Why Worry About Housekeeping?

As you work on your company computers, you will create, work on and store files. You will receive files via email and you may download files from the internet. These files need to be stored somewhere, and there is a good likelihood that they will end up on your server.

Any files (data) that are stored on your server will be backed up each night, however there is a limit to the amount of data that can be backed up. If this limit is met then the backup system will no longer work and the company's data will no longer be backed up. It is important then for every user of the company computer system to exercise care when storing files on their computers, to ensure that they are not wasteful of storage space.

Not only will reducing the amount of stored files reduce the likelihood of a backup failure, it will also reduce wear and tear on backup devices as less time will be required to carry out the backups. Users will also see faster login times as less data will need to be moved around during this process.

Did you know? Programs such as Google Earth can dump cache files weighing in at hundreds of megabytes in your roaming profile folder?  These can add minutes to your login times, and greatly increase the size of your backup files if allowed to stay in their default location.

In this guide we will talk a lot about "unwanted files", what exactly constitutes an unwanted file?

Unwanted Files

Unwanted files are those that really don't need to be kept on your computer (or even your server) for example, temporary files created when burning CDs or DVDs or downloaded program files that have already been installed. Depending on your company's IT policy personal files such as music and personal photos may constitute unwanted files and you may be prohibited from storing them on your computer or server. 

A good way to decide whether a file is wanted or not is to ask yourself "If I delete this file can I easily get it back again?". If the file is the latest version of WinZip then the answer would be "Yes, I can download it again from the web". If the file is the only copy of your ISO9000 company handbook then the answer woule be "No, I would be sacked if I knowingly deleted this".

Throughout this guide if you are a unsure of the terminology that is being used, or you are unsure whether the information applies to you or your system please ask your manager, or contact your support contact at Aquila - please don't guess at an answer. Also if you are unsure as to whether a particular company policy applies to you again, please ask your manager.

Getting Started - Where Not toStore Unwanted Files

All files that are stored on your desktop or in “My Documents” are copied over to the server when you log off, and back to your computer when you log on. Don’t keep large or unwanted files on your desktop or in “My Documents”. If you find your computer is slow to log on when you start work, make sure you don't have too many files in "My Documents", by slow we are talking of several minutes or more to log in.

If you want to store personal files such as photos or music on your PC, do not store them on the desktop or in “My Documents”. This includes “My Pictures” which is contained within “My Documents”. Instead keep personal files in a folder within the C: drive. i.e. create a new folder in C:\ and keep personal files in there. Be aware that anything stored in a folder you create within the C: drive will not be backed up, so do not store company data in this location!

Make sure your company IT policy allows you to store personal data on company systems before following the advice above.

Do not keep large or unwanted files in your home folder ( Z: or U: drive usually, as this resides on the server and is backed up ).

Obviously users should not delete company files just because they are large, it is perfectly acceptable to store company files of any size where they will be safely backed up.

Do not keep duplicates of files unneccesarily. Try not to keep many copies of the same file, it is better to have one copy in a single shared location rather than many copies "all over the place".

Email Attachments are Files Too...

An often overlooked area of file storage is email attachments. If you are the type of person that keeps every email they have ever received (like myself), you are going to be taking up storage space within your email system. If you keep emails with attachments, then the attachments will be stored along with your emails and will take up even more valuable storage space.

The best policy with regard to email attachments is to delete any emails with attachments that you absolutely don't want to keep, and for any that you do want to keep, save the attachment (and email if required) to your server, and then delete the email along with its attachment.

If you are using Microsoft Outlook 2003 or later it is possible to open an email, right click the attachments and select "Remove". This way you can strip an attachment from your system after saving it somewhere safe without deleting the email itself. This is useful if you want to keep the email that the attachment came in on.

It is perfectly acceptable, and in some cases recommended to keep emails going back as long as you want to, so long as you manage attachments wisely, and don't hoard junk.

Again, exercise discretion when housekeeping, do not delete anything that you really want to keep.  If your company runs out of backup or server space then it may actually time to purchase an upgrade for the server.

Don't Forget Your Sent Items!

Another place where emails and attachments are stored is in your sent items folder. It is worth following similar practices as for your inbox i.e. try to reduce the number of stored attachments to a minimum.

A quick way to find emails with attachments is to click the paperclip icon on the column header of the sent items folder in Outlook. This will sort your emails by whether they have an attachment or not. This also works for your inbox folder.

Final Thoughts on Email

Finally, remember to periodically empty your junk email folder and your deleted items folder in Outlook. It is worth quickly scanning through your junk email folder before emptying it to make sure no valid emails have been sent there by mistake.

There's No Substitute for Planned Maintenance!

When it comes to saving space on your system there is no substitute for professional periodic maintenance.

Although only you can decide on which company files you want to keep, and only you can decide on which emails are to be kept and discarded, an Aquila maintenance package will ensure that a qualified Aquila IT professional will regularly check your systems for unwanted system log files, old update files and temporary files which ordinarily should not be touched. They will also be able to carry out maintenance such as defragmenting your hard disks, which can also help to save space especially when carried out on your servers.

Every user can follow the above guidelines on a day to day basis, and a monthly visit by your Aquila engineer will take care of the rest.