DiskBoss Overview

7/28/2019 DiskBoss Overview

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DiskBoss Major Features Flexense Ltd.

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Major Features

Version 3.5

Apr 2013

Flexense Ltd.

[email protected]

DiskBossFile & Disk Manager


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Product Overview

DiskBoss is an automated, rule-based file and disk management solution allowing one tosearch and classify files, perform disk space utilization analysis, detect and remove duplicatefiles, organize files according to user-defined rules and policies, copy large amounts of files ina fault-tolerant way, synchronize disks and directories, cleanup wasted disk space, etc.

All file management operations are integrated in a centralized and easy-to-use GUI applicationwith a built-in file navigator allowing one to execute any required operation in a single mouseclick. Frequently used file management operations may be pre-configured as user-definedcommands and executed using the GUI application or direct desktop shortcuts.

DiskBoss is a highly extendable and customizable data management solution allowing one to

design custom file classification plugins and purpose-built file management operations usingan open and easy-to-use XML-Based format. Custom disk space analysis and file managementoperations may be integrated into the product, executed periodically at specific time intervals,performed as conditional actions in other operations or automatically triggered by one or morechanges in a disk or directory.

In addition, IT administrators are provided with extensive database integration capabilitiesallowing one to submit disk space analysis, file classification, duplicate files detection and filesearch reports into an SQL database. Reports from multiple servers and desktop computersmay be submitted to a centralized SQL database allowing one to display charts showing theused disk space, file categories and duplicate files per user or per host and providing an in-depth visibility into how disk space is used, what types of files are stored and how much spaceis wasted on duplicate files across the entire enterprise.

Finally, IT professionals and enterprises are provided with DiskBoss Server a server-basedproduct version, which runs in the background as a service and is capable of executing all diskspace analysis and file management operations in a fully automatic and unattended mode.DiskBoss Server can be managed and configured locally or through the network using a freenetwork client GUI application or the DiskBoss command line utility, which provides the userwith the ability to integrate DiskBoss features and capabilities into other products andsolutions.


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Disk Space Utilization Analysis

DiskBoss provides advanced disk space utilization analysis capabilities allowing one to analyzeone or more local disks, network shares or NAS storage devices and easily identify directoriesand files holding significant amounts of the disk space.

The user is provided with the ability to browse files and directories sorted by the used diskspace, filter analysis results by the file extension, category, file size, last access time, username, etc. and easily identify disk space usage hotspots. In addition, DiskBoss allows one toperform file management operations on analysis results, generate various types of disk space

analysis charts and export reports into a number of standard formats such as HTML, Excel CSVand ASCII text.

Finally, power computer users and IT professionals are provided with extensive SQL databaseintegration capabilities and the ability to define one or more conditional actions or notificationsto be executed when the specified conditions are met for one or more disks or directories.


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File Classification

DiskBoss is capable of scanning disks, network shares and NAS storage devices and classifyingfiles into a categorized file hierarchy. DiskBoss automatically recognizes more than 2500 filetypes and allows one to browse the categorized file hierarchy, perform various filemanagement operations on specific files or file categories and physically reorganize files

according to user-defined rules and policies.

The user is provided with the ability to apply second-level file categories and filters to fileclassification results allowing one to precisely focus on specific files or file groups. In addition,DiskBoss allows one to generate various types of charts and export file classification results

into a number of standard formats such as HTML, text and Excel CSV.

DiskBoss provides a number of file classification plugins allowing one to classify files by thecategory, extension, user name, file size, last access, modification and creation times, etc. Inaddition, power computer users and IT professionals are provided with the ability to designcustom file classification plugins using an open and easy-to-use XML-based format. Finally,

DiskBoss provides the ability to submit file classification reports from multiple servers anddesktop computers to a centralized SQL database allowing one to store a long term history offile classification reports and gain an in-depth visibility into disk space usage trends.


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Duplicate Files Finder

DiskBoss built-in duplicate files finder provides a large number of advanced features andcapabilities allowing one to identify and cleanup duplicate files on personal computers andenterprise storage systems. The duplicate files finder shows detected duplicates and allowsone to delete duplicate files, replace duplicate files with links to originals or delete duplicates.

