Copy Files Faster!

FilePilot Copy™ Frequently Asked Questions

General Topics

What is FilePilot Copy™?

FilePilot Copy is a well priced, professional data copy solution designed to provide automated and fast off-line movement of complete file systems. Built around an optimized multi-threaded architecture, FilePilot's data copy engine supports movement of multi-terabyte file systems with minimal impact to network bandwidth. Flexible deployment options allow choice of installation on source, destination, or a third system to support cross-platform migration between systems from different storage manufacturers. Seamless data migration means not just the bits, but everything; FilePilot ensures that all file metadata is moved to the destination. An intuitive management console provides a workflow based interface for rapid configuration, improved status, notification, and reporting.

Is an evaluation version available?

Yes. If you want to test drive FilePilot Copy™, a fully-functional, no-obligation evaluation can be downloaded from the  Download File Copy Software page. There are some restrictions imposed on the evaluation: data transfer is limited to 10 GB and a 14 day evaluation period. We will not ask you for any information when you download the evaluation.

How fast can data be moved from an old to a new system?

Several factors will govern how fast data can be moved from one system to another. These factors include:

•          # of CPUs (or cores) and their speed

•          Memory size

•          HDD bus (IDE, SATA, SCSI)

•          HDD speed (5450, 7200 or 10000)

•          Network speed

•          Network load

•          System utilization

•          Time of day

With optimal conditions available, you should expect at least 25 MB/second transfer rate.

Download

I am using IE browser and didn't see a download file?

This is a symptom of IE closing an window.open immediately. In your browser go to Internet Options - security - trusted sites(or current level) - custom level - Downloads and set 'Automatic prompting for file downloads' to enabled. set 'File Download' to enabled as well.

Installation

What do I need to install FilePilot Copy™?

You will need a designated system, adequate rights to the servers and filer storage in the infrastructure, the software, and a valid license file. A limited license is created as part of the download and setup process automatically for you to try out the product.

What are the hardware and software requirements needed to support FilePilot Copy™?

FilePilot Copy allows for a number of flexible deployment options and can be configured to run on Source, Target, and Intermediate systems that meet the following requirements.

Hardware (suggested PC configuration - FilePilot Copy™ will utilize resources provided):

•          32 or 64 bit system (performance may vary by CPU provided)

•          4 Gb of system memory (performance may vary by memory provided)

•          1 or more Gigabit Ethernet connections

Software:

•          Windows 7, Windows 7 Service Pack 1,

•          Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (Standard and Enterprise),

•          Windows Server 2003 SP2 (Standard and Enterprise), Windows Vista SP1,

•          Windows XP Pro SP3 (XP only supports path lengths with a maximum of 260 characters).

•         .NET 4.0 installed

For Source and Target systems containing the files to be migrated:

Systems:

•          PC system with Operating Systems providing NTFS or CIFS (Windows, Linux + SAMBA)

•          NAS systems with 1 or more Gigabit Ethernet connections

•          EMC, NetApp, any storage manufacturers that support NTFS/CIFS protocol

•          SAN systems through a front-end networked server

Network:

•          LAN connectivity between source and destination systems must be at least 1Gbps for best results.

•          Multiple network connections can be supported if configured to do so.

•          WAN connectivity will utilize bandwidth as provided.

•          CIFS protocol is used with Microsoft file sharing SMB: User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports from 135          through 139 and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ports from 135 through 139. Direct-hosted SMB traffic          without a network basic input/output system (NetBIOS): port 445 (TCP and UDP).

You mention a Source and Target, what are they?

We use the terms source and target to refer to the systems involved in the data movement process. A source is the location that the data will be moved from and the target is the location that the data will be moved to. A folder on the source and another on the target is needed before any data can be moved. The folders can also be shares, even C$ admin shares.

Will installing FilePilot Copy™ change anything on the system?

FilePilot Copy does not make any changes to the registry during the installation or when the program is running. No agents or drivers are installed and the system is not required to be rebooted after installation. The system or systems running the software does require .NET 4.0 to be installed. Active Directory, if one exists, is read but not modified.

What is installed?

