Managing the MDS Folder List for an Attached Database

By default, the MetaData Service working scope for a particular database is established automatically and is limited to the enabled folders from the FSS folder list associated with the same database. If you have multiple FSS configurations for the same DSM database (for example, if you have multiple installations of the File System Service configured to work with the same database), the default MDS folder list is a combination of all folders included and enabled in these configurations. Note, that the folders excluded from the synchronization process (refer to “Enabling/Disabling Folder Configurations” in the “Managing the FSS Folder List for an Attached Database” section) will not appear in the MDS folder list.

However, the above behavior may be overridden: the MetaData Service may be deactivated for certain folders from its default folder list.

Specifying Folder Configuration for an Attached Database

For each DSM database attached to the MetaData Service snap-in, the MetaData Service folder list may be configured as follows: it may be either entirely borrowed from the active FSS configuration associated with the same database or customized to contain only certain folders from the borrowed FSS configuration.

To specify the folder configuration for an attached database:

1. Open the Properties window associated with the database you would like to configure by expanding the MDS snap-in in the tree portion of the Management Console, right-clicking the database name and selecting Properties from the popup menu; or selecting the desired database and clicking the Properties button on the tool bar.
2. Click the Folder Configuration tab and select from the following options:

Configure Manually—This option may be used to customize the MDS folder list. If this option is selected, the Folders group will be added to the database snap-in. For folder entries to appear under this group, you should explicitly instruct the MDS snap-in to retrieve the folder list from the FSS configuration.

Take the folders set from the local File System Service—This option is set by default. In this case the MDS folder list will exactly repeat the FSS folder list specified for the same database. The folder configuration reload period specifies the interval between consequent attempts to synchronize the MDS and FSS folder lists.

Take the folders set from all File System Services—This option will use all folders monitored by all File System Services. The folder configuration reload period specifies the interval between consequent attempts to synchronize the MDS and FSS folder lists.

1. Click OK. This will save the modifications you have made to the database properties and close the database’s Properties window.

Customizing the MDS Folder List for an Attached Database

If the custom folder configuration is in force for a DSM database, the Folders group will be added to the database snap-in. For folder entries to appear under this group, you should explicitly instruct the MDS snap-in to retrieve the folder list from the FSS configuration. The retrieval must be done every time the FSS configuration changes for the MDS folder list to be up-to-date.

To retrieve the list of root folders from the FSS configuration:

1. Expand the appropriate database sub-tree under the MDS snap-in, right-click the Folders group, and select Retrieve folders from database from the popup menu.

1. In the Retrieve Confirmation window, click Yes to proceed with retrieving.

The process of retrieving may take several seconds.

After the list of folders has been retrieved from the FSS configuration, the contents of the Folders group is displayed in the right portion of the Management Console in the following format: “\\<Server_Name>\<Share_Name>\<Folder_Name>...”. Note, that the folders excluded from processing in the FSS configuration will not appear in the listing.

The MetaData Service will be disabled for all folders that initially appear in the Folders group. The folders excluded from the MDS working scope are displayed with a grayed out icon ( ).

To enable/disable the MetaData Service for a folder obtained from the File System Service configuration:

Right-click the desired folder entry in the Folders group and select Enable/Disable.

The MetaData Service will generate image thumbnails, extended previews, and other file metadata only for the digital resources stored in the folders for which the service has been enabled.

Including/excluding folders from the MDS working scope may be considered as a tuning up process the purpose of which is to meet various performance requirements.

Consider for example, that the folders to be synchronized with the DSM database are located on several Windows 2003 file servers. It is recommended that in such situations InterSync is installed on every file server. As a result, you will have multiple installations of the InterSync services working with the same database. By default, all copies of the MDS will share the same list of folders (borrowed from the FSS configuration specified for the database) to process. In this case, according to the implemented algorithm, any MetaData Service is allowed to process any folder (even a remote one) from this common working scope. However, obtaining thumbnails and extended previews of graphics files is a time and memory-intensive process and takes up significant network bandwidth when done remotely. To eliminate the possibility of remote file processing, you can enable each MetaData Service only for those folders that are physically located on the Windows 2003 file server on which the service is installed.

For each folder included in the working scope of the MetaData Service, you can edit the access account information provided by the FSS configuration (for example, if the MDS requires a different account to successfully access a particular folder). The access account information is provided using a folder’s Properties window.

Note: For all folders that are accessed using the default file access account (as specified in the FSS configuration), the MetaData Service overrides the account information with its own data. However, if the MDS default account is not specified, the FSS default account will be used instead. For information on how to provide default access accounts for the InterSync services, refer to “Providing Default Access Accounts” in the “Setting Miscellaneous Service Parameters” section.

To edit the access account information for a folder:

1. Open the Properties window for the folder whose access account information you would like to modify. To open the window, expand the appropriate database subtree under the MetaData Service snap-in, right-click the desired folder entry in the Folders group, and select Properties from the popup menu; or select the desired folder and click the Properties button located on the tool bar.
2. In the Properties window, specify the account that the MetaData Service should use when accessing the folder.

Choose between the service logon account and the default file access account, or specify another account using the user name and password fields. For information on how to provide the default file access account to be used by the service, refer to “Providing Default Access Accounts” in the “Setting Miscellaneous Service Parameters” section.

Note: All service programs running on Windows are provided with logon accounts. The MDS is unable to connect to a remote computer using its default “LocalSystem” logon account. It is not recommended that you change the service logon account. Instead, if you need the MDS to access a folder located on a remote computer, use the other two options to specify an access account with appropriate security permissions (the MDS must have write permissions for all folders/files located in its working scope).

1. Click OK to apply changes you have made and close the folder’s Properties window. At this point a check will be performed to ensure the folder is accessible using the provided access account. For example, the MDS cannot access remote folders using its default “LocalSystem” logon account.