The user is provided with the ability to categorize and filter detected duplicate files by the file

extension, category, file size, user name, last access time, etc. Moreover, DiskBoss allows oneto generate various types of charts and export duplicates to HTML, text and CSV reports.

Power users and IT professionals are provided with policy-based duplicate files detection and

removal capabilities allowing one to define custom duplicate files detection and cleanupcommands and execute them in a fully automatic mode using the DiskBoss GUI application orthe command line utility. Finally, corporations and enterprises are provided with the ability to

submit reports from multiple servers and desktop computers to a centralized SQL databaseallowing one to analyze the disk space wasted on duplicate files across the entire enterprise.


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Rule-Based File Organizing

DiskBoss provides a rich and powerful set of automated, rule-based file managementcapabilities allowing one to copy, move, delete, compress, link, etc. files or file categoriesmatching user-specified rules and policies based on the file name, extension, location,category, last access date, modification date, creation date, binary and text patterns, file size,

attributes, JPEG EXIF tags, etc.

The user is provided with the ability to define one or more file management actions to beexecuted and specify file matching rules defining files or file categories the actions should beapplied to. During runtime, DiskBoss will scan input disks and directories, apply file matchingrules and execute the specified file management actions on matching files.

In order to ensure proper operation of file organizing actions, DiskBoss provides easy-to-usepreview capabilities allowing one to review and manually confirm each specific file

management action. Once tested and validated in the preview mode, file organizing operationsmay be configured to run in a fully-automatic and unattended mode, executed periodically at

specific time intervals, triggered by changes in a disk or directory or executed from a shellscript or a batch file using the DiskBoss command line utility.


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Rule-Based File Search

DiskBoss provides powerful and flexible file search capabilities allowing one to search filesusing multiple search criteria including the file name, file extension, file type, file size, lastaccess, modification and creation times, text or binary patterns, JPEG EXIF tags, etc. The useris provided with the ability to define composite search queries using multiple search rules and

apply the AND/OR logical operators.

One of the most powerful capabilities of DiskBoss is the integration of the rule-based searchfeatures in almost all types of analysis and file management operations. For example, diskspace analysis, duplicate files detection, file classification, file copy and file delete operations

may be performed on files matching one or more user-specified rules and policies.

Users are provided with the ability to display search results, save HTML, text and Excel CSVreports and perform file management operations on search results. In addition, DiskBossallows one to send e-mail notifications and/or execute custom actions when a search operationreaches a user-specified number of search results. Finally, corporations and enterprises are

provided with advanced database integration capabilities allowing one to submit search reportsinto a centralized SQL database.


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High-Speed File Synchronization

DiskBoss provides advanced file synchronization capabilities allowing one to synchronize filesbetween directories, local disks and network shares. The DiskBoss built-in file synchronizationengine offers numerous one-way and two-way file synchronization modes, the ability to syncspecific file types, file compression capabilities and advanced performance tuning options.

Frequently used file synchronization operations may be pre-configured for custom hardwareand storage configurations, saved as user-defined commands and executed in a single mouseclick. Moreover, DiskBoss allows one to create direct desktop shortcuts for user-defined file

synchronization commands and execute them directly from the Windows desktop withoutstarting the main DiskBoss GUI application. Finally, power computer users and IT professionalsare provided with a command line utility, which is capable of executing file synchronizationcommands from shell scripts and batch files.

By default, file synchronization commands are executed in the preview mode, which providesthe user with the ability to review and manually confirm each specific file synchronizationaction. Once a sync command is tested and verified, the user can configure the command torun in a fully automatic, unattended stream file synchronization mode. The stream filesynchronization mode performs all file synchronization actions on-the-fly, without showing thepreview dialog and therefore it is much faster and uses significantly less system memory when

executed on large file systems.


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Fault-Tolerant File Copy and Data Migration

DiskBoss provides a large number of advanced fault-tolerant file copy and rule-based datamigration capabilities allowing one to copy vast amounts of files fast, efficiently and reliably.DiskBoss allows one to copy files including access control lists (ACLs), security attributes,ownership information, timestamps and file attributes.

