Network File Management Solutions and Policies

[allenc]

I'm trying to clean up my companies network to make things easier to navigate around in and locate files. Are there any good articles or papers on decent policies to institute and directory management strategies? I'd like to
organize the network by departments home drives, but from there, I'm not sure what kind of system to use, what parent directories to create, and policies on file retention and naming conventions.

Any help would be great.

[johnwill]

I'm not aware of any, but I'd start by thinking about what you want to accomplish, then mapping out a basic structure. You can then ask around for ideas to see if there are any major flaws in your idea. One problem is that every organization is unique, so what works for one may not work for another.

Many companies are going to websites to organize their network, something you might want to consider. You could at least document the structure with an Intranet page that would help folks in the company find the information they need.

[allenc]

What do you mean websites to organize the network? Sort of like just mapping out the structure of the network on a intranet page and then making that available to the users, or going to a web based file server/search solution?

Also, are there standard network file retention, naming and saving policies available that people can look at and adapt to their own environment. I'd like to be able to bring some ideas for this to the table.

Thanks again.

[johnwill]

I'm talking about an Intranet page, internal to the company. Some companies take that to extremes, and most of the access to company documents is through the Intranet pages.

There are probably as many file retention and naming conventions as there are blades of grass in your lawn. I've never looked for standards, I've always evaluated the company's needs and formulated a policy. That's why I was talking about creating a Strawman specification that you can distribute for comments and improvements. You don't have to take it onto yourself to do all the thinking, let some other people chip in. In addition, if the users have a hand in formulating the policies, they're a lot more likely to accept them when they are put in place.

[allenc]

I was looking into the intranet idea before you replied and came across an interesting little thing called SharePoint. I'm going to try and find more information on that, and maybe DFS. Have you any advice on them other then the dry microsoft technet? That site just gives a 30k foot over view.

Thanks

[johnwill]

Whenever I'm faced with one of these kinds of issues, I just stick the name into Google and start surfing! For a project like this, Google is an invaluable resource, since you can refine the search and zero in on what you're looking for.