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Text File | 1990-09-15 | 31KB | 482 lines

Configuration,20 | File,44 | New File,67 | Open File,79 | Exit,90 | Slices,98 | Add Slice,132 | Update Slice,169 | Remove Slice,192 | Reports,199 | Slice List,218 | Slice Status,228 | Crumbs List,255 | Slice Monitor,278 | Window,306 | Clear,311 | Print,315 | Example of Use,328 | TEXT_TERM, ---------------------------------------------------| Configuration | | Once installed, Disc Police has several configuration options,| controlled by statements entered into the WIN.INI file. Use | of these statements is documented below. For complete inform-| ation on making entries in the WIN.INI file, consult your | Microsoft Windows User's Guide. | | Make an entry in WIN.INI similar to: | [DISCPOLICE] | DataPath=C:\POLICE\ | Code=XXXXXXX | SliceLimit=XXX | | The DataPath variable tells the program where to look for | the standard Slice data file (DP.DAT) and the help file | (DP.HLP). These files may be located in any directory you | choose. | | The Code and SliceLimit variables are used to increase the | limit on the maximum number of slices. The trial version of | Disc Police is limited to 10 slices. Read the INTRO.DOC file | for more information on increasing this limit. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| File | | The File menu item allows you to create and open Slice data | files. A Slice data file is the place where Slices are | stored (see Slice help for more information). | | When Disc Police starts, the standard data file: DP.DAT is | always opened automatically for you. This file may be the | only one you ever need. Slices that you create will be | automatically saved in this file every time you exit, and will| be loaded from this file every time you start the program. | | If you wish to maintain multiple slice files, or if you wish | to name the file something other than DP.DAT, use the New File| and Open File menu items to create a new file and to open it. | | The File menu popup also displays the name of the currently | open file. This will be DP.DAT at startup, but will change as| you open other files. | | Remember that slices are always automatically saved in the | file whenever you exit the program or change to another file. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| New File | | The New File menu item creates a new Slice data file. A | dialog box will pop up allowing you to change directories and | view existing files. To create a new file, change to the | directory where you want the file to reside and type the name | of the new file in the edit box. When you press OK, the file | will be created, ready for storage of new slices. | | New File automatically closes any currently open Slice data | file, saving all slice data in it. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Open File | | The Open File menu item opens an existing Slice data file and | loads all of the slice data in it. A dialog box will pop up | allowing you to change directories and pick the file you wish | to open. You may also type the name of the file to open in | the edit box. Press OK to open the file. | | Open File automatically closes any currently open Slice data | file, saving all slice data in it. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Exit | | The Exit menu item exits Disc Police. This is identical to | Close on the System menu. | | Exit automatically closes any currently open Slice data file, | saving all slice data in it. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Slices | | A slice is a portion of disc space, with a designated owner. | You define slices for a disc in order to manage its space. | | A slice is defined by selecting from 1 to 10 directories from | the disc and providing a maximum slice size limit. Any | directory or sub-directory may be used in a slice definition, | and directory names may appear in more than one slice defini- | tion. | | The owner of a slice is responsible for maintaining all files | within the directories that make up the slice so that the | total disc space consumed does not exceed the maximum slice | size. You can check the current sizes of all slices by run- | ing the Slice Status report. | | All directories on the disc should be included in slices. Some| directories may not belong to any single person, but they | should still be defined in a slice. The best method is to | create one or more System slices. These are slices like any | other, but they are owned by the "System". Directories that | typically are placed in a System slice are \DOS, \WINDOWS, | etc. If you name the System slices: ~System1, ~System2, etc.| they will always appear at the end of the slice list. | | Disc Police will never alter any file or directory on the | shared disc. It will never delete files when slice space has | exceeded the maximum limit. It is a reporting system that | shows who is in violation and why. This allows you to take | whatever action is necessary to maintain the shared disc | space (for example, asking the owner of the slice to remove | files). | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Add Slice | | The Add Slice menu item is used to add new slice defintions. | A dialog box is used to provide the slice name, maximum size, | and directory list. For shared network discs, the slice name | is commonly a person's name, but it can be anything. Fill in | the information and select "Ok" or "Cancel". The dialog box | remains active until you select "Cancel" to allow you to enter| several slices. | | Make up to 10 selections from the Available Directories list. | Use the "Select Dir" button to add the currently highlighted | directory to the Slice Directories list. Use the "Expand Dir"| button (or double click the mouse) on any directory or disc | to see the list of sub-directories below it. Expand the [..] | directory to see the list of directories above the currently | displayed list. Use the "Remove Dir" button to remove a | directory from the Slice Directories list. | | The list of directories that make up a slice is always the | full path name for each directory, including the disc name | (C:, D:, etc.). This allows support for partitioned discs | and provides considerable flexibility in slice definitions. | For example, a single slice can be used to keep track of space| owned by one person, even though the directories reside on | multiple partitions (or even multiple discs). | | However, using full path names also means that network slice | definitions may not be portable. For example, a slice that | references a directory on the network server as "N:\MYDIR" | could not be physically moved over to the network server, | since the server thinks of that same directory as "C:\MYDIR". | Just remember that, while it is perfectly acceptable to use | any network computer to define slices for any server in the | network, once the slice is defined it should remain on the | same computer. