The following are components associated with file system scanning.
The Scan Processor does the following:
Processes file system scan files
Updates file system scan information in the database
AgentFS is a compact program that runs on Microsoft Windows Server hosts. AgentFS can examine and report on NTFS file systems hosted through shares. AgentFS can collect and scan data related to file system metadata and permissions. For more information, see Section C.0, AgentFS Scan Capabilities.
IMPORTANT:For optimal results, you should install an Agent on every server that has a share you want to report on.
Agents cannot be installed on NAS devices or clustered storage. For File Reporter to report on these types of devices, Agents can be set up as proxy agents.
For performing file system scans (rather than file content scans), File Reporter provides AgentFS.
Through AgentFS, File Reporter scans a storage resource. A storage resource can be a Microsoft network share or a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.
File system scans are indexed data that are specific to a storage resource. They are the means of generating a storage report or the means of reviewing data using the analytics tools. File system scans include comprehensive information on the file types users are storing, when files were created, when they were last modified, permission data on the folders where these files reside, and much more.
File Reporter collects file system scans from the Agents and sends them to the Engine. The Engine then sends the scans to the Scan Processor, which stores the scans in the database.
You can conduct scans at any time, but we recommend using a scheduled time after normal business hours to minimize the effect on network performance.
NOTE:Procedures for performing scans are documented in Section 5.4, Scan Scheduling.