Inventory

Inventory: The Foundation for Reliable NTFS Analyses

The quality of any NTFS analysis depends on the underlying inventory. In Docusnap365, the classic approach from Docusnap On-Premises has been deliberately revised to enable consistent, traceable, and future-versionable analyses — without the risks of inconsistent data states.

An Indivisible Unit: NTFS Inventory in Docusnap365

In contrast to Docusnap On-Premises, where system, AD, and NTFS scans are performed separately, NTFS inventory in Docusnap365 always occurs as a single unit. This means:

• System inventory (e.g., shares, local groups)
• Active Directory inventory (e.g., users, groups)
• NTFS permissions (e.g., ACLs, inheritance, SIDs)

… are always captured together in one step — at the same time, in the same scan operation.

This “indivisible unit” ensures that all collected information is consistent and synchronized. Only in this way can later analyses — such as the calculation of effective permissions — be conducted accurately and comprehensibly.

This closed scan structure is a prerequisite for future versioning and comparability over time.

Analysis Packages: Foundation for Comparability and Future Delta Evaluations

Each inventory conducted in Docusnap365 is stored as an analysis package. An analysis package includes:

• the complete system/AD/NTFS inventory
• the timestamp of the scan
• a unique assignment for later evaluations

Analysis packages are the foundation for future versioning and delta analysis, but are already fully prepared in structure today.

Example: Package Formation and Planned Comparison Logic

A typical scenario illustrates the interaction of scans and analysis packages:

• T1 – First Scan
  • Share1 and Share2 are scanned together.
  • Result: New analysis package P1 is created.
• T2 – Follow-up Scan with Package Selection
  • Only Share1 is rescanned, with selection of P1.
  • Result: Scan is assigned to P1 → later directly comparable with T1.
• T3 – Share Removed
  • Share2 is no longer scanned, although it was included in P1.
  • Result: Future delta logic detects that Share2 is removed or no longer present.
• T4 – New Scan Without Reference
  • Share1 and Share2 are scanned without package selection.
  • Result: New package P2 is created, P1 remains unchanged. There is no comparability between P1 and P2.

Within an analysis package, everything can change — the data is preserved in its temporal and logical context. This is the foundation for future difference comparisons.

Current Status: Preparation Complete, Delta Analysis to Follow

The package logic is already fully implemented in Docusnap365. Although automatic delta evaluation does not yet occur, the technical structure is prepared so that a future release will enable:

• Delta comparisons between versions
• History analysis per folder, user, or share
• and change tracking over time

based directly on the stored analysis packages.

Summary

• NTFS inventory in Docusnap365 always takes place as a closed unit of system, AD, and permission data.
• Each result is stored in an analysis package, which is preserved for future evaluations.
• The structure is already fully prepared today for versioning and delta comparisons, which will become available in a future release.
• By deliberately selecting analysis packages during repeated scans, you are already laying the foundation for future historical comparisons.