• FAQ: Archiving Old Files From A Web Server
• FAQ: Choosing The Best File Archiving Software
• FAQ: Open Source Vs Free, Which Is Best?
• FAQ: A Free Archiving Solutions For Your File Server
• FAQ: Archiving Software Or Archiving Solutions?
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ArchiverFS - File Archiving Solution For Servers & Network Storage

The file server archiving solution that automatically moves old files from network file systems to NAS, SAN, or Cloud based archive storage.

• Automatically move old and stale files on mass from your primary storage tier to archive storage

• Leave symbolic links behind in place of archived files so users retain instant seamless access to archived content

• Use any device that supports SMB & NTFS\REFS as archive storage

• No proprietary storage mechanisms or tie-ins, 100% NTFS\REFS

• No client software to install, we only use functionality that is already in the Windows kernel

• The directory structure and permissions of the live system are maintained

• The lowest TCO of any file system archiving product

Featuring full support for cloud, DFS, replication, de-duplication, and compression ArchiverFS lets you use any NAS, SAN or cloud platform as storage for your old unstructured files
If you can share it to the network with a UNC path and format it with NTFS (or REFS) then you can move your old files to it

Unlike other file archiving software (see the How it Works page for an overview) ArchiverFS doesn't use a database to store files, pointers to files or file meta data
We use pure NTFS (or REFS) from start to finish
It is this approach that gives ArchiverFS it's tiny footprint on the host system
First released in 2002 ArchiverFS is now in use with a huge range of organisations worldwide, many of which are household names

When ArchiverFS moves an old file to archive storage the files associated directory structure is also persisted complete with all permissions, attributes and timestamps
As part of the file migration process ArchiverFS can leave behind a selection of stubs in place of any old files that have been moved to ensure end users maintain seamless access
The archive storage tier becomes a mirror copy of the live file system but one that contains only the old unused files

When we created our archiving software we didn't want to use a database to store files, file metadata or even the location of archived files
This approach is completely unique amongst archiving solutions for network file storage, SMB shares and Windows file servers
It is this approach which makes ArchiverFS incredibly scalable and hugely cost effective

Several of our customers have multi PetaByte file systems, but you don't need a huge file system to benefit from ArchiverFS
We have licencing options to fit almost every budget and file system
These provide our customers with the most cost effective way to archive old files possible, being able to move massive quantities of files over the network to second tier storage like a NAS or SAN while requiring only a small footprint on the host system
It enables you to move, store and then end of life old unstructured files from your storage system in a cost effective and controlled manner, thereby helping you tackle challenges like GDPR and Data Protection compliance

In addition to our unique approach to file server archiving software, only functionality that is already included natively in the Windows operating system is used
ArchiverFS doesn't require the installation of agents on to your workstations or servers, making deployment a breeze

Hardware agnostic: ArchiverFS lets you automatically archive old files from any UNC path to any UNC path over the network using a range of criteria including age, size and type
The device you use to automatically archive your old files too can be a NAS device, CIFS share, iSCSI volume, a VM or even cloud storage on Amazon AWS, Azure or Google Cloud
As long as the source and target volumes are formatted with NTFS or REFS and are shared to the network with SMB then content can be managed and migrated between them

No Proprietary Storage, it's NTFS from start to finish: At no point does our archiving solution try to store files (or even information about migrated files) in a database or proprietary storage mechanism
This is crucial as it provides massive scalability and makes ArchiverFS so incredibly efficient
The largest file system currently handled by our software so far stands at 3
4 PetaBytes of unstructured data, and this is done using a single Datacenter edition licence installed on a small VM with just 4 vCPUs and 6GB of RAM

'Direct Access' is used to provide users instant access to content: When a user clicks on a link that was left behind in place of an archived file all of the IO goes straight from the users workstation directly to the file
There are no agents or other components in the way meaning that users don't have to sit around waiting for an item to be returned to the live system before they can access it
Any items that need to be returned back to the live system are returned by the daily maintenance job that runs out of hours
All of the information regarding where each file has been archived too is maintained in the file system itself through the use of directory structures and properties

Multiple link types: Several types of stubs are available to choose from which can be left behind in place of files when they are moved, including completely seamless links that behave exactly like the original item
Both folder and file level shortcuts which are more like traditional Windows shortcuts can also be used, and these offer the advantage of increased compatibility and can even be accessed by Apple Macs using an add-in like 'Win Shortcutter'

Unique 3 tier storage structure: Including Live, Archived and Graveyard stages
This unique feature enables ArchiverFS to create a true Hierarchical Storage Management system and move your old content for a fraction of the cost of traditional file archiving products

In addition to the key features above, you also get...

• Installation that is supported on all versions of Windows from 2008 Server on, including Windows Storage Server and Server 2019
• Seamless compatibility with Windows inbuilt compression and de-duplication, Microsoft Search Server, DFS (Distributed File System), SAN based replication and SDS