The underlying technology of a software purchase should be a a prime consideration. Is the software architected in a way that takes you into the future? Is it scalable? Does it run on the hardware and operating systems you currently have? Following are some of the questions we have been asked. If your question is not answered here just send it to .
Does the document management software operate in a .NET environment?
FileHold document management software is written entirely in .NET 2.0 using a web services oriented architecture. We work closely with Microsoft around .NET 2.0, Visual Studio Team Systems, SQL, WiNFX and the Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF) receiving advanced training, support and technical guidance.
Does the document management software client operate on a Windows operating system(s)?
Yes. FileHold is very Microsoft centric; the vast majority of our customers are Microsoft shops. FileHold document management software also supports the Firefox browser which allows users to access document from other operating systems.
Does the document management software operate on a Windows server?
Yes. Windows 2003 and Windows 2003 R2 Server is required as well as MS SQL 2000 and 2005 Server. We recommend MS SQL 2005 as it performs very well and provides a powerful search capability.
Does the document management software utilize SQL Server?
Enterprise requires MS SQL Server, FileHold Express operates on the free version of SQL Express available from Microsoft. The document management software installer installs the databases onto the SQL Server and our server application.
How does the document management software synchronization with Microsoft Active Directory Work?
FileHold provides a complex yet customizable XML based AD synchronization subsystem in the form of the optional FileHold Active Directory integration tool kit. This toolkit includes consulting and implementation time. The document management software uses Microsoft's Active Directory Application Mode, (ADAM) a little known about but powerful piece of Microsoft technology.
ADAM is a lightweight version of Active Directory designed for authentication for software developer's own applications for locally managed users, and single-sign on with Microsoft Active Directory. Very few software companies use ADAM but Microsoft gave FileHold assistance over 2 years in understanding and implementing ADAM within the FileHold server system. You can read about Microsoft's case study about FileHold's usage of ADAM here.
XML synchronization files are configured by FileHold personnel working with the customer's AD administration group, and the ADAM schema is compared and merged with the Active Directory schema into the ADAM schema by FileHold with the AD group in attendance. Then a synchronizing utility is run by scheduled task using a read only Active Directory user account to pull in Active Directory Users and Groups. This scheduled task can run every few minutes, hours, etc as per any Windows scheduled task. It can also be turned off and run on demand.
Does the document management software integrate with Microsoft Outlook? How does the document management software save e-mail messages?
FileHold provides MS Office integration with Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint and Outlook. In the Outlook integration you can send individual emails and their attachments as a .MSG file format to The document management software directly from the Outlook 2003 Desktop client. If there is an attachment it is included, and the entire email and attachment are full text indexed for future search. We have a good video on our tours page that describes MS Office integration in detail.
We have documents stored on Linux, Apache, MySQL and Java/PHP. Is there any way to use the document management software search engine to retrieve these documents?
One option would be to import the documents into FileHold document management software using the Desktop Client. While importing the documents into the system, the document management software will full text index them and make them available to end-users for searching / retrieving / management.
What user role management is shipped with the document management software and what is included in the "optional" Active Directory synchronization?
FileHold document management software ships with the document management software User Role Manager which provides for the administrative management of FileHold users. As an option we offer integration (via Microsoft ADAM) with Active Directory. A scheduled task on the FileHold Windows 2003 Server executes the document management software components that utilize XML synchronization scripts and Microsoft ADAM which then synchronizes users from the AD store with the ADAM store.
FileHold follows Microsoft's best practices and uses Microsoft ADAM to provide AD integration / synchronization.
Can Active Directory be set up in the document management software so it can look to multiple domain controllers (in case one is down unexpectedly)?
The Microsoft ADAM technology we employ provides a secure store within the FileHold document management software for the storage of these user accounts. If the synchronization / scheduled task does not have the primary AD controller server available, then it would simply reschedule the next task and synchronize. The ADAM store mitigates against the AD server system by potentially not being available, but then the user would have to logon manually with the form rather than clicking on "Use Windows Authentication" for integrated authentication on the Web Client or Desktop client. The FileHold/ADAM synchronization scheduled task is primarily used when adding users to be used within the document management software system administration for granting System rights and Cabinet/Folder/Schema access permissions. The synchronization event can then add additional users for FileHold system administrators to include within the groups and areas within the document management software.
Please provide information on the document management software back-end architecture. What information is stored in SQL Server vs. the file storage server(s)?
The SQL Server contains document metadata, usage logging, user settings, system settings and other non-document information. The file storage server contains the documents themselves and is protected so that only authorized IT personnel (running backup software) or the document management software web services can access this repository. There is also a full text index (for search) collection that is secured. The SQL Server, File storage location, and Full-text index all have to be in the same domain.
What Hardware does the document management software Enterprise document management software require?
For complete system requirements, click here.
FileHold consultants are available to help the IT department pick out suitable existing equipment or make recommendations on a new hardware purchase contact .
What typical configurations are other companies using with the document management software?
Configurations depend on a customer's budget and IT preferences but the following are the most common 3 options:
In smaller deployments everything can be on a single Windows Server running IIS 6, ASP.NET, and MS SQL 2000. The file storage path is managed and protected by FileHold / Windows Security. A second option is to have Web/File Storage and SQL or Web and SQL / File Storage on separate servers. And a final option is 3 servers, one Web, one SQL Server and one File repository or a SAN or NAS type device.
FileHold works with customers to help them properly architect and design a scalable system that distributes our ASP.NET 2.0 web services. This could include a blade server / clustered server environment to meet their mission critical requirements for fault tolerance in case of hardware failure, load balancing to address high load / large amounts of users, as well as disaster recovery.
The FileHold document management software architecture is based entirely on Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 web services using best practices outlined by Microsoft's Enterprise patterns / best practices. The FileHold development team has received feedback and advice from Microsoft throughout our development process.
Comment on back up options?
We have a Best Practices Guide for Backup and Disaster Recovery that outlines what needs to be backed up. To learn more, click here.
Some customers use Server Imaging software like Symantec LiveState or Acronis's Imaging Suite to do a complete image of a server for disaster recovery or bare metal recovery if the replacement hardware changes. Other customers use backup software like Veritas Backup Exec - it's important to ensure that the ability to save Databases while they are being used is supported.
FileHold requires the backup of SQL databases, ASP, .NET configuration files / web components, and a few other key system files on the server. In addition, the full text search collection and the file repository need to be backed up. It is always important to test the backups on a regular basis.
Are documents stored in the document management software being stored as compressed files?
FileHold's Server application does not compress files during storage. FileHold document management software stores the files or documents in their native, original format. It is recommended that customers avoid TIFF files where possible and use the much more efficient PDF format.
The only compression FileHold document management software uses is when a user requests more than one file or document from the server, this collection is zipped up to save network bandwidth. The end user then has one convenient package containing a few or many files to open and use.
