Server maintenance
Monitoring system usage
The Server Monitor provides information about how your system is performing by displaying what tasks the server is currently running, the current load on your hardware, and a summary of what has happened since the server was last restarted. To view the Server Monitor, open the Core Services folder on the administrator's Desktop. The Server Monitor also provides information about FirstClass services and mirrored volumes.
The Session Monitor is a real-time online display showing the names of logged-in users and what they are doing. To view the Session Monitor, choose Admin > Session Monitor, or open the Core Services folder on the administrator's Desktop. Some tasks you can perform from this window are logging off users, viewing users' Desktops, or viewing users' profiles.
The Session Monitor
The Session Monitor is a real-time online display showing the names and activities of logged-in users. To start the Session Monitor, choose Admin > Session Monitor, or double-click Monitors and then Session Monitor.
The Session Monitor displays a row for each active session.
Connection type icons
Disk use statistics
When FirstClass performs an audit, it produces a Disk Usage report. This report records how much hard disk space is used by each of your users. A Disk Usage report is named DiskUse.txt.
 NoteIf audit does not run to completion (it reaches the scheduled end time before auditing all items in the network store), a diskuse.tmp file will be created. This file will be appended during the subsequent audit(s) until the entire network store has been audited. It will then be named diskuse.txt.
You can view a disk use statistics file using FirstClass or a text editor, or import it into a spreadsheet (see your spreadsheet program documentation for details).
The report contains a one-line entry for each user, with the following information:
• first column - the user's unique user ID
• second column - the name of the volume on which the user account is registered
• third column - the total space
For performance reasons, FirstClass no longer maintains this field. For backward compatibility with log analysis programs, this field remains, but is always zero.
• fourth column - the total number of files
For performance reasons, FirstClass no longer maintains this field. For backward compatibility with log analysis programs, this field remains, but is always zero.
• fifth column - the total referenced space
The total size, in kilobytes, of incoming and outgoing messages, documents, and uploaded files in the user's Mailbox and folders.
• sixth column - the total referenced files
The total number of incoming and outgoing messages, documents, and uploaded files in the user's Mailbox and folders.
• seventh column - the user's privileges
Special privileges granted to the user. This field can contain one or more of the following:
A - administrator (or subadministrator)
E - edit user information
U - view unlisted
V - view user information.
P indicates that the user's account was only partially audited.
Viewing a Disk Usage file using FirstClass
To view a Disk Usage report while you are logged into FirstClass:
1 Open the Reports folder on the administrator's Desktop.
2 Open the the Statistics Folder.
3 Hold down the shift key and double-click DiskUse.txt.
Viewing a Disk Usage file using a text editor
To view a Disk Usage report when you are not logged into FirstClass:
1 Open the FCNS folder (Windows) or fcns folder (Mac) on your hard drive.
2 Open the Stats.dir folder.
3 Open the DiskUse.txt file with your text editor.
To view a Disk Usage report when you are logged into FirstClass Server (as admin, using FirstClass Client):
1 Open the Reports > Statistics folder from the Admin desktop.
2 Select DiskUse.txt and choose File > Download.
3 Open the downloaded copy of DiskUse.txt with your text editor.
Releasing disk space
In your System Profile, you can configure the minimum free disk space required on each volume on your server. When the amount of free disk space on a volume is less than or equal to this amount, the server refuses to accept messages from users or gateways on that volume.
There are several ways you can free up space:
• Use the Disk Usage report to identify users who are using excessive space. Ask these users to clean out their Mailboxes.
• Set disk usage quotas on the Group Privileges form (for groups of users), or on a user's User Information form (for individual users).
• Look for and delete files with large attachments (remove and delete the attachments before deleting the files).
• Make sure all aliases of a deleted item are also deleted. The space an item takes up is recovered only when all copies are deleted. Deleting a large file recovers no space unless the alias is also deleted from the sender's Mailbox (and from the Mailboxes of all other recipients).
• Decrease the expiry period on the System Profile form or on the Permissions forms of your busiest conferences.
• Delete old statistics and log files. We suggest that you back up these files before you delete them, in case you need to troubleshoot a recurring problem.
In Mac, the statistics files are located in fcns\stats.dir. The log files are located in fcns\logfiles.
In Windows, the statistics files are located in FCNS/STATS.DIR. The log files are located in FCNS/LOGFILES.
To recover freed disk space, trash collection must be run after files are deleted. You can force a trash collection immediately, or wait until the next scheduled trash collection takes place.
User statistics
FirstClass lets you collect selected user activity statistics. By default, each record contains user ID, time, and date fields, plus other fields specific for the record type. A user statistics file is named either yymmdd or yymmddI where yymmdd is the date the log file was created and 'I' at the end of the date signifies the file is for Internet user statistics only. This file is updated daily at midnight. If the server is not running at midnight, the new daily file will begin when the server is restarted.
Creating customized user statistics reports
1 On the administrator's Desktop, open the Reports folder.
2 Double-click the Statistics Control form.
3 Complete the fields.
4 In the Journaling control section, select the actions you want to record in the user statistics file.
The number of actions you select and the activity level on your FirstClass system determines the size of your statistics file.
5 Close the form and save your changes.
Collecting activity statistics on Linux
For FirstClass on Linux, the statistics folder path you set when completing the Statistics Control form must be an fcadmin:admin writable directory. The recommended path is
/opt/fcsd/stats.
After creating such a folder, configure this path in the server as follows:
1 Open the Reports folder on the administrator’s Desktop.
2 Double-click the Statistics Control form.
3 Enter the exact path in the Statistics folder path.
Viewing a user statistics file
1 Open the folder you specified in the "Statistics folder path" field on the Statistics Control form.
2 Open any of the files that you wish to view.
The files open in TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows).
The user statistics file format
A user statistics file consist of fields that are separated by the delimiter you specified on the Statistics Control form.
These are the common field types that can be applied to each record:
• the user ID (userID) of the user performing the action
• the date (date) the action was performed, in the format ddmmyy
• the time (time) the action was performed, in the format hh:mm:ss am|pm
• the IP address (IP address) of the computer where the action was performed
• the user's primary organizational unit (OU)
• the unique file ID (fileID) of the file or folder being processed.
FirstClass uses file IDs to access the files and folders on a volume
• the client ID (clientID)of the user performing the action.
FirstClass assigns a unique client ID to each user. The client ID is never assigned to another user.
• the message ID (messageID) of the message being processed
Every message in FirstClass has a unique message ID.
• the name of the object (obj name) being processed
• the type of object (obj type) being processed
• the parent object (parent obj) of the object being processed
An example of this is a conference item's parent object would be the conference.
• the file size (in bytes) (file size) of the object being processed.
• the IP address (if selected) of the client machine where the action was performed.
• the primary organizational unit (OU) (if selected) of the user performing the action.
User activities in the Journaling section
For details about the journaling fields, click here.
Deleting user statistics files
Delete statistics files regularly to maintain disk space availability. However, we suggest you back up these files before deleting them in case you need them later to troubleshoot an ongoing problem.
 CautionDo not delete a statistics file unless you wish to reset the server statistics counters.
Finding inactive users
At some point, you may wish to locate and delete inactive users. The best way to do this is to execute a scripting command to retrieve the last logged in date for all of your users.
