Introducing the InterSync MetaData Service

The second fundamental component of InterSync is the MetaData Service. When the File System Service recognizes that a digital asset has been added or modified, the MetaData Service obtains the digital asset’s file metadata (including an up-to-date thumbnail, extended preview, and other file information, such as size, type, and date created) and updates the corresponding digital resource record in the database.

note: The system generates thumbnails and extended previews for each digital asset based on its file type (e.g. text file, folder, PICT file, BMP file, PDF, etc.). For information on thumbnail and extended preview generation methods, and instructions for specifying the way the system should use these methods for each file type, please refer to the “Setting Up File Types” chapter of the Administrator User Guide.

Every DSM and Virtual Ticket database contains a list of the volumes (shared network drives, CD-ROMs, local hard drives, etc.) on which the digital resources in that database actually reside. The MetaData Service obtains this list from the database and can be deactivated for some of the volumes; each MetaData Service thus maintains a partial list of ‘active’ volumes and only obtains thumbnails, extended previews, and other file metadata for the digital resources stored on those volumes. If your company has more than one file server, it is recommended that the MetaData Service be installed on each file server, and that each service be activated only for volumes physically located on that server, if possible.