Introducing the InterSync File System Service

The first fundamental component of InterSync is the File System Service. The File System Service compares the files and folders stored on your Windows and AppleShare file server(s) to the digital resource records in the system by periodically scanning the database and the file server(s). When a database “attached” to the File System Service differs from the file server (i.e. files/folders have been added, deleted, or modified), the File System Service recognizes that addition, modification, and/or deletion events have taken place and updates the database by adding/deleting the appropriate digital resource records and/or activating the MetaData Service.

There are two modes of operation that the File System Service can use when scanning a file server:

Full Scan - when operating in this mode, the File System Service scans the digital resources stored on the file server and compares the information it finds to the digital resource records in the database.

Journal Scan - when operating in this mode, the File System Service does not scan the digital resources stored on the file server; it instead scans the change journals maintained by the operating system for NTFS volumes. These change journals record when files and folders are added, deleted, or modified on the server.

The Journal Scan mode is preferable to the Full Scan because the scan is faster and uses fewer server resources.

ImPORTANT! The Journal Scan mode can only be used when the File System Service and the file server are located on the same Windows computer (volume change journals cannot be read remotely). For this reason, it is recommended that the File System Service be installed on every Windows server computer operating as a file server.