---
title: "Adding, Editing, or Deleting a Folder Group"
slug: "adding-editing-or-deleting-a-folder-group-4-1-1"
tags: ["Portal"]
updated: 2026-08-10T11:50:13Z
published: 2026-08-10T11:50:13Z
canonical: "kb.ctera.com/adding-editing-or-deleting-a-folder-group-4-1-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.ctera.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Adding, Editing, or Deleting a Folder Group

## Adding a Folder Group

When a device first backs up files to a portal, and cooperative deduplication is enabled for the device's owner, a folder group is automatically created. By default, the folder group is assigned a name based on the device's name. You can add new folder groups manually.

**To add a folder group:**

1. Select **Global File System > Folder Groups** in the navigation pane. The **Folder Groups** page is displayed. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-MM29QZ87.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
2. Click **New**. The **New Folder Group** page is displayed. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-U00T5WK3.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
3. Complete the fields. **Name** – A name for the folder group. **Owner** – An owner for the folder group. When editing a folder group, you can click on the owner's name to open the User Account Manager and manage the owner's user account. For information on managing user accounts, see [Managing Users](/v1/docs/managing-users-5-1-1). **Deduplication Method** – Whether to use the average block size or a fixed block size for deduplication. The options displayed change depending on what is selected to either **Fixed Block Size** or **Average Block Size**. Use **Fixed Block Size** if many of the folder groups that large files where deduplication is not common, such as media files, or if the global administrator defined direct mode for the storage node. **Fixed Block Size/Average Block Size** – The fixed block size used by the folder group or the average block size used by the folder group. The default value when set to **Fixed Block Size** is 4MB and 512KB when set to **Average Block Size**. CTERA Portal deduplication splits each stored file into blocks. Increasing the **Fixed Block Size** or **Average Block Size** causes the files to be split into larger chunks before storage, and results in increased read/write throughput at the cost of a reduced deduplication ratio. Increased block size is useful for workloads that require high performance, as well as for those that do not gain greatly from deduplication. For example, where the stored files consist mostly of videos, images, and music files that are not frequently modified. Decreasing the average block size can result in better deduplication, since the portal can better identify finer-grained duplicate data. If the global administrator defined direct mode for the storage node, CTERA recommends keeping the default 4MB fixed block size. **Average Map File Size** – The average map file size used by new folder groups. CTERA Portal uses file maps to keep track of the blocks each file is made of. The **Average Map File Size** represents the maximum size of file that will be represented using a single file map object. For example, if the average map file size is set to 100MB, files of up to approximately 100MB will have one file map, files of up to approximately 200MB will have two file maps, and so on. Reducing the average map file size causes more file maps to be created per file. This may result in smoother streaming of files; however, it will also result in some extra overhead for creating, indexing, and fetching the additional file maps. **Storage Class** – The storage class where content of the folder group is written.

**Note**

A storage class is a group of one or more storage nodes, defined by the CTERA Portal global administrator, where data is written and saved. When a storage class is defined, you can specify to which group of storage nodes content from the edge filer is written to. You must specify a storage class that is valid for the virtual portal and you need to check with the global administrator for the list of valid storage classes that you can chose from the list. After the folder group is created, the storage class cannot be changed.

**Passphrase protected** – The folder will be passphrase protected. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-1OEDJW7B.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)

**Note**

Protecting a folder group is only relevant for backup folders.

**Notes**

You can only define a passphrase when creating the folder group and when **Passphrase protected** is checked. After the folder group is created with a passphrase, you can change the passphrase, described in [Changing a Folder Group Passphrase](/v1/docs/changing-a-folder-group-passphrase-5-1-1). The passphrase is applied to every new folder in the folder group. After creating the folder group the **Name** can be changed and the **state** can be changed from online to offline or offline to online.
  - **Passphrase** and **Confirm Passphrase** – A new passphrase.
4. Click **Save**.

## Editing a Folder Group

You can edit folder group properties.

**To edit a folder group:**

1. Select **Global File System > Folder Groups** in the navigation pane.  

The **Folder Groups** page is displayed.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-PG3VTHWH.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
2. Click the folder group’s name.  

The folder group window is displayed with the folder group name as the window title.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-RRF13HWZ.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)  

You can see the following information about the folder:
  - The status of the folder: **Online** or **Offline**.
  - The folder owner. If an owner is defined for the group, you can click on the owner's name to open the User Account Manager and manage the owner's user account. For information on managing user accounts, see [Managing Users](/v1/docs/managing-users-5-1-1).  

**Change Passphrase** – When a passphrase is defined for the group, you can click the link to change a passphrase, as described in [Changing a Folder Group Passphrase](/v1/docs/changing-a-folder-group-passphrase-5-1-1).
  - The deduplication method, either **Fixed Block Size** or **Average Block Size**.
  - The actual fixed block or average block size configured for the folder group.
  - The average map size.
  - The storage class specified for the folder group.
3. To change the status of the folder group:
  - **Online**– The folder group is online. Click **Make Offline** to change the state to offline.
  - **Offline** – The folder group is offline. Click **Make Online** to change the state to online.  

All member folders will inherit the folder group's state.
4. Edit the folder name in the **General** tab.
5. To manage cloud drive folders in a folder group, click the **Cloud Drive Folders** tab.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-6YVW8TEK.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
6. Click a cloud drive folder to edit it.
7. To manage backup folders in a folder group, click the **Backup Folders** tab.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-3181MD23.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
8. Click a backup folder to edit it.

## Deleting a Folder Group

**To delete a folder group:**

1. Select **Global File System > Folder Groups** in the navigation pane. The **Folder Groups** page is displayed. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-PD8BEYXW.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
2. Either,

Or,
  1. Select the folder group row to delete and click **Delete**.  

A confirmation window is displayed.
  2. Click **OK** to confirm.
  1. Click the folder group.
  2. Click **Delete**.  

A confirmation window is displayed.
  3. Click **Delete** to confirm.

The folder group is deleted.