New Functions for Point Softare and Systems Archiver

PoINT Software & Systems GmbH has developed new functions for PoINT Archiver, which offer users more independency in the utilization of storage technologies. PoINT Archiver enables an automated network-wide archiving of files and supports nearly all well-established mass storage technologies like hard disk, tape and optical. The existing storage media can be replaced easily by other storage media. Even existing systems of hard- and middleware can be smoothly integrated by PoINT Archiver and so users can easily migrate to new technologies.

Obsolete technologies, economic insecurity of the manufacturer or insufficient storage capacity are typical reasons for displacing the existing storage hardware. Companies which are able to perform this migration with low effort have an advantage over others.

PoINT Archiver can be seen as the opportunity for all those users, which have been overtaken by their hardware manufacturer’ break off and are now faced with an uncertain support situation. If the storage device is already administrated by PoINT Archiver, the device can be replaced without any down time of the system. Thanks to the new functions of PoINT Archiver a quick change to sustainable solutions is possible even if the hardware is operated by other software. Therefore the operation must be interrupted for a short term only. PoINT Archiver supports nearly all known storage technologies (hard disk, tape, optical) and is able to archive files simultaneously on different systems.

By this heterogeneous approach companies are able to respond very fast to changes within the technology landscape and, for instance, they can smoothly convert UDO archives into standardized Blu-ray Disc storage devices or hard disk systems like NetApp. Big archives can be deployed company-wide by using PoINT Archiver. Especially by using optical media respectively removable media this has a positive influence on the energy balance (kWh/GB).

The user can define via configurable filters and rules (‘Policies’) which data have to be archived, removed or even deleted and when the operation has to be executed. By means of the new TAFS Clients it is possible to replace the archived data on a Windows server within the network by a link into the archive. Thus a saving in storage capacity of expensive primary hard disk can be achieved. Consequently the hard disks would have been extended more rarely and additionally the back up and restore times of the discharged systems would have been reduced.

By means of a digital fingerprint PoINT Archiver checks if storage media or files had been manipulated. This digital fingerprint, which gives information about the data integrity, is stored in an encrypted way at each data medium and additionally at the data base. Thus deleted or manipulated documents can be identified. The optional encrypting mechanism protects the archived data against unauthorized access. By using a combination of a system key and various archive keys the unauthorized access to all files stored on a medium outside of the PoINT Archiver installation is ensured. This combines the advantages of removable media with the security features of closed systems.