Veritas

What is Veritas

Introduction

Veritas is a comprehensive software platform that offers data management and data protection solutions. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of Veritas, including its features, benefits, and applications across different industries.

Overview of Veritas

Veritas is a leading provider of data management and protection solutions for organizations of all sizes. With a strong focus on data availability, Veritas helps businesses harness the power of their data while ensuring its security, compliance, and availability. The platform offers a range of software products designed to address various data management challenges.

Key Features of Veritas

Veritas offers a wide array of features to meet diverse data management needs. Some of the key features include:

• Data Backup and Recovery: Veritas provides robust backup and recovery solutions to protect critical data, enabling organizations to quickly restore data in case of any data loss or system failures.
• Data Archiving: Veritas allows organizations to efficiently manage and store large volumes of data through its data archiving capabilities. This helps optimize storage resources and ensures long-term data retention and compliance.
• Data Governance and Compliance: Veritas offers tools for data governance, ensuring that data is managed according to regulatory requirements and industry standards. It helps organizations establish policies, enforce data protection rules, and monitor compliance.
• Data Replication and Availability: Veritas enables organizations to replicate data across multiple locations, ensuring high availability and disaster recovery capabilities. This helps minimize downtime and ensures business continuity.
• Cloud Integration: Veritas provides seamless integration with cloud platforms, allowing organizations to leverage the scalability and flexibility of cloud environments for data management and protection purposes.
• Data Analytics and Insights: Veritas offers advanced analytics capabilities to gain insights from data, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions and optimize their operations.

Benefits of Veritas

Veritas offers several benefits that can enhance data management and protection for organizations:

• Enhanced Data Protection: With Veritas, organizations can implement robust data protection measures, including backup, recovery, and replication, to ensure data is safeguarded against accidental loss, system failures, or cyber threats.
• Improved Data Availability: Veritas helps organizations achieve high data availability, minimizing downtime and ensuring uninterrupted access to critical data. This is vital for businesses that rely on real-time data for their operations.
• Increased Compliance and Governance: Veritas assists organizations in maintaining regulatory compliance and adherence to data governance practices. This helps organizations avoid penalties, maintain data integrity, and meet industry-specific requirements.
• Efficient Data Management: Veritas provides tools to efficiently manage data across its lifecycle, from archiving to deletion. This optimizes storage resources, improves data retrieval times, and streamlines data management processes.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Veritas offers scalability to accommodate growing data volumes, allowing organizations to expand their data infrastructure seamlessly. It also provides flexibility to adapt to changing business needs and technology environments.
• Cost Optimization: Veritas helps organizations optimize costs by reducing storage requirements, streamlining data management processes, and improving overall operational efficiency.

Industries and Use Cases

Veritas caters to various industries, including but not limited to:

• Healthcare: Veritas helps healthcare organizations manage sensitive patient data securely and comply with data protection regulations such as HIPAA.
• Financial Services: Veritas assists financial institutions in protecting and managing critical financial data, ensuring compliance with industry regulations like GDPR and PCI DSS.
• Government and Public Sector: Veritas provides data management and protection solutions for government agencies, helping them securely store and manage sensitive citizen data.
• Retail and E-commerce: Veritas helps retailers and e-commerce businesses manage large volumes of customer data, ensuring data availability, compliance, and optimal customer experiences.
• Manufacturing: Veritas supports manufacturing companies in managing data from IoT devices, optimizing production processes, and ensuring data resilience.

Conclusion

Veritas is a powerful data management and protection platform that offers a range of solutions to address diverse data challenges across industries. With its robust features, organizations can safeguard their data, improve data availability, ensure compliance, and optimize data management processes. Whether it's data backup, recovery, archiving, or governance, Veritas provides a comprehensive suite of tools to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses. By leveraging Veritas, organizations can unlock the full potential of their data while maintaining the highest levels of security and compliance.

How to Use Veritas

Introduction

Veritas is a powerful data management and protection platform that offers a wide range of features and capabilities. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the key steps to effectively use Veritas and make the most of its data management and protection solutions.

