DiskBoss 17.1.12

DiskBoss is a Windows program from Flexense for analyzing and managing files on local disks, network shares and NAS devices. It combines disk space analysis, file classification, duplicate removal, file search, synchronization, data migration, secure deletion and change monitoring. It can run these jobs automatically according to rules the administrator defines. DiskBoss is a commercial product sold as DiskBoss Server and DiskBoss Enterprise.

One engine, three ways to control it

In the DiskBoss GUI, users configure commands once and then launch them with a click or from a desktop shortcut. The same operations are available through a command line utility for batch files and shell scripts.

DiskBoss Server runs in the background as a Windows service and carries out jobs on a schedule without anyone logged in. Users can control it locally or over the network from the client GUI or the command line.

Seeing where disk space goes

The user selects directories in the built-in file navigator, and DiskBoss lists disks, directories and files sorted by the space they occupy. Users can group results by extension, file type, size, owner or date. Charts show space and file counts per group.

Classification by file type

DiskBoss recognizes more than 3,500 file types and sorts scanned files into categories by type, extension, owner, size and date. DiskBoss can also apply the classification physically, reorganizing files into directories according to rules.

Duplicate files and how they are removed

The duplicate finder first groups files of identical size and then calculates a signature for each candidate. DiskBoss reports files with matching signatures as duplicates. SHA256 is the default, with faster algorithms available.

By default, DiskBoss treats the oldest file in each duplicate set as the original. Users can change this behavior or select the original by hand. Users can delete, move or compress the remaining copies, or replace them with shortcuts or hard links that point to the original.

Rule-based file search

Users build DiskBoss searches by combining rules with AND/OR logic and nesting them into hierarchies. Rules can match names, extensions, file categories, size, attributes, owner and dates, and regular expressions work on file names and paths.

Content rules look inside files. Text and binary patterns match file contents, and EXIF tag rules locate photos by camera metadata.

Automated organizing with policies

The file organizing feature turns rules into actions. A command scans chosen disks or shares and contains any number of actions, each pairing an operation with one or more rules. Operations include copy, move, delete, compress, move and leave a link behind, and running a custom command.

DiskBoss evaluates actions in order. When a file matches one action, DiskBoss carries it out and skips the remaining actions for that file. By default DiskBoss shows the planned actions for review first; a fully automatic mode runs them directly.

Synchronization and data migration

DiskBoss synchronizes disks, directories, shares and NAS devices in one-way or two-way modes. One-way modes differ in how they treat the destination. A full mirror removes anything deleted from the source. An update mode keeps newer files that exist only at the destination. An accumulate mode never deletes from the destination at all.

The same copy engine handles data migration. A fault-tolerant mode writes each file under a temporary name and replaces the existing destination file only after the copy succeeds. DiskBoss can verify copied files against the source with checksums. It can also carry over owner information, permissions, timestamps and attributes.

Secure synchronization in DiskBoss Enterprise transfers files between servers without network shares, encrypting each file. The receiving server must also run DiskBoss.

Secure deletion and retention

Bulk deletion can be combined with data wiping, from a single overwrite pass up to the seven-pass DOD 5220.22-M method. Retention rules delete files by creation, modification or access date, which lets DiskBoss Server enforce data-retention policies on a schedule.

Watching disks for changes

The real-time disk change monitor records files being created, modified, deleted or having their attributes changed. It can send email notifications and produce reports. After a set number of changes, it can also start a file management or synchronization command. This is how users set up real-time sync and on-arrival organizing.

A file integrity monitor checks saved signatures of selected files periodically and reports content changes.

Reports and network-wide analysis

Users can save analysis, search and duplicate results as HTML, PDF, Excel, XML, CSV or plain text. Results can also go to an SQL database.

DiskBoss Enterprise adds batch operations across the network. It discovers servers and NAS devices, runs analysis, classification, search or duplicate detection on the selected hosts, and produces a report for each one.

Server and Enterprise compared