Article 10017: Synchronizing Shadow Files

TASKE Technology Knowledge Base
Products: TASKE Contact
      version 8
Applications: Information Server
Telephone systems: All
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Summary

A Shadow drive is a redundant file saving mechanism for TASKE systems using a remote LAN file server. When a TASKE system is setup to save to a Shadow drive, the PBX data files are stored to the Shadow drive and the remote file server simultaneously. Generally, the Shadow drive is a local hard drive on the TASKE Server computer, while the main drive that stores all TASKE files is a hard drive on the remote file server.

The Maintenance tool in the Administrator application provides the tools to check the integrity of the files on the remote file server with those saved to the Shadow drive through a file synchronization process. This process compares the file on the Shadow drive with the file stored on the network. If a file does not exist on the network, it is copied from the Shadow drive to the network. If a file differs in size, the Shadow drive file is copied to the network. This process protects the system from file errors induced by network problems.

Enabling a Shadow Drive

Use the following steps to define a shadow drive location on the TASKE Sever computer.

  1. Select the Synchronize Shadow Files tab in the lower panel of the Maintenance tool.
  2. Enable the Enable Shadowing check box.
  3. Define the path for the Shadow drive in the Shadow Directory field. By default this directory is \taske\shadow. Click the Browse button to look for another directory or enter the new path in the field.
  4. When leaving the Maintenance tool, the TASKE Administrator dialog box will open, indicating that the changes should be saved. Click Yes to save the Shadow drive setup.
Manually Synchronizing Shadow Files

Use the following steps to manually synchronize Shadow files with those files on the remote file server. These steps assume the Shadow drive is already enabled.

  1. Select the Synchronize Shadow Files tab in the lower panel of the Maintenance tool.
  2. Select the files to synchronize from the Shadow Files list in the Manual File Synchronization section of the tab and click the appropriate button to move the files to the Sync to Server list. See the options below.
    1. To select all files for synchronization, click the Add All >> button to move all files from the Shadow Files list to the Sync To Server list.
    2. To select multiple files grouped together, SHIFT + click the first and last files in the group. Click the Add > button to move the selected files to the Sync to Server list.
    3. To select multiple files that are not grouped together, CTRL + click each of the desired files. Click the Add > button to move the selected files to the Sync to Server list.
    Note
    • To remove all the files from the Sync To Server list, click the << Remove All button.
    • To select specific files to remove from the Sync To Server list, use the same selection methods as above and click the < Remove button.
  3. Click the Synchronize Now button to start the synchronization. The TASKE Administrator dialog box opens when the synchronization is complete. Click OK to acknowledge that the synchronization is complete and close the dialog box.
Automatically Synchronizing Shadow Files

Use the following steps to automatically synchronize Shadow files with those files on the remote file server. These steps assume the Shadow drive is already enabled.

  1. Select the Synchronize Shadow Files tab in the lower panel of the Maintenance tool.
  2. Enable the Enable check box in the Automatic File Synchronization section of the tab.
  3. Click the Edit Schedule... button to open the Schedule Auto Archive / Delete / Sync dialog box.
    Note

    If the schedule has already been defined in the Archive Files tab or the Automatically Delete Files tab, the schedule does not have to be altered. All of these tasks must be performed at the same time and share the same schedule. If this is the case, do not click the Edit Schedule... button and continue to step 13.
  4. Select a time from the Run File Maintenance at drop-down list. This sets the time for all scheduled activities for the files (archiving, deleting, synchronizing shadow files).
  5. Enable the check boxes for the days of the week to perform the automatic archiving, deleting, and synchronization of the shadow files.
  6. Click the Set Password... button to open the Set Password dialog box. This is where the log-in information is defined for the computer to log itself into the network at the time to perform the scheduled activities.
  7. Verify the network ID for the computer in the Account field.
  8. Input the network password for the computer in the password field.
  9. Re-enter the network password for the computer in the Confirm Password field.
  10. Click OK to confirm the network log-in information and close the Set Password dialog box.
  11. Click OK in the Schedule Auto Archive / Delete / Sync dialog box to confirm all changes and close the dialog box.
  12. Click either the Logs or Alarms button on the Main Control Panel to open the TASKE Administrator dialog box. This dialog box prompts users to save the new archive settings.
  13. Click OK to save the schedule for synchronizing Shadow files.