Step 1: Assess Your Data Management Need

Before diving into using Veritas, it's essential to assess your organization's data management needs. Consider the following:

• Identify Critical Data: Determine the types of data that are critical to your organization's operations and need to be protected, such as customer data, financial records, or intellectual property.
• Data Governance Requirements: Understand any regulatory or compliance requirements specific to your industry that govern data management and protection.
• Storage and Backup Infrastructure: Evaluate your current storage and backup infrastructure to identify any gaps or areas for improvement.

Step 2: Select the Right Veritas Solution

Veritas offers a suite of solutions tailored to different data management needs. Consider the following when selecting the appropriate Veritas solution(s) for your organization:

• Backup and Recovery: If your primary focus is data backup and recovery, explore Veritas solutions specifically designed for this purpose, such as Veritas NetBackup or Veritas Backup Exec.
• Data Archiving: If you need to efficiently manage and store large volumes of data for long-term retention and compliance purposes, consider Veritas Enterprise Vault or Veritas Information Studio.
• Data Governance and Compliance: For organizations with stringent governance and compliance requirements, explore Veritas solutions that provide robust data governance capabilities, such as Veritas Data Insight or Veritas Enterprise Data Management.
• Data Replication and Availability: If data availability and disaster recovery are top priorities, consider Veritas solutions like Veritas Resiliency Platform or Veritas InfoScale.

Step 3: Installation and Configuration

Once you have selected the appropriate Veritas solution(s), follow these steps to install and configure the software:

• Obtain the Software: Acquire the necessary Veritas software licenses and download the installation files from the Veritas customer portal or from an authorized distributor.
• Installation Process: Follow the installation instructions provided by Veritas for the specific solution you have chosen. Pay attention to system requirements, prerequisites, and recommended configurations.
• Configuration and Setup: After installation, configure the Veritas solution according to your organization's requirements. This may involve defining backup policies, setting up storage targets, establishing data retention policies, or configuring user access controls.

Step 4: Data Backup and Recovery

If you are using Veritas for data backup and recovery, follow these best practices:

• Define Backup Policies: Determine the frequency of backups, retention periods, and backup targets based on your organization's RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) requirements.
• Select Backup Sources: Choose the data sources that need to be backed up, such as databases, file servers, or virtual machines.
• Backup Storage: Identify suitable backup storage options, whether it's on-premises storage devices, cloud storage, or a combination of both. Consider factors such as scalability, security, and cost.
• Test and Validate Backups: Regularly test your backup and recovery processes to ensure that backups are successful and data can be restored when needed.

Step 5: Data Archiving and Compliance

If you are using Veritas for data archiving and compliance, consider the following:

• Define Archiving Policies: Determine the criteria for data archiving, such as age, file type, or metadata attributes. Establish retention periods based on regulatory requirements and business needs.
• Storage Management: Determine the storage infrastructure for archived data, considering factors like scalability, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness.
• Data Retrieval and Search: Familiarize yourself with Veritas's search and retrieval capabilities, enabling you to locate and access archived data efficiently when required.

Step 6: Ongoing Management and Maintenance

To ensure smooth operations and optimal performance of Veritas:

• Regular Updates and Patching: Stay up to date with the latest Veritas software updates, patches, and security fixes. Regularly check for updates and apply them to keep your environment secure and benefit from the latest features and enhancements.
• Monitoring and Reporting: Set up monitoring tools to track the performance and health of your Veritas environment. Utilize reporting features to gain insights into backup success rates, storage utilization, and compliance status.
• Training and Support: Provide training to users who will be responsible for managing Veritas. Ensure they have a good understanding of the features, best practices, and troubleshooting techniques. Take advantage of Veritas support resources and documentation to address any questions or issues that may arise.

Conclusion

Veritas offers a comprehensive suite of data management and protection solutions. By following these steps and best practices, you can effectively use Veritas to safeguard your critical data, streamline data management processes, ensure compliance, and optimize data availability. Remember to stay informed about new features and updates, and leverage Veritas support resources whenever needed.

What are the Benefits of Veritas

Introduction

Veritas is a robust data management and protection platform that offers numerous benefits to organizations of all sizes and across various industries. This comprehensive guide will explore the key benefits of using Veritas and how it can enhance your data management strategies.