The scripting command is
GET USER userid 1201 1202 1204 1230 +d
where userid is replaced with the userID of the user you are retrieving information about.
If you send this script (one line per user), it will return the userID, first name, last name, and the date and time of the last login for the user.
For example, the following message sent to batch admin:
GET USER msmith 1201 1202 1204 1230 +d
might return something like this:
1201 0 "MSmith" 1202 0 "Mike" 1204 0 "Smith" 1230 14 "2009/11/07" 16:47:55"
Follow the procedure Using List Directory to retrieve a list of users and userIDs" in the Reference material to retrieve all of the userIDs on your system.
Once you have retrieved all userIDs from your server, you can build the batch script within Microsoft Excel. An example of a completed Microsoft Excel spreadsheet would look like this.
 To send the commands to the server, copy all of the cells from the spreadsheet and:
1 Log in as the administrator.
2 Start a new message in the administrator Mailbox and address the message to "batch admin" (no quotes).
3 Begin the body of the message with the word "Reply" so the server will respond back with confirmation or errors after processing the request.
4 Paste the copied cells after the first "Reply" line by using Edit > Paste Plain Text.
 5 Send the message.
You will receive a reply from the server that will include the userID, first name, last name, and last logged in date of all the users listed in the script.
NoteDates returned as 01/01/04 are an indication that the user has never logged in.
Server statistics
The server statistics file (Stats.txt) is a cumulative summary of all server events that have occurred since the server was first installed. This file is updated daily at midnight. If the server is not running at midnight, the new daily file will begin when the server is restarted.
You can view a server statistics file using FirstClass or a text editor, or import it into a spreadsheet (see spreadsheet program documentation for details).
The server statistics file contains the following information:
• Remote user statistics
• Network user statistics
The same statistics types for regular users as described for remote users.
• CLUI statistics
The same statistics types for terminal, terminal emulation, and Telnet users as described for remote users.
• Server statistics
Server totals:
Resetting server statistics
To reset server statistics counters, delete the Stats.txt file.
Adoption metrics
The server stores information in an XML file that will help you to understand the adoption rate of your server.
The information is written to the file adoption.xml located in FCNS > stats.dir. This file is accessible through Reports > Statistics Folder on the admin Desktop.
The file is updated daily at midnight as well as at server start up and shut down. If the server is shut down, the Date column will be marked with an asterisk.
You can view a server adoption file using a text editor or parse the data using your own XML parser.
"adoption.xml" contains the following information:
All other fields are reserved for future use.
Daily log files
FirstClass creates a log file of the console activities for each day that the server is active. Log files are named yymmdd.txt, where yymmdd signifies the date the log file was created. This file is updated daily at midnight. If the server is not running at midnight, the new daily file will begin when the server is restarted.
Viewing log files
To open a log file while logged into FirstClass:
1 Open Reports > Log Files on the administrator's Desktop.
2 Open the log file for the appropriate date.
The report opens in Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac).
To open a log file while logged off of FirstClass:
1 Open the FCNS folder (Windows) or fcns folder (Mac or Linux).
2 Open the Logfiles folder.
3 Open the log file for the appropriate date.
The report opens in TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows).
Deleting log files
Delete server log files regularly to maintain disk space availability. We suggest that you back up these files before deleting them in case you need them later to troubleshoot an ongoing problem.
NoteIf you don't want to write the console logs to file, delete the Logfiles folder from your hard drive. Never delete the Logfiles folder from the administrator's Desktop.
Shutting down and restarting the server
Shutdown options
Some tasks will require you to shut down or restart your server. On all platforms, you can do this from the administrator's Desktop. In Windows you can also do this from the component consoles by pressing Ctrl-C. Close the components in the reverse order you started them.
These are the shutdown and restart options available in the Admin > Control menu:
• Fast Shutdown
Logs off all users immediately and shuts down the server. You can also click Fast Shutdown on the Server tab of the Server Control form.
• Polite Shutdown
Sends a broadcast message to all users instructing them to log off as the server will be shut down. Users who do not log off will need to be forced off or you will need to do a fast shutdown, as the server will not shut down during a polite shutdown if there are still users logged in. You can also click Polite Shutdown on the Server tab of the Server Control form.
• Restart
Initiates a Fast Shutdown of your FirstClass server, followed by a restart of your Windows server machine. The FirstClass server is not restarted automatically.
NoteWhen running a FirstClass server on Mac, only the server is shut down; the machine does not restart.
We recommend that you always warn your users before shutting down your server, so they can save their work. You can do this by either initiating a Polite Shutdown or sending a broadcast message informing your users when the server will be shut down. You can also check who is currently online.
When to restart your server
The server requires a restart when performing the following tasks:
• rebuilding/rebalancing the Directory
• changing the Directory sort order
• changing the number of concurrent sessions supported by the server
• when changing the size of the notifier table
• when installing new FirstClass software service packs
• when performing a full restore of the FCNS (Windows) or fcns (Mac, Linux)
• after a very large number of folder creates (i.e. adding 5000 new users). With faster processors and more robust systems this shouldn't be an issue.
How to restart properly
To restart FirstClass, start the FirstClass components in this order:
• the server
• Internet Services
• Application Services, if applicable.
System audits
Every night (usually at 3 AM, but you can change this on the System Profile form) an automatic system audit runs on your server. The system audit:
• performs repairs to your network store
• performs automatic updates
• deletes expired user accounts
• removes deleted and expired items
• writes the index to disk
• generates log files and statistics reports.
CautionBecause audit performs repairs to your system, you must never disable this function.
The server can deliver messages during audit, but audit cannot be performed on items in use.
The amount of time audit takes to run depends on the size and complexity of your network store and whether you run a full audit (on the whole system), a single audit (on an individual user or container with problems), or multiple single audits. It can range from hours for a large network store to a few minutes for a small one, or as little as a few seconds for a user. To find out how long audit takes on your FirstClass system, check the console messages, or server log files.
NoteThe first audit primes the search index by opening each document in the system and processing it. Expect your first audit to take much more time than usual.
When you start your server, the console will display a message stating the time the next audit is scheduled to start.
When the audit ends, the console will display the date and time the next automatic audit is scheduled to start.
You can stop a running audit by clicking Stop Audit on the Server Control form. Audit will resume at the user it was auditing the next time it runs.
When audit runs, a number of log files and statistics reports are generated about the activity on your system and how your system is processing data. These log files and statistics reports are an essential tool in troubleshooting system errors.
Protected mode
If the server has not been started within 24 hour period since the last shutdown, the server will start in "protected mode". In protected mode, audit will still perform system repairs, but will not remove any expired or deleted items. This is especially useful if the server has been down for system or network repairs or upgrades for more than 24 hours since the last shutdown.
When the server is restarted from a crash, the next scheduled audit is skipped. The console will display the following:
Start Up: Next audit will be rescheduled
To return to normal functioning, force a full audit.
The audit summary
Once an audit has ended, a summary is sent to the Audit summaries folder in the administrator's Mailbox. This report contains information about system repairs or issues encountered during the audit. The icon used indicates the urgency of the summary and whether action is required.
