1092 - How to use the Search function

Redstor's Search function enables you to do centralised searching and deletion across all your data on the Redstor Platform, assisting in GDPR compliance.

Note: Search is currently only available to Redstor Platform users in the UK.

To do a search, watch our how-to video below or read on for more detailed instructions.

Before you begin

Open the Storage Platform Console in the Account Management view. Right-click the name of the account or group within which you want to search and click Search. (If no Search option is visible, you need to first activate the Search function.)

If you are searching within an account, you will be directed to our login page in your web browser, where you need to enter your encryption key.

If you are searching within a group, the Console will prompt you to enter your group certificate passphrase and you will be taken directly to the search portal in your web browser.

The search portal offers two views, Search and Deletion History, accessible by clicking one of the tabs in the left sidebar.

How to Search

To search, type the term you are looking for into the Search field and select your search parameters from the drop-down menus.

Your search results will be displayed as a list. Files will be shown in their Collections, Groups and Accounts where applicable. Search results are sorted by account with the most results first. You can set how many results you want to see at a time. Users with the relevant permission/s will also be able to download or delete any file shown in the search results.

Note:

• Files backed up from drives running MS Bitlocker are searchable.
• Files encrypted with Microsoft's Encrypting File System (EFS) are only searchable if the Redstor Pro service user that was used to back them up had the permissions and certificates to read their content.
• Password-protected O365 files cannot be read as is, and therefore cannot be indexed.

How to delete

From the results of your search, you can select multiple files to be deleted (or downloaded). In the case of a group search, your can also select multiple accounts for deletion (or for download).

In order to delete files, the backup accounts to which those files belong need to be up to date. If our system detects that one or more of the accounts from which you are deleting has not been updated to our latest release, you will be unable to delete files from them until you update them. A list of the affected accounts, arranged by group, will be displayed.

Once you have confirmed which files (or accounts) are to be deleted, you will be prompted for a Console login with deletion permissions.

This interaction will be logged in the deletion history for auditing purposes.

You can then monitor the deletion process in the Deletion History view. A list of pending, successful and failed delete sessions is shown, sorted by date and time. 

To see more information on a particular delete session, such as the reason for the deletion, the files that were deleted, and the name of the person who approved the deletion, expand its tab in the list. In the case of a failed deletion, a reason for the failure will be provided from the logs.

Your session on the search portal will be valid for 60 minutes. If our system detects no activity for 55 minutes, a session expiry warning will be displayed. You can click Stay signed in (before the countdown timer runs out) to extend the session; otherwise, the session will time out and you will need to log in again.