Data Protection and Security

Veritas provides robust data protection and security features to safeguard your organization's critical data. The benefits include:

• Data Backup and Recovery: Veritas enables reliable and efficient backup and recovery of data, ensuring that your valuable information is protected against accidental deletion, hardware failures, or cyber threats.
• Data Encryption: Veritas supports data encryption, allowing you to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access and maintain compliance with security regulations.
• Secure Data Archiving: Veritas offers secure archiving solutions, enabling you to store and manage large volumes of data in a secure and compliant manner, minimizing the risk of data breaches or loss.

Data Availability and Business Continuity

Veritas helps ensure high data availability and business continuity, providing the following benefits:

• Continuous Data Protection: Veritas solutions offer continuous data protection, allowing organizations to minimize data loss and achieve near-instantaneous recovery in case of any disruptions or system failures.
• Disaster Recovery: Veritas enables organizations to implement robust disaster recovery strategies, including data replication and failover capabilities, ensuring minimal downtime and rapid recovery in the event of a disaster.
• Application Availability: Veritas solutions help ensure the availability of critical applications by providing seamless failover and load balancing capabilities.

Efficient Data Management

Veritas streamlines data management processes, leading to improved efficiency and productivity. The benefits include:

• Centralized Management: Veritas provides a centralized platform for managing data across various environments, enabling organizations to streamline data management tasks, enforce consistent policies, and simplify administration.
• Data Classification and Insights: Veritas offers data classification and analytics capabilities, allowing organizations to gain insights into their data, optimize storage resources, and make informed data management decisions.
• Storage Optimization: Veritas helps optimize storage utilization by implementing data deduplication, compression, and tiering techniques, reducing storage costs and improving overall efficiency.

Compliance and Data Governance

Veritas supports compliance with industry-specific regulations and data governance practices, providing the following benefits:

• Regulatory Compliance: Veritas solutions help organizations meet regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, and PCI-DSS by implementing data protection measures, data retention policies, and audit trails.
• Data Governance: Veritas enables organizations to establish data governance frameworks, ensuring proper data classification, access controls, and data lifecycle management practices.
• Legal and E-Discovery Support: Veritas offers features to support legal and e-discovery processes, allowing organizations to efficiently search, retrieve, and produce data when required for legal or regulatory purposes.

Scalability and Flexibility

Veritas is designed to scale with the growing data needs of organizations, providing the following benefits:

• Scalability: Veritas solutions can scale seamlessly to accommodate growing data volumes and increased workload demands, ensuring that your data management infrastructure can evolve alongside your organization.
• Cloud Integration: Veritas offers integration with cloud platforms, allowing organizations to leverage the scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency of the cloud for data management and protection purposes.
• Hybrid Environments: Veritas supports hybrid environments, enabling organizations to manage data across on-premises infrastructure and cloud platforms, providing flexibility in deployment options.

Conclusion

Veritas offers a comprehensive suite of data management and protection solutions that deliver significant benefits to organizations. By leveraging Veritas, you can achieve enhanced data protection, ensure data availability and business continuity, streamline data management processes, maintain regulatory compliance, and scale your data infrastructure to meet growing demands. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, Veritas provides the tools and capabilities necessary to optimize your data management strategies and protect your critical information.

What to Look for when shopping for Veritas

Introduction

When shopping for Veritas data management and protection solutions, it's important to consider several key factors to ensure you select the right products for your organization's needs. This comprehensive guide outlines the essential aspects to consider when shopping for Veritas.

Identify Your Data Management Requirements

Before diving into the shopping process, it's crucial to assess your organization's specific data management requirements. Consider the following:

• Data Volume and Growth: Determine the size of your data environment and anticipate future data growth to ensure that the selected Veritas solution can handle your current and future needs.
• Data Protection Needs: Identify the level of data protection required based on the criticality of your data, compliance regulations, and recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs).
• Data Types and Sources: Determine the types and sources of data you need to manage, including databases, file servers, virtual machines, and cloud-based data.
• Compliance and Governance: If your organization has specific compliance or governance requirements, such as GDPR or HIPAA, ensure that the Veritas solution you choose offers the necessary features to meet these requirements.