 Audit repair that may contain an item that may be salvaged. Errors were found. Problems were found and some may have been repaired. No errors or problems found. Report is informational only.A full audit has the subject "Audit Summary".
A single audit has the subject "Single Audit Report".
Persistent errors in the audit summary indicate that there is an issue with the integrity of your network store. This is the time to call Customer Support.
Removing deleted or expired items
Before discussing how audit removes deleted or expired items, we need to look at the basic lifecycle of a message:
 1 The item expiry is set by the administrator at a system-wide level on the Timers tab of the System Profile. Users can override this setting at the container or item level.
2 The "Default" expiry on folders is "never". The administrator can change this setting on the All Folders container template if disk space is an issue, but this is not recommended.
3 The removal expiry is set by default to 1 day. The administrator can change this for all users or by group on the Limits tab of the Group Privileges form.
NoteAlthough the message is described as moving from one location to another in the above example, it is actually only the link to the message that moves at all. From the time the message is created until the item is actually removed from the system during a full audit, it remains in one place in the server.
The FirstClass server stores only a single copy of each message. For example, if you send a message to six different users, FirstClass saves only one copy of the file containing the message on the server and places a link to that file in each recipient’s Mailbox. When a recipient opens the link from his Mailbox or a conference, FirstClass opens the original file on the server. This method helps reduce disk space requirements when large messages are sent to multiple recipients.
When a recipient or the sender deletes the message from his Mailbox, the actual file is not deleted. The user's link to the message is moved to the user's Trash Can and is removed after the number of days specified by the administrator on the Group Privileges form. A file can only be deleted from the server when there are no more links to that file. For example, the file for a message sent to six people is deleted only after the sender and all six recipients have deleted it.
An audit also deletes expired files. Every item in your system has an expiry date – a date after which it will automatically be deleted from the server. When the audit finds a file (or a link) whose expiry date has passed, it deletes the item, moving the link to the Trash Can. The expiry date is calculated by adding the expiry period to the date that the item was last edited.
You, as administrator, can set expiry periods in several ways:
• Set expiry for deleted items (the Trash Can) on the Group Privileges form. We suggest you set this globally at the All Users level and, if required, override it for smaller groups.
• Set expiry for private mail and conference items in the System Profile.
• Set specific expiry periods for the entire contents of a conference on the Conference Permissions form.
By default, users' folders have an expiry of Never. Users can edit the expiry period for individual messages or documents in their Mailbox or personal containers using File > Get Info (Mac) or File > Properties (Windows). You can also grant users the Set Expiry privilege in conferences and their Mailboxes, allowing them to set expiry periods for messages they send. These expiry periods override all previous settings.
Use expiry periods to avoid disk space shortages. Base the length of the expiry period on the amount of disk space available on your server machine. If you have ample disk space and low traffic, consider a long expiry period (such as several years). If you are short of disk space, use a short expiry period (such as 30 days).
The audit automatically moves expired items to the Trash Can to await removal, even if they have not been read by all recipients.
Undelete
The undelete command allows users to recover items they have deleted. There are several ways to undelete a file or a container:
Option 1
Open the container where the item was located and choose View > Show Deleted Items. Right-click the item and choose Undelete.
Option 2
If you cannot remember where the item was located, open the Trash Can on the Desktop. Locate the item and either right-click the item and choose Undelete, or drag the item to another container. If the item is no longer in the Trash Can, it has been deleted for more than the number of days specified for the user's primary group and has been deleted from the system by the regular audit.
Undeleted items will be subject to the expiry period of the container where they are located. If the user had a custom expiry set on the item before it expired or was deleted, undeleting will not restore this setting. The item will inherit the expiry period of the container into which it is moved.
Removing expired user accounts
You can configure audit to delete inactive user accounts. In the System Profile, specify the maximum period for which user accounts can be inactive. User accounts inactive for this length of time or longer are automatically deleted from your Directory, along with the contents of their Mailboxes.
Automatic full audit
By default, the FirstClass server is set to perform automatic full audit once a day.
Since a full audit may slow down your server, try to schedule automatic full audit for off-peak times when there are usually few users online. By default, the automatic full audit runs daily at 3:00 AM.
To change the scheduled time:
1 Choose Admin > System Profile on the administrator's Desktop.
2 Change the time at "Audit time" on the Timers tab.
Specifying a start and end time
If you specify a start and end time for automatic full audit, the console will display the scheduled audit end time when the audit begins. If you change the end time in the system profile while the audit is running, the change will not take effect until the next time the audit starts.
If the audit is stopped and then force started during the run-time window, it will stop at the end time specified on the system profile. (If it is force started outside of the run-time window it will run until the scheduled end time (or to completion, if that comes first)).
If the audit finishes before the scheduled end time, it will not run again until the next scheduled start time. (It will never loop back to the beginning.)
• If the audit does not complete before the end time, the audit will stop exactly where it is at the end time. The next time the audit runs it will start at the same user who was being audited when the audit was stopped.
If the audit began as a resumption of a previous stopped audit (did not complete before end time, or was stopped while running), and the audit reaches the end of the network store before the end time, the audit will end. It will never loop back to the beginning.
• If your server is not running when audit is scheduled to start and is started again before the specified end time, audit will run when the server starts, and will end at the specified end time.
• If the audit begins but the server is shut down while the audit is running (or the audit is stopped), the audit will not resume automatically. The audit will only start once during the run-time window.
Specifying a start time only
If you have specified a start time only audit will run to completion.
Since the default run-time window is 24 hours, if your server is not running when the audit is scheduled to start, audit will run when the server starts (and will run to completion (unless you stop it)).
If the audit starts and is manually stopped (the server is shutdown or you stop the audit), the audit will not resume again automatically in that 24-hour window. Audit will only run automatically once during the 24-hour run-time window.
Manual full audit
You can force the audit task to run immediately.
If you run out of disk space, you must delete unnecessary files. The disk space released as a result of these deletions, however, is not available until you force an audit.
To force a full audit do one of the following:
• choose Admin > Control > Audit
• click Force Audit on the Server Control form's Server tab.
Since server performance is decreased during audit, only force a manual full audit when necessary; it's better to wait for automatic full audit, or to run a single audit on specific users or conferences.
NoteWe suggest that you disable logging before starting a manual full audit, as sessions on slow servers might experience communication link failures and be dropped.
Using audit to fix network store issues
The first step in network store diagnostics and repair is to run an audit (on the user, conference or the entire server, depending on the issue). The audit will repair the network store entirely if there is not a file sharing violation.
In some cases, some data is salvageable but the repair would need to be completed manually (restoring links to objects, etc.). In this case, an audit repair notification will be sent to the administrator's Mailbox. The information in the audit repair notification can be used by customer support to repair the problem. These issues are not time-sensitive and will not be damaged by subsequent audits.
Single audit
If a user or conference has damaged or missing data, run a single audit on the affected user or object to diagnose the account's Directory entries and/or fix the damaged or missing files (this does not refer to manually deleted or moved messages or objects). Single audits always run in protected mode, meaning they will not remove any items.
NotesYou can run multiple single audits at once.
Users can't use the Undelete command to recover their deleted files once an audit has been run.
1 Locate the user/conference in the List Directory.
2 Click Audit at the top of the form.
If the damage is repairable, the audit will repair it.
