Document Stores

The document stores function enables you to configure Content Manager so that you can store electronic documents and have access to these documents.

The types of documents that you can store are single files or complete file sets, for example, a single document, a spreadsheet with links to other documents and those linked documents, or email messages with multiple attachments.

You can create document stores from within Content Manager or use third party electronic storage technology. To set up third party electronic document stores, see Creating document stores.

Content Manager enables you to use a pool of document stores, from which Content Manager automatically chooses the most appropriate one to store the new electronic document in. It does so by choosing the store that is emptiest first. Content Manager provides overflow capability to create new document stores when the existing storage space is exhausted. Content Manager also enables you to compress documents to reduce storage size, and you can have Content Manager encrypt the contents of Windows file system-based stores.

You will need to answer a number of questions for yourself before you set up document stores:

  • What will be the storage capacity requirement?
  • How secure do the stores need to be?
  • Should the stores be local or be accessed remotely?

You should take care when you are planning your stores because they can not be amalgamated or split later.

Content Manager facilitates the management of the complete life cycle of electronic document stores and store pools.

An example of the management of an electronic document store pool:

  1. You create a store pool and set each store to a maximum of e.g. 4.7 GB to fit on a DVD. The organisation then uses the stores in the pool.
  2. When a store reaches its size limit, Content Manager notifies the administrator and automatically closes the store for new additions. Users can still access the store and also delete documents from it.
  3. If there are Record Types or Content Manager items that use this store as nominated store, the administrator changes them to a different store or to use the store pool instead
  4. When access rates to the closed store become low, the administrator makes the store read-only and transfers the store to long-term storage media, for example, DVD. The administrator changes the path of the store to the new location.
  5. When all the stores in the pool are full, Content Manager automatically chooses the next specified number of stores to form a new pool
  6. The Content Manager administrator monitors the available number of stores and creates new stores as required

CAUTION:

  • DVD is only an example for long term storage media. It is recommended you use long-term storage media that meets your needs in terms of:
    • Longevity
    • Capacity
    • Viability
    • Obsolescence
    • Cost
    • Susceptibility

NOTE: Use shredder style deleting for electronic documents will delete the metadata from its database, but will not overwrite data on read-only media.

Related Topics Link IconRelated information