The user is provided with a large number of flexible copy performance tuning options and faulttolerance capabilities allowing one to copy data at various speeds, recover failed copy

operations and minimize the potential impact on running production systems. The datamigration engine is especially optimized for modern hardware platforms and is capable ofeffectively utilizing powerful RAID controllers, multi-CPU/multi-core servers and GigabitEthernet networks.

One of the most powerful capabilities of the DiskBoss file copy engine is the integration withrule-based search features, which is allowing one to copy or move files matching one or moreuser-defined rules. For example, the user is provided with the ability to copy a category offiles with the file size larger that a specific value that were modified during a specific timeperiod or any other combination of rules specifying files that should be copied.

Moreover, DiskBoss provides the user with the ability to perform file copy operationsperiodically at specific time intervals or trigger pre-defined file copy commands when a user-specified number of changes are detected in a disk or directory making it possible to easilyimplement real-time file backup solutions. Finally, power computer users and IT professionalsare provided with a command line utility capable of executing user-defined file copycommands from shell scripts and batch files enabling integration of DiskBoss file copy anddata migration capabilities with other products and solutions.


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Real-Time Disk Change Monitor

DiskBoss Ultimate includes a built-in disk change monitor capable of detecting file creations,modifications, attribute changes and deletions in real-time. The real-time disk monitorprovides the user with the ability to monitor one or more disks, directories or network shares,detect all changes made in the monitored file systems and optionally export reports, send

notifications and/or execute custom actions.

The disk change monitor allows one to send e-mail notifications, save reports and/or executecustom commands or DiskBoss user-defined commands when a disk change monitoringcommand reaches a user-specified number of changes. The ability to execute DiskBoss user-defined commands as actions in the disk change monitor enables highly powerful and flexible

integrations between different types of file management operations. For example, a user-defined file synchronization command automatically triggered after each X changes in a disk ordirectory provides real-time file synchronization capabilities.

The DiskBoss disk change monitor provides second-level file categories and filters allowing oneto filter detected file system changes by the file extension, file type, change type, file owner,file size, etc. Finally, power computer users and IT professionals are provided with the abilityto submit disk change monitoring reports into a centralized SQL database.


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File Integrity Monitor

DiskBoss Ultimate and DiskBoss Server provide a built-in file integrity monitor allowing one tosave digital signatures of critical system files and then periodically monitor the integrity ofcritical system files, detect unauthorized changes, export HTML, text, Excel CSV or XMLreports and send E-Mail notifications.

The user is provided with the ability to specify one or more disks or directories to bemonitored, select which types of files should be monitored, types of changes that should bedetected and optionally save reports, send E-Mail notifications or execute custom commandswhen a user-specified number of changes is detected.

In addition to the file integrity monitoring capabilities available in the DiskBoss GUIapplication, DiskBoss provides a command line utility allowing one to verify the integrity ofcritical system files, save reports and send E-Mail notifications from shell scripts and batchfiles. Finally, DiskBoss Server, which runs in the background as a service, allows one to

continuously monitor the integrity of system files in critical servers and NAS storage system.


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Periodic Jobs

DiskBoss provides the ability to execute disk space analysis and file management operationsperiodically at specific time intervals, weekly or monthly schedules, etc. The user is providedwith the ability to define an unlimited number of periodic jobs with each one configured toexecute one or more disk space analysis or file management commands.

Each periodic job can be started by multiple hourly, daily, weekly and/or monthly triggers withdifferent schedules for each trigger allowing one to execute disk space analysis and file

management operations at different times depending on the week day, month day, etc. Inaddition, the user is provided with the ability to execute multiple disk space analysis and/orfile management operations in each periodic job.

By default, DiskBoss executes multiple commands specified in a periodic job sequentially oneafter one. In some situations, when processing or analyzing files located on multiple physicaldisks or multiple severs or NAS storage devices, it may be more effective to execute multiple

disk space analysis or file management operations in parallel.


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Built-In Disk SMART Viewer

DiskBoss provides a built-in disk SMART viewer allowing one to view the health status ofphysical hard disks installed in the computer. In order to open the disk SMART viewer, pressthe SMART button located on the main toolbar. The disk SMART viewer shows the disk modelname, the firmware version, the disk serial number and the list of supported SMART attributes

for the currently selected physical disk.