If the damage is not repairable automatically, but may be repairable manually, an audit repair notification will be sent to the administrator's Mailbox.
Single audits which are queued or running when the full audit is scheduled to start, will complete before the full audit begins.
NoteAudits of unlisted items must be done using the FirstClass scripting AUDIT command.
Console output messages
 Windows If a full audit is initiated by the admin using the Admin menu, the console output message will look like the following:
 If a full audit is initiated by a user with subadmin privileges, the console output message will look like the following:
 If a single audit is initiated on a user, the console output message will look like the following:
 If a single audit is initiated on a conference (in this case, Finance Area), the console output message will look like the following:
Using FirstClass Updates to keep your software up to date
FirstClass Updates is a utility that automatically connects on a daily basis to the FirstClass Updates Server (operated by FirstClass Division) and downloads any new software to your FC Update Service container. It does this through a server-to-server gateway.
FirstClass Updates reduces the amount of effort to keep your FirstClass software and system up to date with the latest features and fixes, and you can manage software updates directly from the Admin desktop.
FirstClass Updates automatically creates a two-way gateway with secured passwords. While you can change these if you wish, it is not necessary, since the server automatically generates strong passwords on the first connection. FirstClass Updates then makes a daily outbound connection from your server to updates.firstclass.com on port 510 using FCP encryption.
Getting notification of updates
If you want to be notified when new items arrive in the FirstClass Update Service container, you can create a mail rule for this container that redirects mail to your personal account.
Updating your server
In most cases, you can update your server in just a few seconds with zero downtime.
To apply changes to store content and licenses:
1 Open the FC Update Service container on the administrator Desktop.
2 Select the document corresponding to the desired upgrade.
3 Click Apply Update.
4 Confirm that the upgrade was successful.
To apply executables:
1 Open the FC Update Service container on the administrator Desktop.
2 Open the object and download the executable.
3 Confirm that the upgrade was successful.
Changing gateway settings
As a default, the gateway is set up to connect to the FirstClass Updates Server each day between 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM local time. As the administrator, you can change this to suit the needs of your organization.
You also have the ability to change the password, although it is not necessary. A password generator automatically creates a password at both sites on the next connection if the password field is blank, or updates one site if a password is entered at the other site.
Disabling updates
Although we highly recommend using the FirstClass Updates facility, if you wish to stop updates, disable the schedule on the Scheduling tab of the gateway. This will still allow you to connect manually or restore the schedule in the future.
 CautionWe do not recommend deleting the gateway. Deleting the gateway will make it difficult to re-enable the facility in the future. Disable it instead using the method described above.
Scheduling routine maintenance tasks
FirstClass is designed in such a way that routine system maintenance tasks run on a regular basis behind the scenes. But there may be additional tasks that you, as the administrator, want to run on a daily, weekly or monthly basis for tracking or reporting purposes. The System Events Calendar can help you automate these tasks so they run automatically when you want them to run.
When the event runs, the server console log will be updated to indicate that a SAC event occurred, and who initiated the event.
The System Event Calendar is located in the Core Services folder on the administrator's Desktop.
Mirroring your network store
Because you can't back up a network store in active use, you would normally have to log everyone off in order to do backups. To avoid this, you might want to mirror your network store contents to the volume of your choice. Then when you are ready to back up the network store, you can pause the mirror and back up the mirror contents while your users continue to work normally on the original network store.
The FirstClass server maintains a synchronized system by continuously building a list of files to copy on the main volume(s) and copying them to the volume designated to hold the mirrored content. There are two lists that are created in the mirroring process: a full list and an incremental list. Your server continuously mirrors information until you pause the mirror to perform your backup. Everything done on the server while mirroring is paused is held in memory, and after the backup is complete and mirroring resumes, the mirror network store is resynchronized with the original network store. The mirror folder is called FCNS8001.
You can only mirror volumes with a status of full use and limited use. Volumes which are browse only cannot be mirrored.
Make sure there is sufficient space on the mirror volume to hold the existing network store and any expected growth. If there is not sufficient space, you will receive a disk write error and the server will retry 10 times. If it still fails, you will receive a retries exceeded error.
NotesIf you encounter "Not enough memory to operate on file" displayed on the server console, it is a mirror error and indicates that more memory is required. To solve this, add physical RAM to the computer or change the "Preferred size" memory allocation.
Source files with resource forks that are mirrored lose the resource fork in the mirrored copy (for example, .SES files with .CTB resources).
If you are running FirstClass as a Windows service, you can use the PAUSE and CONTINUE commands to perform the pause and continue functions:
• to pause mirroring, issue the command NET PAUSE FCS
• to resume mirroring, issue the command NET CONTINUE FCS.
NoteIf there are no mirrors defined, the NET PAUSE FCS command will trigger a Snapshot Hold. Following that, NET CONTINUE FCS will trigger a Snapshot Release if a previous pause operation caused a Snapshot Hold. Otherwise it will continue any paused mirror.
What is mirrored on the server
All the folders in your network store folder are mirrored with the following exceptions:
• FCNS\SERVER\DBEXT (Windows) or fcns\Server\DBEXT (Mac)
• FCNS\FCAS
• FCNS\FCRAD
• FCNS\NOMIRROR (Windows) or fcns:nomirror (Mac)
• LogFiles folder
• Stats.Dir folder
• Internet Services files, such as en.fc and mimetype, which you may have modified.
Remember to back up the Internet Services files from the original volume.
NoteThe first time you perform mirroring, all your network store files will be synchronized. On a large network store, this can be a lengthy task taking several hours. Therefore, it is best to set up a network store for mirroring for the first time when there is no user or trash collection activity.
Mirroring tasks
You must perform these tasks to use mirroring as part of your backup process (both of these tasks are part of the same set of steps as seen in Enabling mirroring below:
• enable the mirror on the full use volume
If your mirrored volume is A and the volume you wish to mirror to is B, then set B to full use.
• point the mirrored volume to the volume in which to mirror.
Configure the volume you want mirrored (for example, volume A) to mirror to your chosen volume (for example, volume B). This is done in the Volumes folder on the administrator's Desktop.
To enable mirroring:
1 Open the Volumes folder on the administrator's Desktop.
2 Select the volume you want to mirror.
3 Choose File > Properties (Windows) or Get Info (Mac).
4 Fill in the fields on the Disk Mirroring tab.
After you click OK, the initial synchronization process begins, building a list of files to copy (the "Mirror Status" is yellow during the syncronization process). This is a one-time task that must be performed for each full volume with a network store on it. You can view synchronization progress on your Server Monitor's Volumes tab. After this stage is finished, the server automatically completes the next stage, which is copying those files. When both of these stages are complete, the "Mirror status", on the Server Monitor's Summary tab (in the Core Services folder), is green.
Permanently stopping mirroring
If you want to replace your network store with a backup, or move your network store to a different machine, you need to permanently stop mirroring. To do this, perform the following tasks on each mirrored volume:
1 Open the Volumes folder on the administrator's Desktop.
2 Select the volume for which you want to stop mirroring.
3 Choose File > Properties (Windows) or Get Info (Mac).
4 Clear "Enable disk mirroring for this volume" on the Disk Mirroring tab.
5 Click OK.
You can check the Volumes tab of the Server Monitor form to make sure the "Disk mirror status" for this volume is Not mirrored.