Evaluate Veritas Solution Suite

Veritas offers a comprehensive suite of data management and protection solutions. Evaluate the available solutions and consider the following:

• Backup and Recovery: Veritas NetBackup and Veritas Backup Exec are popular solutions for data backup and recovery. Assess their features, scalability, and compatibility with your existing infrastructure.
• Data Archiving: If data archiving is a priority, explore solutions like Veritas Enterprise Vault or Veritas Information Studio. Consider features such as storage optimization, retention policies, and e-discovery capabilities.
• Data Governance and Compliance: If data governance and compliance are critical, examine solutions like Veritas Data Insight or Veritas Enterprise Data Management. Look for features such as data classification, access controls, and compliance reporting.
• Disaster Recovery: For organizations focusing on disaster recovery, consider solutions like Veritas Resiliency Platform or Veritas InfoScale. Evaluate their capabilities for data replication, failover, and recovery.

Scalability and Flexibility

Ensure that the Veritas solution you choose can scale and adapt to your organization's evolving needs:

• Scalability: Assess the scalability of the solution to accommodate future data growth and increased workload demands. Consider factors such as storage capacity, performance, and the ability to add additional resources.
• Cloud Integration: If you have a cloud strategy, verify that the Veritas solution can seamlessly integrate with your chosen cloud platform(s). Consider features such as cloud backup, archiving, and disaster recovery options.
• Hybrid Environments: If you have a hybrid IT environment, ensure that the Veritas solution supports seamless data management and protection across on-premises and cloud infrastructure.

Ease of Use and Management

Consider the user experience and management capabilities of the Veritas solution:

• User Interface: Evaluate the usability and intuitiveness of the Veritas solution's user interface. Look for features that simplify common tasks, streamline workflows, and provide comprehensive monitoring and reporting.
• Automation and Orchestration: Assess the solution's automation and orchestration capabilities to streamline data management processes, improve efficiency, and reduce manual intervention.
• Integration with Existing Infrastructure: Determine how well the Veritas solution integrates with your existing infrastructure, including databases, applications, storage systems, and virtual environments.

Support and Services

Consider the support and services offered by Veritas:

• Technical Support: Evaluate Veritas's technical support options, including availability, response times, and expertise. Ensure that adequate support channels are available to address any issues that may arise.
• Training and Documentation: Assess the availability of training resources, documentation, and user guides to facilitate the adoption and effective usage of the Veritas solution within your organization.
• Software Updates and Maintenance: Verify Veritas's approach to software updates, patches, and maintenance. Ensure that the solution is regularly updated with new features, performance enhancements, and security fixes.

Conclusion

When shopping for Veritas data management and protection solutions, it's crucial to align the offerings with your organization's specific requirements. Consider factors such as data management needs, Veritas solution suite, scalability and flexibility, ease of use and management, as well as the support and services provided by Veritas. By conducting a thorough evaluation based on these considerations, you can select the most suitable Veritas solution to meet your organization's data management and protection objectives.

FAQs-Veritas

What do Veritas do?

Veritas is a Latin word that translates to "truth" in English. It is often used as a motto or name for various organizations and projects. Without specific context, it is challenging to determine the exact reference you are asking about. Veritas is associated with a variety of entities, including educational institutions, research organizations, and companies. For example, there is a well-known cybersecurity company called Veritas Technologies, which specializes in data management and protection solutions. It's always important to provide more details or specify the specific Veritas you are referring to for a more accurate answer.

Why use NetBackup?

NetBackup is a popular enterprise-level backup and recovery software developed by Veritas Technologies. Organizations choose to use NetBackup for several reasons. Firstly, NetBackup offers comprehensive data protection, allowing businesses to back up and restore data across various platforms, including physical, virtual, and cloud environments. It provides a centralized and scalable solution that simplifies backup operations and ensures data integrity. Additionally, NetBackup offers advanced features such as deduplication and encryption, enhancing efficiency and security. Its robust reporting and monitoring capabilities enable administrators to have better visibility and control over backup operations. Overall, organizations utilize NetBackup to ensure reliable data protection, minimize downtime, and streamline backup and recovery processes.

How does NetBackup work?

