The File Metadata page allows you to specify whether you wish to replicate file security metadata and the types of metadata for synchronization. Additionally, it provides the ability to designate the metadata source (volume/share/export/folder) to resolve conflicts during the initial synchronization. This designated source, utilized in case of conflicts, is referred to as the master host. This page also provides some additional options not available when creating the job. See File Metadata Synchronization in Advanced Topics for more information about file metadata replication.
To modify file metadata synchronization settings:
1.Select when you want the metadata synchronized (you can select one or both options):
•Enable synchronizing NTFS security descriptors (ACLs) in real-time - Select this option if you want the metadata replicated in real-time. If enabled, changes to the selected security descriptor components (Owner, DACL, and SACL) will be transferred to the target host file(s) as they occur.
•Enable synchronizing NTFS security descriptors (ACLs) with master host during initial scan - Select this option if you want the metadata replicated during the initial scan. If enabled, changes to the selected security descriptor components (Owner, DACL, and SACL) will be synchronized during the initial scan.
2.Click OK in the message that appears after selecting a metadata option.
3.If you selected either of the first two options in the Synchronize Security Descriptor (ACLs) section, select the security descriptor components (Owner, DACL, and SACL) to be synchronized.
4.If you selected the option for metadata synchronization during the initial scan (second option in the Synchronize Security Descriptor (ACLs) section, select the host to be used as the master host in case of file metadata conflict.
If a master host is not selected, then no metadata synchronization will be performed during the initial scan. If one or more security descriptors do not match across participants during the initial scan, conflict resolution will use permissions from the designated master host as the winner. If the file does not exist on the designated master host, a winner will be randomly picked from the other participants.
5.(Optional) Select the Enable enhanced metadata conflict resolution checkbox.
This option is only available when both of the first two options in the Synchronize Security Descriptor (ACLs) section are enabled, and Owner is selected under Synchronize Security Descriptor Options.
If you select Enable enhanced metadata conflict resolution, this will prevent the Peer Agent service account from being assigned as the owner of that file or folder when a metadata conflict occurs, and a file or folder is written to a target. If the Peer Agent service account were to be assigned as the owner, the user may not have permission to access the file or folder.
Note: The Peer Agent service account cannot be a local or system administrator. As described in Peer Global File Service - Environmental Requirements, the Peer agent service account should be an actual user.
6.(Optional) Enter values for one or both file reparse point data synchronization options:
•Reparse Tag Name - Enter a single numerical value. Must be either blank (if blank, reparse synchronization will be disabled) or greater than or equal to 0. The default for Symantec Enterprise Vault is 16. A value of 0 enables reparse point synchronization for all reparse file types. If you are unsure as to what value to use, then contact Peer Software technical support, or you can use a value of 0 if you are sure that you are only utilizing one vendor's reparse point functionality.
•Reparse Master Host - Select a master host. If a master host is selected, then when the last modified times and file sizes match on all hosts, but the file reparse attribute differs (e.g., archived/offline versus unarchived on file server), then the file reparse data will be synchronized to match the file located on the master host. For Enterprise Vault, this should be the server where you run the archiving task on. If the value is left blank, then no reparse data synchronization will be performed, and the files will be left in their current state.
Note: Use this option only if you are utilizing archiving or hierarchical storage solutions that make use of NTFS file reparse points to access data in a remote location, such as Symantec's Enterprise Vault. Enabling this option allows synchronization of a file's reparse data, and not the actual offline content, to target hosts, and prevents the offline file from being recalled from the remote storage device.
7.(Optional) Select the Enable transfer of file Alternate Data Stream (ADS) checkbox.
If enabled, Alternate Data Streams (ADS) of updated files will be transferred to the corresponding files on target participants as a post process of the normal file synchronization.
Known limitation: ADS information is transferred only when a modification on the actual file itself is detected. ADS will not be compared between participants. The updated file’s ADS will be applied to the corresponding files on target participants.
8.Click OK to close the Edit wizard or select another configuration item to modify.