Backing up your server and network store
Knowing how to back up, rebuild, and restore your FirstClass server in case of emergency are three of your most important responsibilities as an administrator.
Since FirstClass is easy to administer and dependable, emergencies are rare, but if one does arise, you must be prepared to deal with it.
Accidents happen. A power failure or a computer malfunction could destroy everything on your FirstClass server. Without a backup, your users could lose important messages and files, and you could be faced with having to reinstall, reconfigure, and recreate your entire FirstClass system.
To avoid this complicated task, we recommend that you back up your system regularly. It’s also wise to back up your server before upgrading your FirstClass software or your computer hardware.
Reasons for backups
There are several instances in which you may require recent backups, making it imperative that you backup your system regularly:
• Security
The most common reason to do a backup is to guard against natural disasters, system malfunction, or software bugs. For example, if you have a hard disk crash and you have not backed up your FirstClass server to another medium, all of the information in your system will be lost. This is also true if there is a disaster at your server site. Fires, floods, electrical storms, and accidents can all cause partial or total destruction of your system. Finally, bugs in both application and system software may cause malfunctions that render your system unusable. In all cases, planning ahead and backing up ensures that you will be able to get your system running again as soon as possible.
• Hardware or software upgrades
If you are upgrading software (FirstClass or other system software), changing CPUs, or adding hardware, do a complete backup first in case there are any problems during the upgrade.
• Major FirstClass system changes
Before making significant changes to your FirstClass system, such as adding many users or a gateway, or running a large or complex FirstClass scripting script, ensure you backup your system completely and have the backup on hand. If you make an error in the process that is difficult to undo, you can restore your system to what it was before the error and restart the process.
Choosing a backup schedule
Your backup schedule depends on the value of your data, the likelihood that data will be lost, and the difficulty of doing a backup. For example, let’s look at the backup schedule of Husky Planes. Management has decided that they cannot afford to lose more than one day’s worth of FirstClass data. It has set up the following backup process:
• The FirstClass system is backed up to tape every night.
• Backups are retained for two weeks.
• Every Monday morning, the Sunday night backup is sent to an off-site storage facility.
• All other backups produced during the two-week period are stored in a fire-proof safe on site.
Choosing a backup medium
We recommend that you store your backup on a different medium from the one containing your FirstClass system (such as a DAT tape). If you store your backup on the same drive as your system, and the drive is damaged, neither the FirstClass system nor the backup will be available.
Backing up your server
Once you have installed and configured your server, back up the FCNS and FCServer folders (Windows) or the fcns and FirstClass Server folders (Mac).
If you have approved additional volumes, also back up the FCNS folder on each of those volumes.
Mirroring only needs to be paused while backing up the mirrored network store. Resume mirroring when the backup is complete.
 WarningNever back up an active server.
Schedule regular backups to ensure that you do not lose data due to hardware malfunctions or other problems.
Backing up your network store
When you back up your network store, you make a copy of all the FirstClass data that it contains. This includes messages, the Directory, and the system configuration.
Set a regular backup schedule and store your backup in a safe place (ideally off-site). You can use any third-party backup utility to back up your FirstClass server.
Make sure you back up the following folders:
• the folder containing the FirstClass network store on the master volume (the volume on which you installed the FirstClass server)
• the folder containing the FirstClass network store on any other approved volumes
• any additional files or folders you may have modified, such as the Inetsvcs.fc file and the CONFIG or CGI-BIN folders.
WarningsBack up all your volumes at the same time. If you don't, some of them might be inconsistent and therefore unusable when you restore them.
Never back up an active network store. Back up a paused mirror volume, or shut down the server before performing the backup.
Backing up mirrored content
If you have a network store spread across several volumes, back up all these volumes each time you perform a backup, to avoid breaking cross-volume links.
To back up a mirrored volume:
1 Choose Admin > Control > Pause Mirroring.
If you have a network store spread across several volumes, this will pause activity on all volumes.
2 Use your backup software to copy the mirrored network store.
This network store has the name FCNSnnnn (Windows) or fcnsnnnn (Mac), where nnnn is the four-digit hexadecimal FirstClass ID of the source volume.
3 Restart mirroring after the backup is complete by choosing Admin > Control > Continue Mirroring.
An incremental synchronization will be performed automatically.
Automated backup
You can automate the backup process using a combination of the mirroring feature, backup software, scripting software, and the appropriate commands based on your operating system and whether you are running the server as a Windows service.
Automated backup on Windows
You can use the FCPUTIL utility to automate backups whether you are running as a service or not. The commands needed are FCPUTIL PAUSE and FCPUTIL CONTINUE.
FCPUtil supports many commands, allowing you to automate a variety of tasks. You can get a complete list of commands and syntax by opening a command prompt, changing the path to the path of your executable folder, and entering "FCPUTIL".
NoteSome setup is required to use FCPUTIL.
Automated backup on Mac
You can use either FCPUTIL as described above to automate backups or the fcsctl utility. The commands needed are "fcsctl pause" and "fcsctl continue".
To issue these commands, open a Terminal shell and ensure you are working in the server directory.
From a terminal shell you can issue the command directly as
/usr/sbin fcsctl pause
or
/usr/sbin fcsctl continue
Snapshot Hold & Release
The Snapshot Hold & Release feature is designed to hold the FirstClass server in a consistent state, take a snapshot of the network store, and release the server back to normal operating mode. Once the hold has been initiated, the server will not respond to any operations except the corresponding release request until the hold has been released manually or the allotted time has
expired.
Many FirstClass servers use external disk devices for storage of the FirstClass content. Some of these devices, such as NetApp Filers, offer what is referred to as a snapshot facility. Other backup solutions, such as those from Compaq or EMC, offer similar features to provide very fast backups of large amounts of data. In some cases this capability is known as a "split mirror", although that form can take slightly longer to create than the copy-on-write alternative used in NetApp snapshots. There are also software-based "instant backup" solutions, such as BackupExec's "Advanced Open File Option".
In FirstClass terms, a snapshot is any mechanism (typically provided by a network file server) that enables near-instant flagging of the current state of a file system for later retrieval. This does not need to correspond directly to the snapshot services provided by a NetApp, however it is not suitable for use with a traditional backup due to the time required for the backup copy process. The only FirstClass requirement is that this snapshot process take less than a minute (the default is 60 seconds). The hold operation must be quick because the server process is effectively blocked during the snapshot hold operation, and all requests are deferred until the snapshot release. This permits the snapshot hold to be requested, the snapshot to quickly be taken, and the snapshot release to be requested, allowing the server to
function normally while the backup process begins in parallel. This allows you to do an online backup of your FirstClass server without having to worry about open files or mirroring.
You can invoke the hold and release feature in one of two ways: using the Server Control form or FCPUTIL.
Server Control form method
This method uses the Server Control form in the Core Services folder on the Admin Desktop. Go to the Backups tab on the Server Control form, enter the number of seconds to place the server in a hold state for, and then click Snapshot Hold. When you choose this, you are requesting a snapshot hold and the snapshot backup is taken. The hold is automatically released after the time specified on the form.