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Update Slice | | The Update Slice menu item is used to update an existing slice| definition. A dialog box is used to display and edit the | slice definition. First pick the slice to update from the | list or currenly existing slices. Then use the slice | definition dialog box to update the slice definition as | needed. When complete, press "Ok" to save the change, or | "Cancel" to leave the definition unchanged. | | Remove existing directories from the Slice Directories list or| make additional selections from the Available Directories | list. Use the "Select Dir" button to add the currently | highlighted directory to the Slice Directories list. Use the | "Expand Dir" button (or double click the mouse) on any | directory or disc to see the list of sub-directories below it.| Expand the [..] directory to see the list of directories above| the currently displayed list. Use the "Remove Dir" button to | remove a directory from the Slice Directories list. | | See the Add Slice help topic for more information on | portability of slice definitions for networked computers. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Remove Slice | | The Remove Slice menu item is used to remove an existing slice| definition. Pick the slice to remove from the list of | currently existing slices. Press "Ok" to remove it, or | "Cancel" to abort. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Reports | | Reports are the output from Disc Police and are selected from | the Reports menu item. Three reports are available: | | Slice List Provides a list of all currently defined | slices. | | Slice Status Checks each slice for space violations. | | Crumbs List Checks a disc for files that lie outside | of any slice. | | Each of these reports displays its information on the screen | in the scrolling window. The report may then be printed by | selecting the Print menu item. | | See each individual report help topic for more information. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Slice List | | The Slice List report displays a list of all currently defined| slices. This report consists of the name, maximum size, and | directory list for each slice. | | Once the report has been displayed on the screen you can use | the scroll bars to find the slice of interest or use the Print| menu item to print the list. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Slice Status | | The Slice Status report checks each slice for space viola- | tions. This is the principal purpose of the Disc Police pro- | gram. | | Each slice is examined one at a time. Each directory in the | Slice Directory list is checked for files, summing the file | sizes. Additionally, any sub-directories within the slice | directory are examined, summing their file sizes, and follow- | ing down into their sub-directories. This continues until the| sum of all files in the directory and all of its sub- | directories is computed. If this sum exceeds the maximum | slice size limit, the slice is marked as being in violation. | | This report takes no action against slices in violation, it | only reports which slices are in violation and by how much. | It is the responsibility of the slice owner to bring disc | usage into compliance. | | As the report runs (which can take several minutes for large | discs), a status box shows which slice is in progress. You | may cancel the report at any time. | | Results are displayed on the screen. Use the scroll bars to | review it, or use the Print menu item to print the report. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Crumbs List | | The Crumbs List report examines a single logical disc (C:, D:,| etc.), looking for stray directories (crumbs) that are not | included in any slice definition. These directories represent| disc usage outside of the managed space, as defined by the | slices. As such, crumbs are considered violations, just like | slices that have exceeded maximum size limits. | | A crumb is defined as a directory with at least one file that | is not included in any slice definition, and is not a sub- | directory of another directory included in a slice definition.| | For example, if "\USER\JOHN" is a directory that is defined | in a slice, then "\USER\JOHN\DOCS" cannot be a crumb, since | it is a sub-directory to a directory that is defined in a | slice. Also, if "\USER" is not defined in any slice, but has | no files of its own (i.e. zero size, because it only contains | sub-directories), then it also is not a crumb. | | However, another directory, say "\USER\JOHN2", that has files | and is not defined in any slice will be reported as a crumb. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Slice Monitor | | Use the Slice Monitor report to automatically monitor the | status of slices. This report is very similar to Slice Status| except that it runs by itself, repeatedly. You designate how | often you wish to recheck the status of the slices. | | Slice Monitor also differs from Slice Status in that you can | choose to report violation slices only (Slice Status reports | the status on all slices). | | To start Slice Monitor, select it from the menu. A dialog box| will be presented and will remain on the screen as long as | monitoring continues. Enter the number of minutes you wish | to wait between successive slice checks (anything between 1 | and 9999 minutes). To report violation slices only, check the| "Display violations only" check box. If you check the "Auto | print" check box, the results of each slice check will be | automatically printed. | | Press the Start Monitoring button to start monitoring slices | for violations. Monitoring will continue indefinately. Press| the Stop Monitoring button to end the monitoring of slices. | | Note that, while Disc Police is monitoring slices, you can | change to any other Windows program, or make Disc Police an | icon. It will continue monitoring normally. