Scan and Discovery
Learn about the scan tool in Movebot
Data discovery is an important aspect of migrations and data lifecycle management. If you don't have the full picture in terms of your data, it is very hard to be able to perform any management tasks on that dataset. Movebot provides a fundamental tool to help solve this problem and provide detailed visibility into your dataset.
What information does a scan provide
Scans provide an aggregate and tree view of your connected storage engine. You are then able to navigate through that tree to view:
File and folder counts
Largest file and folders
File types
Duplicate files
Sharing and permission information
Empty folders
Recently modified files and folders
Potential migration issues
You can also use the scan to search for files and folders that match certain conditions.
Scan types
Scans can be executed on a single transfer or a complete project. Project discovery scans are useful as they provide the basis for a migration project and can be used to assist in reorganising data during the migration.
Project Discovery Scan
Learn how to run a project discovery scan.
To run a scan, create a new Movebot project, connect your platforms, and follow the wizard. Once done, select Save and Exit.
You will find yourself at your migration project dashboard. Click on Run Discovery Scan.
From the Discovery Scan page, you can then click on Launch Scan Now.
You will be asked whether you wish to run a scan over the entire source platform or a specific location. We recommend scanning the entire source for cloud platforms and selecting the specific drive you wish to scan if you're working with on-prem servers.
Finally, you can click Launch Scan to kick off your pre-migration scan.
Searching Scan Results
Learn how to Movebot's scan results.
Movebot provides a bunch of standardized reports, but it is also possible to create your own reports using the search console under the files/folders view and search for files or folders.
Under Files/Folders you can see all files and folders discovered in the scan. You can then use the filter to search for files/folders to find specific items.
You can manually use search expressions as below.
{files.is_dir == true}
Only match directories
{files.depth > 10}
Match files/directories that are greater than 10 directories deep
{files.depth < 10}
Match files/directories that are less than 10 directories deep
{files.size < 1024}
Match files smaller than 1KB
{files.size > 1024}
Match files larger than 1KB
{files.extension == "png"}
Match files with the extension .png
{files.modtime > 1602629811}
Match files modified after the unix timestamp provided
{files.modtime < 1602629811}
Match files modified before the unix timestamp provided
You can join queries together with an "and" operator:
Spaces and character cases are important and currently there is limited error handling.
Adding Transfers from Scan
Learn how to add transfers directly from scan results.
Movebot supports adding transfers directly from the scan results. This allows you to use the Explorer feature of the discovery scan to analyze the content and easily create mappings for multiple transfer projects using the same source and destination.
Adding Transfers from Explorer
After running a scan, check the Discovery Scan tab and choose Explorer to review the files and folders that Movebot has scanned. You'll also see an overview of errors and warnings, such as if you are attempting to map a drive in the source that is too large for the destination. If you click on one of these errors or warnings, the results will only show results that have that specific issue.
To add a Transfer from the scan results, simply highlight beside a folder, click the checkbox, and click Add Transfers. You can also pick to Ignore File, which can be useful for isolating objects that you do not want to move to the destination. If a folder or its subfolders are used in a transfer, Movebot will inform you with an icon beside the file name.
Mapped sub-folders
In the above screenshot, you may notice that one folder has a Mapped sub-folders notice. This means that while the folder at this level has not been mapped as a transfer, at least one sub-folder below has been.
This is useful to keep track of which folders you have mapped to both make sure you move all the data across and avoid moving the same folders multiple times.
Ignore subfolders mapped in other transfers
As a further safeguard from moving the same folder in multiple transfers, Movebot has the the option to ignore subfolders mapped in other transfers as part of the Content Options when setting up a transfer. When this default option remains checked, Movebot will ignore subfolders that have previously been mapped within the same project so that you don't have to manually exclude them one at a time.
This method allows you to run transfers much quicker, but keep in mind that if you intentionally want to transfer a folder to multiple locations, you will need to leave this option unchecked so that it won't be ignored.
Warnings and Issues
Learn about how Movebot gives Warnings and Issues.
Scans provide a list of warnings and issues that have been identified with the migration. These warnings are useful for highlighting issues before kicking off the migration.
To view warnings and predicted issues from a scan, open Content Options under the scan overview.
Clicking on an issue will provide a detailed description and a list of files/folders that are impacted.
You can also use Explorer/Navigator tab to see a tree view of all files and folders discovered by the scan. Clicking Show Simulation View will show an expected destination view of the migration.
