Deduplication helps manage storage efficiently by avoiding duplicate content. It ensures the optimum utilization of the storage space by removing the duplicate files and versions.
It also assists in maintaining a clean and efficient file system by ensuring that users work with the latest content and not multiple copies.
Deduplication works at two different levels in the Web UI. One is at the file-level and the other is at the domain-level.
File-Level Deduplication
File-level deduplication occurs within a single file's version history. When a file’s content remains the same across different versions, Egnyte retains only the latest version and deletes the older, duplicate versions.
How It Works
- When a file is updated and saved, Egnyte checks if the new version is identical to the previous version. If it is, the older version is removed for effective version control and management.
For instance, consider a document named Project_Report that is saved multiple times:
- Version 1: Initial report is created
- Version 2: Minor edits are made and then undone. It has the content as version 1.
- Version 3: Major updates are made
If Version 2 has the same content as Version 1, Egnyte will delete Version 1 and retain Version 2 and Version 3. This ensures that only the most recent and relevant versions are stored
Domain-Level Deduplication
Domain-level deduplication addresses duplicate files across the entire Egnyte domain.
How It Works
- Single Copy: If multiple files within the domain contain the same content, Egnyte stores just one copy of that content. All instances refer to this single copy, avoiding redundancy.
Example: Suppose three users upload similar files:
- File A: Uploaded by User 1
- File B: Uploaded by User 2
- File C: Uploaded by User 3
If File A, File B, and File C contain the same content, Egnyte will store only one copy of that content. Even though there are three files, only one actual file exists on Egnyte’s servers, with the others linking to this single copy. If any of the users update their file, a new version will be created and their file will reference the new file version. The other 2 files will keep referring to the original file.
View Deduplicated Storage
To view the deduplicated storage details:
- Navigate to Reports -> Dashboard.
- Deduplication storage details are available under Storage.