FileConnect Enterprise
The Records365 FileConnect Enterprise connector is currently in PREVIEW.
Introduction
FileConnect Enterprise empowers you to perform in-place management of large volumes of data, records and content located on network file shares.
The Records365 FileConnect Enterprise is a premium connector requires an additional subscription. If you believe your organization is subscribed, or would like to inquire about subscribing, please contact support.
Network Requirements
FileConnect Enterprise is an on-premises agent that runs on a Windows host within your corporate network. The agent has been specifically designed to eliminate network configuration changes of any on-premises firewalls. As a result, the Windows host that runs the FileConnect Enterprise agent only requires outbound internet connectivity in order to communicate with the Records365 service.
All communication back to Records365 is encrypted.
Hardware Requirements
We recommend the following hardware specifications are met for the Windows host running the FileConnect Enterprise agent.
- Windows Server 2019
- 4 CPUs
- 24 GB of memory
- 200 GB of storage
Storage Recommendation
Managing and tracking files within network file shares is IO intensive. Therefore, we recommend installing the FileConnect Enterprise agent on dedicated storage attached to the host that is suitable for IO intensive applications.
Operational Considerations
Please keep the following operational considering in mind when using FileConnect Enteprise:
- The Windows Host running FileConnect Enterprise must be continuously running to detect file additions and updates.
- Indexing and crawling a network file share for the first time can take time and depends on the performance of your network and storage systems. When adding new network file share locations, allow up to an hour for every 15,000 files that need to be indexed.
- FileConnect Enterprise will only check managed network file share locations for updates approximately once every 8 hours to avoid excessive utilization of your network and storage infrastructure.
- Updates to the FileConnect Enterprise connector configuration may not take effect immediately if the agent is already busy indexing a network file share location or checking for updates.
Connector Setup
Azure AD Application Registration
Azure Active Directory (AD) Role Required
You will need to be a Azure AD Global Administrator in order to complete the Azure AD related connector setup steps.
Records365 leverages your Azure AD for authentication and authorization. FileConnect Enterprise uses the same model to authenticate and authorize the requests it makes to Records365.
To read more about Azure AD and how it is used for application authentication see Azure Active Directory for developers.
- Sign into the Azure portal
- Navigate to the Azure Active Directory administration area
- Click on App Registrations in the left hand navigation
- Click on New Registration at the top of the page
- On the Register an application page complete the following details
- Name – enter “FileConnect Enterprise”
- Supported account types – select ”Accounts in any organizational directory (Any Azure AD directory – Multitenant) and personal Microsoft accounts (e.g. Skype, Xbox)”
- Click on Register to complete the application registration
- On the Overview panel take note of the “Application (client) ID” as you will need to use it later
- Click on Certificates & secrets in the left hand navigation
- On the Certificates & secrets panel click on New client secret
- Complete the popup with the following details
- Description – enter “fce secret”
- Expires – select “Never”
- Once the new client secret has been created take note of the “Value”, by clicking the copy icon, as you will need it later
- Important Note: Store the value in a safe place as you will not be able to retrieve it again once you leave the page
- You have completed the Azure AD Application Registration.
FileConnect Enterprise Setup
Records365 Role Required
You will need to be an Application Administrator in order to complete the Records365 related connector setup steps.
Please see Records365 Documentation – Adding Users
- Sign into Records365
- Click on the Cog in the top right hand corner
- Click on Add Connector
- Click on Add on the “FileConnect Enterprise” tile
- In the Client ID input enter the Application (client) ID that you made note of earlier in the Azure AD Application Registration steps
- Click on Save
- Click on Download Settings to download the configuration file needed by the FileConnect Enterprise agent
- Click on Download Component Installer to download the FileConnect Enterprise agent installer
- Transfer both the settings file and installer to the Windows host that will run FileConnect Enterprise
- On the Windows host, that will run FileConnect Enterprise, perform the following steps
- Run the FileConnect Enterprise agent installer
- Accept the License Terms & Conditions
- To customize where FileConnect Enterprise is installed, click Options, enter the installation location, click OK
- Important Note: It is highly recommended to install FileConnect Enterprise on dedicated storage that is suitable for IO intensive applications.
- Click on Install
- Once the installation is complete click OK
- Open the Services control panel
- Find “RecordPoint FileConnect Enterprise”
- Right click on “RecordPoint FileConnect Enterprise” and select Properties
- Click on Log On tab
- Enter credentials for the account that will be used to run the service
- Important Note: This account must have full (read + write) access to the network file share that you intend to manage
- Click on General tab
- Select “Automatic (Delayed Start)” as the Startup type
- Click on Apply
- Right click on “RecordPoint FileConnect Enterprise” and select Start
- Close the Services control panel
- Open RecordPoint FCE Configurator
- Click on . . . next to the Upload your Records365 settings and select the settings file previously transferred
- In the Client Secret input enter the client secret that you made note of earlier in the Azure AD Application Registration steps
- Click on . . . next to the Content Registration Report Location and select Documents as the location
- Click on Save
- You have completed the FileConnect Enterprise Setup.