The Windows server console below shows what happens:
 FCPUTIL method
The second method uses the HOLD command of FCPUTIL, which is described next.
The following result shows both a default (60 seconds) hold request, as well as a timed hold (30 seconds):
  NoteFCPUTIL will be automatically disconnected as soon as the HOLD is released.
Maintaining the search index
FirstClass builds an index of FCNS content to optimize searching.
The Indexing tab of the Server Control form lets you:
• pause and resume indexing
• save indexing data to disk
• flush indexing data to free up memory
• skip saving the forward index when the server is shut down, to speed up shutdown.
To monitor indexing activity, use the Indexing tab of the Server Monitor form.
The search index stoplist
An index stoplist is a list of commonly used words (like "and" or "the") which are of no use in searches. The stoplist saves time and resources by omitting these words from searches.
The FirstClass server's stoplist is called stoplist.txt. It is located in the FCServer application folder or in the indexv2 folder. You can edit this text file to add words you want to the stoplist.
 TipIf you want to omit the most frequently used terms in your organization's documents, you can discover them by running the SINDEX scripting command, then add the terms to the stoplist.
At startup time, the server will look for the stoplist first in FCServer, then in indexv2. If this is the first time the server has started with indexing turned on, the dictionary is seeded with the contents of the stoplist file. Then normal scan and catchup are performed.
When documents are indexed, all words are stored in the DocID files, including the stoplist words. However, when a document is inserted in the forward index file, the stoplist words are omitted. This saves RAM, disk space, and the time needed to read and write the forward index file.
Using FCPUTIL for server maintenance
FCPUTIL is a FirstClass Protocol utility designed to check the status of the server and perform some commands related to maintaining the server. It requires an account with "Monitor server" and "Maintain server" privileges, and it can be used across a network.
There are some major advantages of using FCPUTIL over other options such as NET Pause or fcsctl pause:
• FCPUTIL can return the status of an action. Therefore a script can be constructed to deal with the returned status.
• It supports considerably more functions than the NET command's STOP, PAUSE, and CONTINUE.
• It is both network-based and platform-independent, so it can be run from a different machine than the one hosting the server, and even a different platform.
Setting up FCPUTIL
FCPUTIL is installed automatically with the FirstClass Server, so all you need to do is set it up, which can be done in three steps:
STEP 1: Create a user account
STEP 2: Create a settings file
STEP 3: Customize the account
STEP 1: Create a user account
NoteYou do not need to set up a new account, but we recommend that you do, since the common alternative would be to use the admin account. If you choose not to set up a new account, make sure the account you use has the "Monitor server" and "Maintain server" privileges.
1 Create a new user and give the new account a strong password.
2 Give it two additional privileges: "Monitor server" and "Maintain server".
3 Make sure this account is a member of a group which has the ability to save passwords.
NoteThis account does not need to be a subadmin account.
STEP 2: Create a settings file
1 Go to the folder where your FirstClass executable files exist.
2 Make a copy of a settings file such as Inetsvcs.fc, and rename the copy to fcputil.fc.
STEP 3: Customize the account
1 Launch the FirstClass client.
2 Click Browse.
3 Find the folder where FirstClass is installed, and open the fcputil.fc settings file.
NoteThe fcputil.fc file must be stored in the same location as the FirstClass executable files.
4 Enter the user id and password for the account and click Save.
5 Log in with the FirstClass client to make sure that the client can connect to a server using this settings file.
Common errors
The two most common errors when setting up FCPUTIL are:
Syntax
Run FCPUTIL with the command to process and any additional arguments specific to that command.
Usage: fcputil <cmd> [parameter] [SERVER || FCS || IS || FCINTSRV || VS || VSERVICE]
or: fcputil [-s|-S] getstats [id [id ...] ]
or: fcputil -h - gives the basic syntax help plus common commands
or: fcputil -H - gives syntax with a full list of command keywords
Switches
Common core commands
Backup, mirroring, and snapshot hold commands
Performance and statistics commands
Other core commands
Other current status commands
Indexing commands
You can use INDEXPAUSEBACKUP, INDEXRESUMEBACKUP, and INDEXSTATUS to use scripting to back up the index, as in this example:
fcputil IndexPauseBackup
loop:
rc = fcputil IndexStatus
if rc == 3
run backup
fcputil IndexResumeBackup
exit
goto loop
Common logging commands
Other logging and debugging commands
Examples
This script incorporates multiple FCPUTIL commands. It warns users that a shutdown is imminent, and then performs a fast shutdown.
FCPUTIL BROADCAST "Server shutdown in 5 minutes."
FCPUTIL WAIT 240
FCPUTIL BROADCAST "Server shutdown in 1 minute. Please log off."
FCPUTIL WAIT 60
FCPUTIL BROADCAST "Server shutting down now."
FCPUTIL WAIT 5
FCPUTIL FAST
This is the output to the console/log file that resulted from two MDUMP commands. One was issued while the mirror was still synchronizing, and the other was issued after synchronization was complete:
[2010/03/01 01:32:04] Volume 8001 ("G:") mirror state is FULL SYNC (90%).
[2010/03/01 01:32:04] Volume 853C ("E:") mirror is ACTIVE.
[2010/03/01 01:32:54] Mirror: Beginning incremental sync of 13 item(s) ...
[2010/03/01 01:33:01] Mirror: Incremental sync of 13 item(s) complete.
[2010/03/01 01:33:01] Mirror: Volume 8001 sync complete. Mirror active.
[2010/03/01 01:34:57] Volume 8001 ("G:") mirror is ACTIVE.
[2010/03/01 01:34:57] Volume 853C ("E:") mirror is ACTIVE.
This script pauses the server and takes a snapshot copy of the network store:
fcputil.exe hcheck
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto initbackup
goto end
:initbackup
START fcputil hold 60
:waitforhold
IF EXIST snapshot goto backup
fcputil wait 20
rem if a fall back test needed - fcputil.exe hcheck
rem IF ERRORLEVEL 0 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto end
goto waitforhold
:backup
rem Backup ALL FirstClass mirror volumes
echo FirstClass mirror paused. Backing up FCNS mirror files, please wait ...
echo %TIME%
rem Take NetApp snap shot of the paused mirror.
echo Taking a snap shot ...
rem rsh localhost -l userid:password -n snap create vol3 weekly.temp
rem Wait for NetApp volume commands to complete.
echo FCNS backup completed.
del snapshot
rem if this fails, it means the 60 seconds is up and the server resumed and it deleted the file
:end
rem Delete the file created at the top of this script.
del fcIndexbackup.run
rem If this script terminates abnormally, the file fcshold.run rem MUST be removed from the FCServer folder manually. Until this is done this script will abort on startup.
echo %TIME%
echo Script Processing complete.
EXIT /b
This script pauses indexing and takes a copy:
fcputil.exe IndexStatus
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto end
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto backup
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto waitforhold
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto waitforhold
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto initbackup
goto end
:initbackup
fcputil.exe IndexPauseBackup 40
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto waitforhold
goto end
:waitforhold
fcputil.exe wait 10
fcputil.exe IndexStatus
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto resume
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto backup
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto waitforhold
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto waitforhold
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 echo %ERRORLEVEL% & goto end
goto end
:backup
echo FirstClass Index paused. Backing up files, please wait ...
echo %TIME%
echo Taking a copy of index ...
fcputil wait 20
echo Index backup completed.
rem if this fails, it means the 60 seconds is up and the server resumed and it deleted the file
:resume
fcputil.exe IndexResumeBackup
:end
echo %TIME%
echo Script Processing complete.
