Storage Locations in Axon Commander are represented by UNC (Universal Naming Convention) paths to locations on the network where files are physically stored that can be managed by Axon Commander. This article provides information on adding, editing, and changing priority for storage locations.
The number of Storage Locations that Axon Commander can manage is unlimited, but does depend on your license. This is a powerful tool for distributed storage of your files. Axon Commander incorporates Storage Locations into the Association Matrix as physical locations of the files grouped into logical folders. Axon Commander automatically manages when to delete Files from these Storage Locations based on retention times set on the corresponding folders.
You can add a new location and switch folders to that location and Axon Commander will move all the data from the old location to the new location, providing managed and checked data migration from one location on the network to another.
Axon Commander creates two Storage Locations by default during installation:
- Default Storage Location: The UNC Path for this location is
“\\[Commander Server]\videos\Archive\” - Offline Storage Location: The UNC Path for this location is
“\\[Commander Server]\videos\Offline\”
The Default Storage Location is set up to store the initial Commander archive. The Offline Storage Location is the path to send files not recognized by Commander, which includes files with a file extension not listed in the File Extension list and files that have issues with their metadata.
Adding a Storage Location
- Click Locations in the Administration navigation pane.
A list of existing locations is shown. - Click Add at the bottom right of the window. The Storage Location Properties window is shown.
- Type a Name for the Storage Location.
- Click Add new. The Add storage zone dialog box is shown.
- Type a Path or Browse to a network location.
- Enter the Minimum free space for the location.
This is the minimum free space to leave on the storage location. Axon Commander stops using the Storage Location if the remaining space on the location is equal to or less than the Minimum Fee Space setting. - Click Save to save the location. The path is added to the path list.
- Repeat steps 4 through 7 until all paths for the Storage Location have been added.
Note: Normally a Storage Location only has a single path. However, in Axon Commander a Storage Location can be a pool of paths that Axon Commander can use to store files in order of preference. This allows Axon Commander a bit of elasticity for storage. Administrators can add additional path to a Storage Location instead of creating a new one. This is great when you run out of space in one path or number of paths, but don’t necessarily want to add hardware to expand those paths. In this case, you can find more space on your network and add that path to the list.
- If you have multiple paths, set the priority by selecting a path in the list and clicking the up or down arrow as needed.
Axon Commander always writes to the path at the top of the list first, before writing to subsequent paths on the list. - Click Apply to save the Storage Location.
Click Close to exit the Storage Location Properties dialog box.
Note: Storage Locations also have priority. Axon Commander writes to Storage Locations with higher priority before others. The highest priority Storage Location is the one at the top of the list.
Editing a Storage Location
After Storage Locations are added, they can be edited and managed by the Axon Commander Administration application.
- Click Locations in the Administration navigation pane.
The list of Storage Locations is shown. - Find and select the Storage Location you want to edit.
You can use the Filter field at the bottom of the window to narrow the list of destinations shown in the list. You can enter Name information into the filter. - Double-click on the Storage Location row. The Storage Location dialog box for the selected Storage Location opens.
- Edit the path information using the Add, Edit, or Remove options.
- Click Apply to save the changes.
- Click Close to exit the Storage Location dialog box.
Changing Storage Location Priority
Storage Locations have a priority. Axon Commander writes to Storage Location with a higher priority before writing to others. The highest priority Storage Location is the one at the top of the Locations list.
- Click Locations in the Administration navigation pane.
The list of Storage Locations is shown. - Find and select the Storage Location you want to change.
You can use the Filter field at the bottom of the window to narrow the list of Storage Locations shown in the list. You can enter Name information into the filter. - Use the Up and Down buttons at the bottom of the Storage Locations list to change the priority position of the Storage Location.