File Server Resource Manager (FSRM)

Windows Server 2008 R2 includes a file system management and reporting configuration tool named the File Server Resource Manager (FSRM). This service and tool was first introduced in Windows Server 2003 R2 and provides administrators with the ability to configure quota management at the volume and folder level, create and apply file screening policies, generate alert notifications and reports on a schedule and in real time, and classify files and folders based on administratively defined criteria.

With the volume-level quota management, previously included with Windows Server versions, administrators were very limited on how quotas could be applied and several issues were encountered. Many organizations that required tighter control of their storage were forced to utilize third-party quota management software to get the functionality they required. With the quota management functionality included with the FSRM service in Windows Server 2008 R2, administrators can now create quotas at a volume or folder level and create exceptions or tighter restrictions as required in subfolders. With this sort of functionality, a standard quota size can be established and specific managers, executives, or administrators or specific departments or collaborative groups could have different quota policies applied on the folders that require different storage settings.

With the file screening functionality of FSRM, organizations can restrict all users from storing certain types of files on server storage; for example, music, video, or executables are common files that are screened for end users. Of course, this can be overridden using file screen exceptions to allow these file types in a specific folder or set of folders beneath the parent folder or volume to which the file screen policy is applied.

The new feature included with Windows Server 2008 R2 FSRM is the File Classification Infrastructure. This new functionality can be used to run scheduled tasks that identify and tag or classify files based on their storage location and/or the content stored within the file. Of course, FCI can only search through the content of certain file types, which does not include encrypted files. As this is the first implementation or release of the FCI on the Windows platform, expect that future releases will detail the types of files that can be classified by content and the built-in actions that can be performed after classification is performed on a set of files.

Source of Information : Sams - Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (2010)