Windows Server 2008 File Classification Management

Server 2008 R2 FSRM includes a new feature called file classification, based on the new File Classification Infrastructure or FCI. File classification allows an organization to define properties and rules that will add specific file properties to better define the characteristics of the classified files. File classification properties are supported on a Windows Server 2008 R2 NTFS partition and the file classification properties will follow Microsoft Office 2007 files and SharePoint files when moved around. All other files that are classified will have their properties stored within the NTFS volume they are hosted on, but if the files are moved to other Windows Server 2008 R2 NTFS volumes, these properties will follow the files.

File classification in Windows Server 2008 R2 is the first release of this feature and is sure to be more and more valuable as third-party Microsoft partners and independent software vendors extend the functionality included with the default framework provided. Currently, out of the box, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 allows administrators to create file properties and automatically classify files with these properties based on the file location and, in some cases, based on the content stored within the file. The steps to file classification include, first, enabling and defining file properties that can be used for classification and, second, creating classification rules that will actually classify files according to the criteria defined within the rule, and properties and values that are applied to this rule. Once files are classified, file management tasks can be created to perform tasks upon classified files, such as moving files to designated folders or performing custom tasks such as running automated scripts to perform any number of tasks related to the particular file classifications.

The best way to understand file classification is to start defining file classification properties, file classification rules, and file management tasks on data that has been copied from a server share to an isolated lab server running Windows Server 2008 R2. Once a file is classified and has properties defined, these properties cannot be removed—they can only be overwritten or merged with other properties, so performing any sort of learning or testing on production data can result in undesired changes that would require heavy manual work to reverse. To begin using the file classification features of Windows Server 2008 R2, install the File Server Resource Manager service and tool, then perform the steps outlined in the proceeding sections.

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