FilePilot Copy requires a very small footprint on your systems. After the installation has been completed, the following files are installed: filepilotcopy.exe, a Quick Start Guide, a license file, a configuration XML file, an empty list of servers xml file, and a log file. The total installation package is just over 4 MB in size. The Quick Start Guide contains the detailed installation information.

Does the installation or program send any information from my system or environment?

FilePilot Copy does not send any information about the system or the network in which it is installed. Nothing is sent unless you send it to us. For support purposes, we may request that you forward log files for copy operations to provide FilePilot Software™ support personnel with information to assist with troubleshooting an issue. Any information that is provided to FilePilot Software™ is kept strictly confidential.

How is FilePilot Copy™ licensed?

FilePilot Copy is licensed by a physical site.  FilePilot Copy™ can be installed within an AD or WORKGROUP or both. The license file can be installed in a specific folder on a well-known server in the current domain of the site so that the software can access it on startup. The license file is typically installed on the system that the copier is running on.

How are License Files handled?

FilePilot Copy Limited edition (from download button on web) is bundled with a limited capability license that is automatically generated and installed for you. When purchasing a license either place it in the License folder as described in the Quick Start Guide or place in the same folder as setup.exe to automatically install. The automatic license install will follow these rules:

•          No FilePilotCopy.lic in License folder THEN install a new limited license.

• No FilePilotCopy.lic in License folder AND FilePilotCopy.lic in same folder as setup.exe THEN install new license.

• If FilePilotCopy.lic in License folder AND FilePilotCopy.lic in same folder as setup.exe THEN save previous license and install new license.

• If FilePilotCopy.lic and backup license in License folder AND FilePilotCopy.lic in same folder as setup.exe THEN don't install new license and write instructions to Microsoft event log.

• If FilePilotCopy.lic exists in License folder and NO FilePilotCopy.lic in same folder as setup.exe THEN don't install any license.

How many copies of this software am I permitted to install?

As many as you want! You are free to install as many copies of the copy program on as many systems as you desire. The only requirement is that the systems are at the same site as the server with the license. You can install multiple copies of the software on the same system or different systems and run them simultaneously. There are:

•          No restrictions on amount of data copied.

•          No restrictions on number of installations at one site.

What is the impact of upgrading to a new version?

The new version will overwrite the existing executable and may add additional files, but the upgrade process will not overwrite your existing configuration and log files. The license file does not change.

FilePilot Copy™ Operation

Where can I locate FilePilot Copy™ for copy operations?

The selection of source, target, or intermediate system for installing the program will depend on the characteristics of the systems. The goal is to achieve the fastest movement of data as possible with the least impact to your users and applications. Some tradeoffs are:

•          Which of the systems has spare CPU cycles that won't impact the users?

•          Which system has the most network capacity? This is the most significant factor. The speed of the copy          operation will be dependent on network bandwidth.

•          Which system has the best memory and disk drive performance?

You have three deployment options:

•          Push System - data is pushed from the source to the target

•          Pull System - data is pulled by the target to the source.

•          Intermediate System - data is pulled from the source and pushed to the target.

Of course, since you can install as many copies of the software as you wish at a single site, you can run a combination of the three options or decide on a single model that fits your needs.

What credentials are required?

FilePilot Copy uses the credentials that you used to log-in to the system and either your workgroup or Active Directory. By default FilePilot Copy™ will use these credentials to discover and then run copy operations. The credentials used should have sufficient rights to access all of the files on the systems involved in moving data.

What else do I need to do start to run copy operations?

Start up FilePilot Copy™! FilePilot Copy™ is designed to allow you to start moving data right after installation, without any requirement to resort to manual design or planning of any part of the data movement or migration process. Every aspect of file system design, configuration, verification, and reporting is accessible from within the application. 

What is involved in starting a copy operation?

Several simple steps are all it takes to start moving data from a source to a target.

•          Select the source and target folders.

•          Drag and drop the source from the Environment to the Source window.

•          Drag and drop the target from the Environment to the Target window.

•          Select the configuration parameters required for the copy operation in the Configuration screen.                    (The defaults are set for a simple copy; change as needed for your situation.)