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Window | | Use this menu item to clear or print the current contents of | the main window. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Clear | | The Clear menu item clears the contents of the main window. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Print | | The Print menu item is used to print a report. First run the | report. The output will be displayed in the window. Then | select Print to send it to the printer. | | Print always sends the last report run. If no reports have | been run since starting the program, Print will do nothing. | | Print sends the output to the active Windows printer. Refer | to your Microsoft Windows User's Guide for information on | installing printers. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------| Example of Use | | The main reason to use Disc Police is to manage a network | file server that is used by many people. The example below | shows how to define slices and run reports to manage this | type of disc. There are, however, other uses for the program | in addition to server management. | | Assume, for this example: | | 1) A network with a 80 mb file server, partitioned into | three logical disc drives. All system files (DOS, | WINDOWS, etc.) reside on the first partition. | 2) Members of the network see the server disc partitions | as logical drives F:, G:, and H:, with partition sizes | of 32 mb, 32 mb, and 16 mb respectively. | 3) We wish to reserve 20% of the total disc space for | system use, provide another 20% for use by a special | project team, and divide the remainder equally among 6 | network users as general disc space. | | | STEP 1. DECIDE WHERE THE REPORTS WILL BE RUN | | When you define slices, full directory paths, including | disc drive designations (C:, D:, etc.) are stored. Thus | the reports should be run on the same computer where the | definitions were made to avoid network disc naming confusion. | | In most networks, it is best to use a network workstation as | the place where the slices are defined and the reports are | run - not the network server. Avoiding the network server | avoids memory limitations common to servers, allows the | server to concentrate on file serving, and usually provides | greater flexibility and convenience. | | Check to be sure that Windows recognizes the server by start- | ing Windows and observing the F:, G:, and H: drive icons. | | | STEP 2. DEFINE SYSTEM SLICES. | | Use Add Slice to create a System slice. Don't worry about the| slice size for now: | | NAME MAX SIZE DIRECTORIES | | System 0 F:\DOS | F:\NETWORK | F:\WINDOWS | F:\SYS | F:\BIN | F:\SYSTEM1 | F:\SYSTEM2 | | Note that you can't just define one slice and use F:\. If | you did, the reports generated wouldn't tell you anything | useful. You can name the System slices anything you wish. | If you begin the name with "~", the slice will always appear | at the end of the list, for convenience. | | | STEP 3. RESERVE SYSTEM SPACE | | Run the Slice Status report. It will compute the current size| of the System slice you have defined (it will also report it | as being in violation). Decide how much space you would like | to reserve to allow future growth. In this example, | | CURRENT SIZE WISH TO RESERVE | | System 6950 K 16384 K | | This allows plenty of room for future growth in the System | directories. In fact, the System slice may never need all | that space, but another System slice could be created later | that would use it. The space reserved is 16 mb, or 20% of the| total disc space. | | | STEP 4. ALLOCATE USER SPACE | | We need 20%, or 16 mb, of the disc space for a special project| team. These people don't need individual space, so a single | slice will do. Assuming the project team keeps their files in| one directory, then the slice definition is: | | NAME MAX SIZE DIRECTORIES | | ProjectX 16384 K F:\PROJECTX | | This slice plus the System slice now account for all of the | space on the F: partition. | | The 6 network users get the remaining space, divided among | them equally. This is 48 mb total, 8 mb each. Thus we define| 6 more slices, using directories created for user space on the| remaining partitions: | | NAME MAX SIZE DIRECTORIES | | John 8192 K G:\USER\JOHN | Tara 8192 K G:\USER\TARA | Dave 8192 K G:\USER\DAVE | Jim 8192 K G:\USER\JIM | Carol 8192 K H:\USER\CAROL | Angela 8192 K H:\USER\ANGELA | | These slices now account for all of the remaining disc space. | Note that it is not necessary to account for all space. For | example, if more users are expected to join the network in the| future, it may be wise to give the existing users smaller | allotments, leaving some space unaccounted for, but available | for future use. | | | STEP 5. RUN REPORTS | | To review the slice definitions, run the Slice List report. | This will also allow you to get a printed list of the slice | definitions. | | To check for slice space violation, run the Slice Status | report. This report will check the contents of each slice, | summing file sizes in every directory and sub-directory in | the slice. If the total file size exceeds the maximum slice | limit, the slice will be marked as in violation. The program | will NOT take any other action (such as removing files). Its | job is to inform you so the owner of the slice can take the | appropriate action to comply with the space restriction. | | Use the Crumbs List report to identify stray files that have | been created outside of the slice directories. For example, | if John creates the directory "G:\USER\JOHN2" and creates | some files in it, the Crumbs report will flag that directory | as a crumb (a stray directory). Crumbs are violations of | shared disc space, just as violations of maximum slice size. | | | STEP 6. MANAGE SLICES | | Usually shared discs fill up because people don't take the | responsibility of cleaning off unneeded files. The Disc | Police program takes care of that problem by reporting | violators before their files consume the whole disc. | | However, in some cases, users really need more space. It | is often a good policy to allocate a disc so that each user | gets some minimum space (say 2 mb in this example). When | someone exceeds their limit, they should evaluate their space | needs and justify an increase in their limit. If the space | is available (and unallocated to other slices), then the | increase in slice size is authorized. | TEXT_TERM ----------------------------------------------------|