If multiple physical disks are installed in the computer, use the disk selector combo box,located on the bottom side of the SMART viewer, to change the currently displayed disk. If one

or more critical SMART attributes are out of valid ranges, the attributes will be marked withyellow (warning) icons or red (error) icons depending on the status and meaning of eachspecific SMART attribute.

In order to save the disk SMART information to a report file, press the Save button andspecify a report file name. In order to open a previously saved disk SMART report, press theLoad button and select the report file to load.


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Built-In HEX Editor

DiskBoss includes a built-in HEX editor allowing one to view files and edit file data in the HEXand text modes. The HEX editor provides the ability to view and edit huge files while using avery small amount of system memory thus allowing one to work with large DVD image filesand virtual machine disk image files sometimes reaching tens and hundreds of Gigabytes per

file. When a file larger than 4 Gigabytes is opened, the HEX editor switches to the 64-Bitposition display mode.

The DiskBoss HEX editor provides the ability to browse a file using navigation buttons locatedon the right side of the window, jump to a specific position in the file, search for binary or text

patterns in the file and edit data in the binary or text modes.

In order to search for a binary pattern, press the Search button, enter the pattern as a seriesof bytes with each byte represented by two HEX characters. By default, the HEX editor willstart searching from the current file position to the end of the file. If required, change thestart/stop file positions on the search dialog. In order to search for a text string, change thesearch mode to Text and enter a text string to search.

In order to change one or more data bytes in the file, select the data bytes in the HEX displayand press the Edit button. In order to edit a text string, select the text string in the textdisplay and press the Edit button.


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User-Defined Commands

DiskBoss is a powerful and flexible product providing a large number of features, capabilitiesand configuration options allowing one to perform many types of different disk space analysisand file management operations. In order to simplify management and execution of frequentlyused operations, DiskBoss provides the user with the ability to add user-defined disk space

analysis and file management commands pre-configured for user-specific hardware andstorage configurations.

All types of disk analysis and file management operations such as disk space analysis, fileclassification, duplicate files detection, file organizing, file search, file synchronization, copy,move, delete and disk change monitoring may be saved as user-defined commands, pre-configured for user-specific needs and custom hardware configurations and executed in asingle click using the main GUI application or the DiskBoss command line utility.

The user is provided with the ability to create direct desktop shortcuts for user-defined filemanagement commands and execute any command directly from the Windows desktopwithout starting the DiskBoss main GUI application.

Moreover, DiskBoss allows one to design user-defined disk analysis and file managementcommands using an open and easy-to-use XML-Based format, which may be imported into theDiskBoss GUI application or executed by the command line utility. Pre-configured and tested

disk analysis and file management commands may be easily and safely executed on multipleservers and desktop computers minimizing risks or potential operator-related errors.

One of the most powerful capabilities of DiskBoss is the integration of different types of user-defined disk space analysis and file management commands, which provides the user with theability to combine multiple operations in order to fully automate frequently performed andtime consuming operations. For example, a disk space analysis operation configured to detect

large amounts of old, unused files may automatically trigger a rule-based file managementoperation, which will archive, move or delete these specific files.


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SQL Database Integration

DiskBoss Ultimate and DiskBoss Server provide the ability to submit disk space analysis, fileclassification, duplicate files, disk change monitoring and file search results into a centralizedSQL database through the ODBC interface.

In order to connect DiskBoss to an SQL database, open the options dialog, select the'Database' tab and specify an ODBC data source, user name and password. Once finishedspecifying the required information, press the 'Verify' button to check the databaseconnection.

Disk space analysis, file classification, duplicate files detection, disk change monitoring and file

search results may be saved into an SQL database in a very similar way. Just press the 'Save'button on the results dialog and select the 'SQL Database' report format.


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Advanced Disk Space Analysis Capabilities

IT and storage administrators are provided with the ability to submit disk space analysis, fileclassification and duplicate files reports from multiple servers and desktop computers to acentralized SQL database, display charts showing the used disk space, file categories andduplicate files per user or per host and gain an in-depth visibility into what types of files are

consuming the most of the disk space, who owns these files, where these files are located,how much disk space is wasted on duplicates, etc. across the entire enterprise.