EXIT /b
GETSTATS command
This command provides the ability to fetch real-time statistics from the server remotely by requesting a static number from the server that corresponds to the desired function.
Syntax
The syntax for the GETSTATS command is:
FCPUTIL [ -s | -S ] GETSTATS [ <stat-IDs> ... ]
Statistics IDs
Here is a full list of the statistics IDs and their values. Commonly used statistics are identified with *.
Examples
This command returns the three server load percentages normally displayed on the Summary tab of the Server Monitor.
FCPUTIL GETSTATS 2005 2012 2022
The output would be something like:
C:\>FCPUTIL GETSTATS 2005 2012 2022
FCPUtil Version 8.0.5 [Nov 22 2004]
Copyright (c) 2004 by OpenText Corporation
Stat ID Current Statistic Value
======= =======================
2005 0.000
2012 0.220
2022 0.000
3 statistics returned.
NoteIf no stat IDs are specified, FCPUTIL uses a default list of "2 3 2005 2012 2022 1400 2111 2301 2302 9002".
For the purposes of more automated procedures, there are two options (-s and -S) to reduce the complexity and verbosity of the output.
-s returns an "ID=value" formatted list:
C:\>FCPUTIL -s GETSTATS 2005 2012 2022
2005=0.000 2012=0.235 2022=0.000
-S just returns a list of values:
C:\>FCPUTIL -S GETSTATS 2005 2012 2022
0.000 0.358 0.000
A common example for tracking server performance might be the default stats list in the terse format:
C:\>FCPUTIL -S GETSTATS
8.000 203.000 0.000 0.231 0.000 44.000 100.000 0.000 0.000 1072410624.000
Restoring your network store
We recommend do backups as a matter of course, but they are of little value unless you know how to use them in case of emergency.
If a problem with your network store occurs, you can do several things, in the order listed below, to detect and solve the problem.
Plan A - Directory rebuild
If your Directory becomes damaged, you must rebuild the Directory. If a rebuild does not solve the problem, you should restore the old Directory immediately.
WarningsNever attempt a rebuild without first contacting your reseller or our customer support. Failure to do so can cause irrepairable damage to your network store.
Before you rebuild your Directory, make sure all network store volumes are mounted. For example, if some of your volumes are networked volumes, make sure you are logged into the network. If you fail to do so, the users, conferences and gateways on unavailable volumes may be deleted from the Directory during a rebuild.
A Directory can only be restored from a rebuild once. Therefore, if you discover that the standard rebuild did not resolve your Directory problems, restore the old Directory. If you attempt to rebuild again without performing a restore, you will not be able to recover the previous Directory.
You should not restore the old Directory unless the rebuild has completed and not fixed the problems in your network store. A Restore of the network store from backup should not be used if the standard rebuild has failed. A restore of your User Directory is not the same as a restore of your network store from backup. It does not replace a damaged network store with an earlier version, it merely performs an undo of a rebuild.
A Directory may become damaged as a result of a power or disk failure. Other scenarios under which you would perform a rebuild are:
• inconsistencies in the Directory
Error code 1050: User directory contains inconsistent data. The server has detected problems in the FirstClass Directory, the database that contains users, conferences, and routes registered on the server.
Error code 2007: Lookup error: The recipient’s name could not be found in the Directory.
• unexpected differences between Directory lists sorted by name and by user ID (using the Admin > List Directory command)
• a user that you know exists does not appear in a Directory list
• the following error is generated when a user who appears in a Directory list tries to log in:
Error 4105: File does not exist. This error occurs if a user tries to access a file or folder that does not exist. This usually indicates that the object was manually deleted by the user, rather than FirstClass, or that the file was damaged and removed by Trash Collection.
• duplicate entries exist for a user or conference.
NoteYou do not have to rebuild your Directory after a normal backup. Unless you encounter the circumstances described above, or are asked to rebuild by FirstClass Customer Support, you should not rebuild your Directory.
Plan B - restore from backup
Rebuilds (plan A) can be performed without using your backup, but if you need to do a restore (plan B), you’ll be glad you have it.
WarningNever use the File > Restore Old User Directory menu command to restore your network store from a backup. This is used only in conjunction with a rebuild attempt.
A restore recreates an image of your network store as it was when it was last backed up. Any changes made to your network store since then will be lost. Therefore only do a restore when absolutely necessary. This becomes a larger issue the older your backup is.
When to perform a restore
There are several situations in which you need to restore your network store from a backup:
• if you try to rebuild your Directory and the rebuild fails
• if the hard drive has failed
If you use Mac, try using a disk utility like the Norton Disk Doctor for Macintosh (a component for Norton Utilities for Macintosh), or Alsoft’s DiskWarrior.
If you use Windows, try using a disk utility like Norton Disk Doctor or Dr. Watson.
• if you are moving your network store to a new drive.
Performing a restore from a backup
To restore your network store from a backup, follow these steps.
1 Make sure the server is shut down.
2 Copy the following folders from your backup medium to your hard drive, replacing the existing damaged versions:
• the folder containing the FirstClass server
• the folder containing the FirstClass network store on the master volume (the volume on which you installed the FirstClass server)
• the folder containing the FirstClass network store on any other volumes you have approved.
3 In the FirstClass scripting PUT command examples there is a sample script which is used to change the audit start time. Copy the script into FCNS/Server/batch. If you do not do this, audit may begin running when you start your server.
CautionPlace the script in the batch folder before starting the server.
4 Although not required, it’s a good idea to rebuild your Directory after restoring your network store. Be very sure you do not select any options at the bottom of the form.
WarningNever attempt a rebuild without first contacting your reseller or our customer support. Failure to do so can cause irrepairable damage to your network store.
Selectively restoring network store objects
You can selectively restore objects in your network store for your users. This selective restore feature allows you to use the Export FirstClass scripting command to restore selective items, such as mail, documents, conferences, folders, and so on, which have been deleted from your system by an audit. Use this feature sparingly and only in emergency situations, as it takes a great deal of time and resources.
WarningBefore beginning a partial restore, ensure your entire network store is backed up to another machine.
Once the backup is complete, issue a FirstClass scripting export command to the administrator to individually move items from the backup to your original network store. The FirstClass scripting script must identify exactly what you want to restore and how you want to restore it.
NotesThe FirstClass scripting section of our online help contains important information about export. Ensure you have read and understand this information before attempting a selective restore.
If you are restoring an entire container, for example a Mailbox or Application Server folder, the container with the same name must already exist on your Desktop. We recommend that you create a temporary container for your restored information and then drag items from this container to where you want them to reside. This avoids the problem of overwriting or creating duplicates of existing items.
To selectively restore objects in your network store:
1 Shut down your server and Internet Services.
2 Rename your live FCNS folder.
3 Copy your FCNS backup to the same location as your server (FCServer) and, if the backup FCNS folder is named differently, rename it to FCNS.