•          Click the Run button to begin the copy operation from the Operation screen. You can also choose to run a          pre-move validation (Dry Run button).

•          Once you have chosen either a copy operation or a pre-move validation (Dry Run), the progress is displayed          and updated in real-time.

•          All events and transactions are logged and written to a log file that is viewable from the Reports screen.

I started an ExpressDiscovery of the servers in my network but want to cancel it. What do I do?

Uncheck the 'Enable ExpressDiscovery' checkbox and click the blue arrows circle next to the checkbox to refresh . This will clear the display.

I don't see my server in the list after a Discovery page refresh. What do I do?

First thing is to see if it's reachable from the system that the FilePilot Copy™ is running on. Use 'ping' to test whether the server is reachable. If ping is not allowed on your network, or as a next step, try to enter the IP address into the add server text box. If this works it's an indication that the system is in a different domain.

I don't see my shares when I expand the view, how do I find them?

Check that you have the correct level of credentials required to access the shares. The credentials used to initially log in to the system are used by FilePilot Copy™ to access the files and shares on both the source and target systems. You will need to shut down FilePilot Copy™ and log back in to the computer (or 'run as') with a set of credentials that will allow you access the network resources.

I don't see any counts on the operation page, but the status says completed?

Check the Session Log on the Reports tab for the license status. The license will most likely indicate an issue with it's validity. Along with the validity of the license itself, the program requires a network connection in order for the Microsoft .NET network software to function. Other reasons for license issues are miss-matched domain for user, computer, domain itself and license file domain field.

The ACLs on the target didn't match my source folder/files. What happened?

If you copied the source folder/share to become the root of the target share, then the ACLs will match the source. If you created root folders before the copy, they MUST have the correct ACLs that agree with the source folder/share before the copy takes place, if copying using the 'copy and inherit ACL' mode. Note that accounts that exist ONLY on the source server are not copied.

What happens when the Create share option is used?

When the 'Create shares' option is checked the copy job will be performed first while building a list of shares. Following the copy, the shares will be created on the target folders if possible. If you want to only create shares when the copy job has no errors, check the 'Fail on first error' option. Access to the folders behind the share depend on both share permissions and NTFS permissions. In alignment with Microsoft best practices, the shares shouldn't be depended on for access control and in this instance will allow access to everyone. To provide proper access restrictions, the NTFS ACLs must be set on the folder underlying the share.

What is a pre-move validation?

A pre-move validation, or dry run, is a test run of a designated copy operation. A dry run will read the files and file metadata from the source but not write it to the target system.

Why is it useful?

A pre-move validation or dry run is an invaluable tool to gauge whether a particular configuration will result in a successful copy operation. When configuring a copy operation it allows you to validate that the paths from the source to the target are correct and locate any file access or other issues that may exist before committing any of the data to the target system.

What type of information is available about the status of a copy operation?

There are 14 operational parameters that are tracked and updated in real-time during a copy operation.

Reporting

Is any information available after a copy operation is completed?

Absolutely. To aid in troubleshooting, FilePilot Copy™ provides comprehensive logging of all events during a copy operation. Within the Reports screen, two types of logging are provided; a dynamic log viewing capability through the Session log and a continuous record of the overall operation of FilePilot Copy™ in the Operation log. The Operation log is saved and can be viewed using a text editor such as Notepad or WordPad. Logging also addresses documentation requirements for compliance efforts, such as SOX or PCI-DSS. Log file size is capped at 10MB and therefore multiple files may be generated per copy job.

Documentation

What documentation is provided?

A Quick Start Guide is provided. FilePilot Copy™ also includes pop-up help that will appear when the cursor is hovered over an element in the GUI. Searchable help is also available from the Help screen.

LogView™ Program

Tab wrap issue

When running FilePilot LogView™ , if there are many tabs open as one would when viewing 8 or more log files, the tab list will wrap. The work around is to open multiple LogView™ instances each with fewer tabs.

Tab red X vanishes issue

When running FilePilot LogView™ and viewing many log files at once the red X on the tab used for closing the currently selected log file is obscured. The work around is to select the LogView™ tab to close and click the red X to the far upper right corner of the log file being viewed.