The users analysis dialog provides the ability to display the used disk space, file categoriesand duplicate files per user. The dialog allows one to select types of operations, file categories

and file system locations to analyze, customize users display names, edit the charts title andfooter and finally copy the chart image to the clipboard allowing one to easily integrateDiskBoss charts into user-custom reports and presentations.

The hosts analysis dialog allows one to display charts showing the disk space usage, file

categories and duplicate files per host. The user is provided with the ability to select types ofdisk analysis operations, file categories and file system locations to analyze, customize hostsdisplay names, edit charts title and footer and finally copy the chart image to the clipboard.


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Disk Space Usage History Charts

DiskBoss Ultimate and DiskBoss Server provide the user with the ability to display historycharts showing how the total disk space usage, a user-selected file category or the number ofduplicate files are changing over time in one or more servers or desktop computers.

In order to display a history chart, save a series of reports to an SQL database, open the SQL

reports dialog and press the 'History' button. A series of reports may be exported to an SQLdatabase manually using the DiskBoss GUI application or automatically using the DiskBossServer or the command line utility.

diskboss -analyze -dir -save_to_database

The DiskBoss command line utility allows one to analyze, classify and categorize files in one ormore disks or directories and save a report to an SQL database. In order to generate reportsfor multiple servers or desktop computers through the network, the user needs to specify oneor more network shares that should be processed using the UNC notation and set an

appropriate host name for each report saved to the database.

diskboss -analyze -dir \\server\share -host -save_to_database

Finally, DiskBoss Server may to configured to periodically analyze disk space utilization,classify files or detect duplicate files in one or more servers or desktop computers, savereports to a centralized SQL database and generate history charts showing how the used diskspace and the number of fi les in a user-selected file category are changing over time.

The history charts dialog displays the list of available charts, the list of host computers wherethe charts were generated on and extended statistical information for each chart. The user is

provided with the ability to filter charts by the host name, location, report label, etc. allowingone to select an appropriate history chart. In addition, the charts dialog allows one to change

the chart's title and footer, export the chart's image to the clipboard making it very easy tointegrate DiskBoss history charts in user's custom reports and presentations.


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Analyzing Disk Space Usage Per Directory

DiskBoss Ultimate and Disk Boss Server allow one to save disk space usage reports frommultiple servers, desktop and/or laptop computers to a central SQL database and then analyzedisk space usage per directory across the entire enterprise.

In order to perform the directories analysis, analyze disk space usage in one or more servers

and/or NAS storage devices, submit all disk space analysis reports to an SQL database, open

the SQL database dialog, press the 'Analyze' button and select the 'Directories' menu item.

The directories analysis dialog displays a list of top X directories sorted by the used disk spaceand shows the host name, user name, the used disk space and the number of files for eachdirectory allowing one to easily see who is using most of the disk space and where these files

are located on the network.


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Analyzing Files in Servers and NAS Storage Devices

DiskBoss allows one to analyze disk space, classify files, detect duplicate files and search filesin all network shares of one or more servers or NAS storage devices. In order to analyze oneor more servers, open an analysis operation dialog, press the 'Add' button located on the rightside of the list of analysis locations, select the 'Servers or NAS Devices' mode and enter one or

more host names or IP addresses separated by the semicolon (;) character.

DiskBoss will scan the network and show a list of network shares detected in the specified

servers and NAS storage devices allowing one to select one or more network shares thatshould be processed. In order to be able to use this feature, the user needs to havepermissions to access network shares.

The network shares scanning operation may be performed multiple times for different serversand NAS storage devices and an unlimited number of network shares from different serversmay be added to the analysis operation. During runtime, DiskBoss will process all the specifiednetwork shares in parallel using all CPUs and/or CPU-cores available in the host computer

DiskBoss is running on.


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Analyzing Files in All Servers on the Network

Another option is to analyze, classify and or search files in all servers and/or NAS storagedevices available on the network. In order to analyze all servers on the network, open ananalysis operation dialog, press the 'Add' button located on the right side of the list of analysislocations, select the 'All Servers on the Network' mode and press the 'Ok' button.

