result passing - pass results between actions to more closely integrate their function
• Repetition control - control the number of times an action can be executed

Open interface ensures complete transparency of automation processes:

• Goal-specific views - status, history, timeline and statistics views provide the information needed to manage an advanced automation system
• Common building blocks - processes are automated with standardized and open building blocks

STORAGE CHARGEBACK

Billing for storage use highlights the true costs involved:

• File system analysis - invoice or report according to storage use
• Exchange mailbox analysis - invoice or report depending on mailbox size
• Quota analysis - invoice or report according to quota size
• User level reporting/billing - send individual users an invoice or a cost report
• Group level reporting/billing - send department managers an invoice or a cost report
• Path level reporting/billing - send reports and invoices to project managers and customers
• Open format outputs - calculation output is stored in MS SQL, and can also be exported to MS Excel and CSV

Granular pricing schemes match real-world business models:

• Multi-tiered billing classes - use a flat pricing scheme or one where different usage thresholds trigger escalated costs
• Pricing to match device types - charge a premium for high end storage and encourage infrequently used data to be kept on low end devices
• Base cost - charge a start-up fee to cover administrative overhead

Scheduled reports offer financial analysis:

• Identify cost growth patterns - the fastest growing user, group or path
• Identify budget viability - Forecast budget exhaustion dates according to current trends

NORTHERN STORAGE SUITE

Manage the enterprise:

• Multi-host display - all workspaces can include data from all devices
• Multi-host management - all workspaces allow concurrent management of multiple devices
• Email protocol support - send notifications using SNMP, MS Mail, MS Exchange, Windows Messenger and command-line messaging
• Operation Manager support - post warnings and information messages to the Event Viewer
• COM API - integrate storage control policies with COM aware applications
• SQL database store - quota settings, usage and cost data, billing class definitions, etc. are all stored in an open SQL database
• Active Directory integration - LDAP is used extensively to automate configuration wherever possible