Deleted Files Recovery

BOS unique way of handling deleted objects is driven out of the basic needs found in real life.
When a document or folder are erased in a file server there is a possibility of recovering them from the file system directly. This possibility depends on the way the file system was designed, configured and managed. All these file system operations are always time and size limited. In addition to that, there is no common way to protect deleted objects while on the same file system for the long run.
In most cases the only way to recover deleted objects requires installation of specialized recovery software on the same server - overwriting the deleted object in the process.
Another way of recovering deleted objects requires the removal of the disk drive from the server and transferring it to another system that contains specialized software and hardware, or to a Data Recovery facility which owes this kind of equipment.

The most common way to handle deleted objects' recuperation is to restore them from former backups.
This method has its own constrains: backups are usually performed only once a day, which means changes made during the workday will not be reflected in the last day's backup. Most enterprises keep a limited number of backup sets (daily, weekly, monthly etc.). If a file was deleted at some point in the past, it would be difficult –if at all possible - to locate it on the backup sets. In many cases the deleted objects' names are unknown or simply not remembered. Retrieving a file which its location is unknown is one of the most frustrating tasks for any system manager.
Unfortunately most backup solutions do not deal with deleted objects, but just backup existing files. In case of an unnoticed and unintentional deletion of crucial old documents, all the following backups will lack the deleted items, and the user will not be warned regarding this loss.

BOS's unique way of handling deleted objects is specially aimed to handle these scenarios:
When the BOS backup procedure realizes the absence of a formerly existing  object, it automatically raises several alarms and enacts a special handling procedure. The result of this mechanism is the display of all missing files during the daily operation, with the ability to recognize and restore at will any single object -file or folder- simply by drag and drop.




In detail, deleted objects are managed by BOS as follows:


1.     Because deleting is a common and acceptable behavior in computing environment, BOS accepts the 'delete' command as a legal action. BOS responds to deletion by moving the deleted object from the "Current" state folder to a "History" state one where it will be archived for a set period of time designed by the system's operator.
2.     A special link called "-=Deleted=-Object.Name" is created and replaces the original object in the "Current" folder. This new "ghost" object is solely intended for solving the problem of forgetting an object's name or location.
3.      BOS Database is updated with the information relating to the deleted object and the location of its last version and all other previous versions that exist in the "History" state archive folders.
4.     The backup report is alerted with the information about the amount of deleted objects found during the execution of the backup.
This report contains specific information about any deleted objects absent from any backup data source and a summary of these objects in the complete procedure.
5.
      The in-depth backup report is fitted with a special record for every single object name, size, time, date and location.
6.
      The daily summary report is alerted with the summary of the backup report in order to allow a quick notice of object deletion actions which took place during the daily tasks.
7.
     The BOS GUI management, using the information supplied by the BOS Database, shows every deleted object illustrated with a distinguishing color. The objects appear at their original locations which allows drilling down inside deleted folders, finding any deleted files, locating any previous versions of deleted files and opening any of them for examination.
8.
     BOS logs menu within the GUI gives a complete view of all operation made by BOS procedures allowing examination of all operations and delete events in a brief view.
9.
     The BOS deleted object handling system will keep trace of any deleted object that were recreated after being deleted, allowing you to protect yourself and your organization against unwanted file replacement.
10.
     The BOS monitoring module give you the option of opening the last backup report and the last backup in-depth report for examination.