DiskBoss will scan the network and show a list of servers and NAS storage devices detected onthe network. Select one or more servers or NAS storage devices to analyze in and press the

'Ok' button.

DiskBoss will scan the selected servers and show a list of network shares detected in theservers and NAS storage devices allowing one to select one or more network shares thatshould be processed. During runtime, DiskBoss will process the selected network shares inparallel using all CPUs available in the host computer DiskBoss is running on. In order to beable to use this feature, the user needs to have permissions to access network shares.


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DiskBoss Server

DiskBoss Server is a server-based product version, which runs in the background as a serviceand is capable of executing all types of disk space analysis and file management operations ina fully automatic and unattended mode. DiskBoss Server may be managed and configuredlocally or through the network using a freeware network client GUI application, the DiskBoss

command line utility or the DiskBoss Server API, which may be used to integrate DiskBoss'disk analysis and file management capabilities into other products and solutions.

Command Line ToolsDiskBoss provides a command line utility, which is capable of executing DiskBoss user-defineddisk analysis and file management commands from shell scripts and batch files. In addition, alltypes of disk analysis and file management commands may be designed using an open, easy-to-use XML-based format and executed by the DiskBoss command line utility.

The XML format provides full control over all types of disk analysis and file managementoperations and covers all available parameters from input disks and directories to automatic

reports generation capabilities and performance tuning options. In conjunction with the XML-Based format, the DiskBoss command line utility may be used to integrate DiskBoss diskusage analysis and file management capabilities into other products and solutions.


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DiskBoss Server SDK and Programming API

DiskBoss Server provides a software development kit (SDK) and a C/C++ programming APIlibrary allowing one to control a single DiskBoss Server on the same host where the clientapplication is running on or multiple DiskBoss servers running on a number of hosts connectedto the same local network.

In a single-host setup, the DiskBoss API library connects locally to the DiskBoss server, which

runs in the background as a service. The DiskBoss API library provides the user with the abilityto configure the server, setup user-defined file management commands, control file

management operations and save results to file reports or an SQL database.

In a multi-host configuration, the DiskBoss API library connects to one or more DiskBossServers through the network allowing one to configure, manage and control multiple DiskBoss

servers using a single client application. For more information about the DiskBoss Serversoftware development kit (SDK) and programming API refer to:

http://www.diskboss.com/diskboss_server_api.pdf


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Product Versions

Feature Express Pro Ultimate Server

Maximum Number of Files 500K 5M 50M 500M

Maximum Storage Capacity 2 TB 20 TB 200 TB 2000 TB

Maximum Predefined Commands 3 10 100 1000

Maximum Number of Parallel Tasks 3 10 100 1000

Disk Space Analysis Operations Yes Yes Yes Yes

File Classification Operations Yes Yes Yes Yes

Duplicate Files Finder Yes Yes Yes Yes

Support for Unicode File Names Yes Yes Yes Yes

Support for Long File Names No Yes Yes Yes

Advanced Data Migration Features No Yes Yes Yes

Copy ACLs and Security Attributes No Yes Yes Yes

Recoverable Copy Operations No Yes Yes Yes

Advanced Classification Plugins No Yes Yes Yes

Dynamic Speed Control No Yes Yes Yes

Periodic File Management Jobs No Yes Yes Yes

File Integrity Monitor No No Yes Yes

Real-Time Disk Change Monitor No No Yes Yes

Continuous Data Protection Capabilities No No Yes Yes

Advanced Storage Utilization Analysis No No Yes Yes

Advanced Duplicate Files Detection No No Yes Yes

Rule-Based File Copy and Data Migration No No Yes Yes

Command Line Tools No No Yes Yes

SQL Database Integration No No Yes Yes

Disk Space Usage History Charts No No Yes Yes

Runs in the Background as a Service No No No Yes

Manageable Through the Network No No No Yes

Free Network Client GUI Application No No No Yes

Programming API and SDK No No No Yes

License Freeware$50Free Trial

$125Free Trial

$250Free Trial

* Product features, prices and license terms are subject to change without notice.

** A product license allows one to use the product on a single physical or virtual hostcomputer, includes all product updates released during 36 months from the purchase dateand provides E-Mail-based customer support.

DiskBoss Overview

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