NetBackup operates as a comprehensive backup and recovery software solution for organizations. It works by creating backup policies that define what data needs to be protected, how often backups should occur, and where the backups should be stored. NetBackup utilizes agents installed on servers and clients to facilitate data backup and recovery processes. These agents communicate with a central NetBackup server, which coordinates the backup and restore operations. During a backup, NetBackup collects and transfers data from the source systems to the designated backup storage, using techniques like deduplication to optimize storage efficiency. In the event of data loss or system failure, NetBackup facilitates the recovery process by retrieving the backed-up data and restoring it to the appropriate systems. NetBackup also offers features like replication and tape management, enabling organizations to create redundant copies of data and efficiently manage their backup infrastructure.

What is the difference between backup and NetBackup?

The term "backup" refers to the process of creating copies of data to protect against data loss, corruption, or accidental deletion. It is a general concept that can be implemented using various methods and technologies. On the other hand, NetBackup is a specific backup and recovery software solution developed by Veritas Technologies. NetBackup is designed to provide enterprise-level data protection with advanced features and capabilities. It offers centralized management, scalability, and support for various platforms and environments. While backup is a broader concept, NetBackup is a comprehensive tool that facilitates efficient and reliable backup operations, along with features like deduplication, encryption, reporting, and monitoring. In summary, backup is a general concept, while NetBackup is a specific software solution that enables organizations to implement effective backup strategies.

What are the three 3 types of backup?

The three main types of backup are full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup. A full backup copies all selected data and stores it as a complete copy. It provides a baseline for subsequent backups but can be time and resource-intensive. Incremental backup only backs up the data that has changed since the last backup, resulting in faster backups and less storage space usage. However, restoring data requires accessing multiple backup sets. Differential backup also backs up the changed data, but it retains a copy of all changes made since the last full backup. While it takes longer to complete than incremental backup, restoring data requires only the full backup and the latest differential backup. The choice of backup type depends on factors such as data size, available resources, and the desired balance between backup speed and restore convenience.

What type of database is NetBackup?

NetBackup is not a database itself, but a backup and recovery software solution. It is designed to protect and manage data stored in various types of databases, file systems, virtual environments, and applications. NetBackup supports a wide range of databases, including Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, IBM DB2, and more. It integrates with these databases through dedicated agents and plugins, allowing for efficient and consistent backup and recovery operations. NetBackup's functionality extends beyond databases to encompass overall data protection and management, providing organizations with a comprehensive solution for safeguarding their critical data assets.

What are three types of backups?

There are three common types of backups: full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup. A full backup involves copying all the selected data and storing it as a complete backup set. It provides a comprehensive snapshot of the data at a specific point in time. Incremental backup, on the other hand, only backs up the data that has changed or been created since the last backup, resulting in faster backup times and less storage space usage. However, restoring data requires accessing the last full backup and all subsequent incremental backups. Differential backup captures all changes made since the last full backup, but it does not overwrite the previous backup set. This means that restoring data only requires the last full backup and the latest differential backup. The choice of backup type depends on factors such as data size, available resources, and the desired balance between backup speed and restore convenience.

Which backup method is fastest?

Among the three main backup methods (full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup), incremental backup is generally considered the fastest. This is because an incremental backup only captures the data that has changed since the last backup, resulting in smaller backup sets and quicker backup times. Since incremental backups do not need to copy all the data every time, they offer faster performance and require less storage space compared to full backups. However, it's worth noting that the speed of the backup process can also depend on factors such as the size of the data being backed up, the backup infrastructure's capabilities, and the overall system performance.

Where should backups be stored?

Backups should be stored in a secure and reliable location that ensures the safety and accessibility of the data. It is recommended to store backups in multiple locations to guard against data loss due to hardware failure, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events. The primary backup location could be an on-premises backup server or storage system, providing quick access to the data for immediate recovery. Additionally, off-site storage is essential to protect against physical damage or theft. This can include remote data centers, cloud storage services, or secure off-site facilities. It's crucial to consider factors such as encryption, access controls, regular monitoring, and regular testing of the backup storage infrastructure to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the backed-up data.

What are the three backup sites?

