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Monthly Archives: September 2014

Delete Old Files with File Management Tasks

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I am really good at reinventing the wheel! Most of the time the wheel isn’t even better – just more complicated. Back in May, I posted a script that to clean up old files. I used this on Windows Server 2003 box for a few years and moved it to a 2012 R2 server. The script used PowerShell and basically compared the LastAccessTime attribute to some date. A reader named Jeff took one look at my script and basically said, “Joseph – just use File Management Tasks”.

And Jeff was right! File Management Tasks are easier to setup and provide a lot more flexibility out of the box. Today, let’s look at how the File Server Resource Manager can keep our shares clean of old data!

 

Configuring a File Management Task

First, your file server does have to be running Windows Server 2008 R2 or higher. For those of you kicking it old school, I’ll wait while you upgrade. 🙂

Next, add the File Server Resource Manager role to your server. Accept the defaults during the installation.

Delete Old Files with File Management Tasks

Launch the File Server Resource Manager MMC and navigate to File Management Tasks. Select Create File Management Task. Name your task Expire Stale Data. Under scope, select Add. Add any folders/volumes that need to be cleaned up.

Delete Old Files with File Management Tasks

Under the Action tab, ensure that Type is set to File Expiration. When a file is marked to expire (more on that in a bit), it is never deleted. Instead, it is moved out of the scope (C:\public in the screenshot above) and into your expiration directory. Don’t worry about accidently deleting files because you can’t do it! In the screenshot below, I am moving expired data to a local folder.

Delete Old Files with File Management Tasks

Select the Condition tab. In this window, you can set criteria for what files are considered stale. By creation multiple tasks for different scopes, you can have more restrictive or aggressive cleanups as needed. Each check box functions as an AND statement. Our conditions below ensure that files are not moved they haven’t been modified for 3 years and haven’t been accessed for two years.

Delete Old Files with File Management Tasks

If desired, you can use the Notification tab to alert users of pending changes. In your notification, you can include a list of files that will be removed and provide additional instructions to your staff on what they should do. You can use the Report tab to email IT staff members a list of changes after a task has completed.

For your task to run, it must have a schedule. Press the Schedule Tab – then Edit. I recommend a schedule of once per month at the most. You can run it now for testing or wait until the schedule. As it is running, you can watch your Expired Files Directory populate. To make restoration easier, the files are moved to the expired directory using their previous folder structure. From here, you can schedule a permanent deletion by using a schedule task to empty the folder. You can also use this PowerShell script:

$Date = (Get-Date).AddMonths(-6) | get-date -UFormat "%Y-%m" $ExpiredDirectory = Get-ChildItem "C:\Expired Files\FQDN of Server" | where name -like "Expire Stale Data_$Date*" $ExpiredDirectory | Remove-Item -Recurse -whatif

Adjust the .AddMonths(-6) to change how long you wish to keep folders in the Expired Directory. This script is designed to be ran monthly and will delete the folder that is six months old.

Rethinking Document Access and Storage

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A month ago, I took another job. One awesome benefit  is that I get to build an environment without any pre-existing baggage. This has led to some unexpected solutions to problems we all have. For example, how to image a machine, how updates should apply, or how users should store documents.  It is this last one that interests me most and the one I am hoping to get some feedback on.

 

What Makes for Good Document Access

First, I want to avoid drive mappings. Personally, I am prefer links for UNC access. Even though GPP Drive Mappings has been improved in Windows 8.1, I use this distribution method for links. In terms of general storage, I am wanting a technology that allows the following:

  • Not dependent on a single server
  • Fluid use for Windows Users – no unnecessary setup or odd storage procedures
  • Native to  a Windows environment and free/cheap
  • Does not negatively affect user logons to a noticeable perception
  • Easily accessible externally and accessible across device types

In the past, I would have immediately turned to Folder Redirection and pointed my users to a DFS share. This would have satisfied points 1 and 2. Folder Redirection can significantly impact user logons, especially on a user’s initial logon.  This performance hit can be greatly reduced by pairing Folder Redirection with Offline Files (Windows 7+). When Offline Files are enabled,  local documents do not need to be copied up before a user is logged in. Folder Redirection is built-in to XP+ machines. With Windows 7+ machines, you can redirect every important local profile folder.

Remote document access with folder redirection can be a bit trickier. I’ve seen two common methods used:

The first method no longer works on Exchange 2013+. The second method works but can be a bit cumbersome to setup (and doesn’t allow access outside of the home directory). If anyone has another remote access method for redirected folder, I would be very interesting in knowing about it.

 

Using OneDrive for Business for File Storage

The limitations above has led me to another potential solution. Because I work in education and have free access to Office 365, my users can use OneDrive for Business for document storage (currently 1TB per user). For education, this service meets all of the requirements above. When paired with ADFS, users are even automatically signed into their Office365 account. The downside to this setup is the complexity, user adoption, and potential syncing issues.

Over the next few months, I will be posting a walkthrough or two on migrating to OneDrive for Business, how to avoid common problems, and some ways to make the move easier on your users. If you have already made the move, get in touch with me by leaving a comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts on the service.