I have heard that Sharepoint could be the answer to a loosely managed, fast growing file share. I was asked to try and find a solution for a file share which currently houses millions of files, and terabytes of data using Sharepoint. I see a number of huge challenges with this exercise if we use Sharepoint, and causing many questions.
Should we import the documents into the database, should we use RBS, should the files stay on the file share and just import metadata or references? How would that happen? What type of storage, how would you set up the content databases? Would you use multiple drives? How will this effect backups? Also what is the best way to migrate 10s of millions of files?
We would probably want to eliminate duplicates, keep versions, and store meta-data for easy searching.
Does anyone have any experience, ideas or suggestions regarding this type of process being managed in Sharepoint? Are there any third party applications that make sense? Has anyone actually done something like this before.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Vikki McCormick
Vikki
I think you need to ask the “powers that be” one question – why?
1) Does the organisation need to collaborate around millions of files with version control, checkout, approvals, workflows etc.?
2) Is the aim to get a handle on permissions and push the burden of permissions management off IT’s plate and onto the business units (end users)?
3) Is it a matter of search?
If the answer to question #1 is “yes”, then you need to figure out whether all of that data really needs to migrate to SharePoint. Unless the organisation is home to tens of thousands of users, much of that documentation is bound to be historical/archival. What are the advantages to having that material living in SharePoint?
If the answer to question #2 is “yes”, then I would be wary of the consequences here. Do end users want the responsibility of managing permissions on their own? Can they handle the responsibility (both from a technical and workload perspective)? What about compliance?
If the answer to #3 is “yes”, then you can simply counter by crawling the existing fileshare with SharePoint. Might need to build up/out your farm a bit to handle the load, but it’s definitely doable.
Certainly, there are tools to migrate all of these documents into SharePoint. But why? There was a time when it made no sense to undertake such an operation because everything was stored in the content databases, but that time has passed. With RBS and shredded storage in 2013, this endeavour is completely possible.
Again, why?
Note that there are also tools out there for simply “connecting” fileshare documents to SharePoint without migrating them. Look at DocAve Connector, for example.
The “fancy fileshare” solution is the oldest trick in the book for managers hungry to dive into the SharePoint world. Hopefully this isn’t an “adoption” mission!