The concept of backup sites refers to establishing alternative locations where data and systems can be restored in the event of a disaster or disruption at the primary site. The three common types of backup sites are cold sites, warm sites, and hot sites. A cold site is a basic backup site that provides physical infrastructure such as power, cooling, and network connectivity but lacks pre-installed hardware or data. Organizations must bring their own equipment and restore data themselves, making it the least expensive option but requiring more time for recovery. A warm site includes partially configured hardware and data backups, allowing for faster recovery but still requiring some setup and restoration efforts. A hot site is a fully equipped and operational backup site that closely mirrors the primary site, providing immediate failover and minimal downtime. Hot sites are the most costly option but offer the fastest recovery time and minimal data loss. The choice of backup site depends on an organization's recovery objectives, budget, and risk tolerance.

What are the 4 types of backup media?

There are several types of backup media commonly used for storing backup data. Four primary types include magnetic tape, hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and cloud storage. Magnetic tape has long been a popular choice due to its large storage capacity and cost-effectiveness, making it suitable for long-term archival purposes. Hard disk drives offer faster backup and recovery speeds, with higher capacity options available. Solid-state drives provide even faster performance and increased durability but tend to be more expensive. Cloud storage, such as services like Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Storage, offers scalable and easily accessible backup solutions, allowing data to be stored off-site in remote servers. The choice of backup media depends on factors such as budget, data volume, performance requirements, and the desired level of accessibility and durability.

What is a backup cycle?

A backup cycle refers to the recurring pattern or schedule at which backups are performed. It defines the frequency and intervals at which data is backed up to ensure regular and up-to-date copies of important information. The backup cycle typically includes parameters such as the type of backup (full, incremental, or differential), the frequency of backups (daily, weekly, monthly), and the retention period for storing backup sets. For example, a backup cycle might involve performing a full backup once a week and incremental backups on a daily basis. The backup cycle is designed to strike a balance between the need for data protection, storage capacity, and the resources required to execute backups within acceptable timeframes. Regularly reviewing and adjusting the backup cycle is crucial to ensure data is adequately protected and can be efficiently restored when needed.

What is the best backup media?

Determining the best backup media depends on various factors, including the specific needs and requirements of the organization or individual. Different backup media have their own advantages and considerations. Hard disk drives (HDDs) are often preferred for their fast backup and recovery speeds, large capacities, and relatively low cost per terabyte. Solid-state drives (SSDs) offer even faster performance and enhanced durability but are generally more expensive. Magnetic tape is commonly used for long-term archival purposes due to its high capacity and low cost per gigabyte. Cloud storage has gained popularity for its scalability, remote accessibility, and off-site data protection. The best backup media choice will depend on factors such as data volume, performance requirements, budget, ease of use, durability, and the need for off-site or redundant backups. It is often advisable to employ a combination of backup media to create a robust and flexible backup strategy that meets specific needs.

What are 5 examples of backing storage devices?

There are several examples of backing storage devices commonly used for data storage and backup purposes. Five notable examples include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), magnetic tape drives, optical disc drives, and cloud storage. HDDs are widely used due to their high storage capacity, affordability, and availability in various sizes. SSDs offer faster performance, lower power consumption, and greater durability than HDDs, making them suitable for both personal and enterprise use. Magnetic tape drives provide long-term archival storage, especially for large data volumes. Optical disc drives, such as Blu-ray or DVD drives, offer a portable and relatively inexpensive option for backing up and storing data. Lastly, cloud storage allows data to be stored remotely in off-site servers, providing scalability, accessibility, and redundancy. Each backing storage device has its own advantages and considerations, and the choice depends on factors such as data size, performance requirements, cost, and accessibility.

Is USB a backing storage?

Yes, USB (Universal Serial Bus) can be considered a backing storage device. USB flash drives, also known as thumb drives or memory sticks, are commonly used for data storage and backup purposes. They provide a portable and convenient way to store and transfer files, making them a popular choice for individuals and organizations. USB flash drives typically have a limited storage capacity compared to other backing storage devices like hard disk drives or cloud storage. However, they offer the advantage of being easily accessible and compatible with a wide range of devices, such as computers, laptops, and even some modern TVs. USB drives can serve as a reliable backup solution for smaller data volumes or as an additional storage option for transporting and transferring files.