4 In the backup FCNS, search for the container or item to restore. If you already know the names of the items you want to restore, skip this step.
5 In the backup FCNS, start the server, log in as administrator and send the following Export command to FirstClass scripting:
export desktop <userid> "item" +r
where:
<userid> is the user ID of the user for whom you are restoring data,
"item" is the container or individual item you wish to restore,
NoteIf your item has a space in the name, you must use quotes (" ") around the item name. Item names are not case sensitive.
+r (recursive) means to restore all items (do not use this variable to restore individual items).
NoteIf you don't use "desktop" and "<userid>" in the script, the server considers administrator the default user.
6 Copy the reply message from FirstClass scripting to a text file and save any/all attachments.
The remaining steps will be done on your live FCNS.
7 Disable the backup FCNS and rename your live network store back to FCNS.
8 Copy and paste the FirstClass scripting script and any/all attachments into a message on your live server.
9 Replace "<objdesc>" (angle brackets included) in the FirstClass scripting script with the path to the correct location, and send the message.
10 Check that the items were restored.
Example 1
Roy Allen has deleted an important email (Financial Report) from his Mailbox. Following the steps described above, the Husky Planes administrator was able to restore this message to his Mailbox. Using the same syntax as in Step 5, the administrator sent this FirstClass scripting script to export the email item 'Financial Report' located in Roy's Mailbox:
export desktop rallen "Mailbox:Financial Report"
The administrator received the reply script from FirstClass scripting.
Next, working in the live server, the administrator copied and pasted the FirstClass scripting script into a message and changed the <objdesc> line to:
SetBase desktop rallen mailbox
to point the FirstClass scripting email to the correct path on Roy Allen's Desktop and restore the email item 'Financial Report' to his Mailbox. The administrator sent the message to FirstClass scripting and Roy now has his important email back in his Mailbox.
Example 2
Amanda Clark, an Avalon Academy employee, is leaving the school . She wants to export all of the contacts in her Contacts folder to Roy Allen, as he is taking over her responsibilities. Following the steps described above, Avalon's administrator was able to export Amanda's entire Contacts folder and send it to Roy. Using the same syntax as in Step 5, the administrator sent this FirstClass scripting script to export Amanda Clark's Contacts folder, located on her Desktop:
export desktop aclark "Contacts" +r
The administrator received the reply script from FirstClass scripting.
Next, working in the live server, the administrator copied and pasted the FirstClass scripting script into a message and changed the <objdesc> line to:
SetBase desktop rallen "Contacts2"
to point the FirstClass scripting email to the correct path on Roy Allen's Desktop where Amanda's Contacts folder will be copied. Then the administrator sent the message to FirstClass scripting. Remember, Roy Allan must have a container called "Contact manager2" already created on his Desktop before running the batch script.
Roy now has a complete copy of Amanda Clark's Contacts folder and all of the contents that reside within it. Notice that the temporary container is a different name from the original container. This is so Roy's original Contacts folder will not be affected in any way. Roy can now pull contacts from the temporary container and place them in his own Contacts folder at his leisure.
Using fcfixvol to set network store file permissions and ownership
Any time you copy a network store from one volume to another or restore from a backup, you must afterward use the fcfixvol utility to set the permissions on the files and folders in the network store.
Using fixvol on Mac
1 Choose Go > Applications.
2 Double-click the Terminal application in the Utilities folder.
3 Enter the following at fcadmin%:
cd “/Library/FirstClass Server”
4 Enter the following at the next prompt:
./fcfixvol <volume > <fcns>
NoteTo apply to all volumes, or all post offices on a volume, substitute “all” for either parameter. For example, to apply this command to all network stores on all volumes, use:
./fcfixvol all all
Other examples:
./fcfixvol Master all
./fcfixvol Master fcns8001
Running fcfixvol with a missing argument displays all possible values for that argument on that FirstClass system.
The process may take several minutes depending on the number and size of the network store volumes. The terminal will display the name of each post office it has recognized and tell you when it has finished setting the permissions and ownership on each.
Using fixvol on Linux
1 Ensure you are logged in as fcadmin.
2 Open a Terminal window (Applications > System Tools > Terminal).
3 Enter the following at the prompt:
cd /opt/fcsd
4 Enter the following at the next prompt:
./fcfixvol <volume > <fcns>
NoteTo apply to all volumes, or all network stores on a volume, substitute “all” for either parameter. For example, to apply this command to all network stores on all volumes, use:
./fcfixvol all all
Other examples:
./fcfixvol master all
./fcfixvol master fcns8001
Running fcfixvol with a missing argument displays all possible values for that argument on that FirstClass system.
The process may take several minutes depending on the number and size of the network store volumes. The terminal will display the name of each network store it has recognized and tell you when it has finished setting the permissions and ownership on each.
Setting files to lowercase using fcfixvol
To also set all files to lowercase, add the argument -c (f./fcfixvol -c <volume > <fcns> )
Repairing Directory errors
Directory integrity issues can occasionally occur due to user error, power failures, or other unpredictable circumstances.
Errors in user data
If a user discovers errors such as missing or damaged data, perform a single audit to diagnose and repair the error. This audit will run in protected mode and will not remove any deleted or expired items.
Errors in many Directory entries
If a large group of user accounts are missing or damaged in the Directory, consider running a Directory rebuild. If you are unsure of whether or not you need to perform a rebuild, call our customer support or your reseller to discuss your issue and to come up with the best course of action for the situation.
Errors in a single Directory entry
If one user's Directory information is corrupted or missing, you can diagnose and repair this user's Directory entry without impacting the performance of your server.
Any of the following circumstances indicate that you may have a Directory issue with a user:
• one or more of the following is missing in the administrator's List Directory:
• Client ID
• User ID
• User's last name
• user cannot log in and receives Error 1035
• other users and the administrator cannot address mail to the user
• the user appears in the administrator's List Directory, but the administrator cannot open the user's User Information form.
Diagnosing and repairing single Directory entries
Step 1 - Diagnose
1 Open the User Directory Diagnostics form located in Admin Help > Administration > Admin Resources.
2 In the Step one section, enter the Client ID, User ID and Last name of the user whose Directory entry you want to diagnose.
Note All three fields must be entered.
3 Click Diagnose.
4 Send the message.
A reply message will be sent to the administrator's Mailbox. The message will have three sections, corresponding the the three identifications entered in the diagnosis.
If there is no Directory issue with the user, no errors will be found in any entry. The reply message will look like the following:
 If there is a Directory issue with the user, one or more sections will contain errors. If one or two contain errors, but at least one section contains no errors, you can repair the Directory entry.
Step 2 - Repair
1 Unsend the Directory Diagnostics FirstClass scripting message in the administrator's Mailbox.
2 In the Step two section, select the index that had no errors.
NoteIf the Client index and another index were both error free, select the Client Index.
3 Click Repair.
4 Send the message.
A repair confirmation will be sent to the administrator's Mailbox.
If the Directory entry is not repaired and you experience further issues, contact Customer Support to solve the issue.
Best practices
System maintenance checklist
This checklist will help you keep a watchful eye on your system and establish system benchmarks. By going over this list on a regular basis, you’ll be able to differentiate between a temporary spike in usage and a sustained usage increase.
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