---
title: "Discovering Shares"
slug: "discovering-shares-3-1-1-1"
tags: ["7.12", "Edge Filer", "Gateway", "Filer"]
updated: 2026-09-08T14:12:31Z
published: 2026-09-08T14:12:31Z
canonical: "kb.ctera.com/discovering-shares-3-1-1-1"
---

> ## 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.

# Discovering Shares

Optionally, survey the source file server to discover which shares to migrate.

**Note**

This article uses an edge filer fully deployed and connected to a portal. For the discovery you can deploy an edge filer that does not have a data disk defined nor is connected to a portal. The following installation is for ESXi but you can also install the edge filer in AWS or Azure using their marketplace or on other platforms, such as Proxmox.

**To install the CTERA Edge Filer for discovery in the vSphere Client:**

1. In the vSphere Client, create a virtual machine by deploying the OVA file received from CTERA support as an OVF template.
2. In the wizard, browse to the CTERA Edge Filer ova file and select it.
3. Click **NEXT**.
4. Continue through the wizard leaving the default values unless required:
5. Review the configuration details and click **FINISH**.  

The CTERA Edge Filer is created.
6. Power on the virtual machine.  

Using DHCP, after a few seconds, the IP address to access the CTERA Edge Filer is displayed in the vSphere Client.
7. Open any web browser.
8. Enter the CTERA Edge Filer's IP address to navigate to the device.  

Your browser displays the **Welcome to CTERA Edge Filer** page.
9. Enter the user name and password and click **Create Account**.  

The following message window is displayed.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-D71CM333.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
10. Click **Cancel** to close the wizard.  

The edge filer **Main > Dashboard** is displayed.  

Ignore the warnings and alerts.
11. Continue with the procedure **To discover which shares to migrate:** below.

**To discover which shares to migrate:**

1. In the **Configuration** view, select **Main > Dashboard** in the navigation pane. The **Dashboard** page is displayed. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-ISYZRTKH.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
2. Click **File Server Migration**. The **File Serve Migration Dashboard** page is displayed. ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-9QA2S80L.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
3. Click **+** to create a new job. The **Create Discovery Job** wizard is displayed showing the **Task Type** step. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-TZ3N7XK1.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) The default job is a **Discovery** job. This job analyzes the file server that is being replaced to identify what data should be migrated.
4. Click **Next**. The **Connect** step is displayed. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-NWLALT0B.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
5. Select the server type to connect to from the drop-down box. You can connect to one of the following:

The **Other** option is available to attempt to migrate from a file server that is not listed.

**Note**

You can run discovery on the edge filer itself, by selecting **This Edge Filer** for **Server Type**. When **This Edge Filer** is selected, the only other parameter that is displayed is the **Protocol** parameter; either **SMB** or **NFS**. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-6U0WXCT5.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
  - Other
  - Azure StorSimple
  - HCP Gateway
  - Hitachi Data Ingestor
  - Isilon OneFS
  - Microsoft Azure Files
  - Nasuni Edge Appliance
  - NetApp ONTAP
  - NetAPP StorageGRID 11 (SMB)
  - NetAPP StorageGRID 9 (SMB)
  - Panzura Freedom Filer
  - This Edge Filer
  - Windows Server
6. Select the protocol to use for the discovery: **SMB** or **NFS**. Both NFS versions 3 and 4 are supported. The wizard window changes depending on the protocol selected.

| SMB | NFS |
| --- | --- |
| ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-5AWK7TWS.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) | ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-PWUMHF74.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) |
7. For all server types except **This Edge Filer**, enter the IP address or DNS name for the source file server.
8. When **Protocol** is **SMB**, enter an administrator user name and password to access the server.

**Note**

The administrator used must have access to the files to migrate.
9. For **Microsoft Azure Files**, the shares cannot be presented and have to be added manually. **Expert Mode** is automatically selected to enable specifying the shares in the next step. The **Source** value is the IP address of the storage account, the **Username** value is the name of the storage account and the **Password** value is the access key for the storage account and not for the file share.
10. Click **Next**. The **Select Shares** step is displayed.

| SMB | NFS |
| --- | --- |
| ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-DS7GP2NE.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) | ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-Y1FMZBM4.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) |

The shares on the file server are displayed, and you can select the shares that you want to migrate to the CTERA Edge Filer.

**Note**

When **Expert Mode** is selected, the following window is displayed where you enter the shares to migrate.

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-E27Z199C.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) ::: 8. Select the shares to discover and click **Next**. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-TLCT0XZC.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) 9. Optionally, provide a different name for the job and any specific notes about the job. 10. Click **Create**.

The discovery job runs and the results are displayed in the [Dashboard](/v1/docs/discovering-shares-3-1-1-1#the-dashboard-after-a-discovery-run).

## The Dashboard After a Discovery Run

After analyzing the file server, the job completes and you get a report as well as a full analysis of each share in the filer server that you selected. ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-Z0BVPW0T.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) Log files and discovery file lists generated by the migration are compressed if they are greater than 100MB.

- Click the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-XGXHCP6P.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon to edit the discovery job name and notes.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-L8IHAY82.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
- Click the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-NJV4XEQ4.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon to display the [discovery report](/v1/docs/discovering-shares-3-1#the-discovery-report).
- Click the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-OG0QETRQ.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon to display the list of every time this job was run and rerun with the results of each run. The **Task Details** can also be accessed by clicking **Details** in the [discovery report](/v1/docs/discovering-shares-3-1#the-discovery-report).  

![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-BEZSYGUS.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
- Click the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-NGXB9VCI.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon to rerun the discovery.  

The discovery job reruns.
- Optionally, in the dashboard, you can select a job and click the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-M14T1A4D.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon to delete the job.  

After deleting a job, you can display all the jobs, including the deleted jobs, by clicking the **Deleted** filter in the dashboard.  

![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-AH0BBAJI.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)  

You can restore deleted jobs by selecting the deleted jobs to restore and clicking the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-SK6VFDKE.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon.

## The Discovery Report

Clicking the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-NJV4XEQ4.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon displays the discovery report. A report when **Log Every File (Verbose Logging)** was checked (the default): ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-J9KQB9ML.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) If there are no errors, the **Error Logs** column is not displayed.

A report when **Log Every File (Verbose Logging)** was not checked: ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-50VEMLXC.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)

At the top of the report, the sum of the information for the migrated shares is displayed. Optionally, click the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-NENJV9XK.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon to download the discovery report as a .csv file. The first pane in the discovery report shows the list of shares with details of each share:

- The number of folders in the selected shares.
- The number of files in the selected shares.
- The size of the selected shares.
- The status of the migration for the selected shares.
- If **Log Every File (Verbose Logging)** was checked, optionally for each share, click the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-NENJV9XK.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon to download the discovery report for the share as a .csv file.
- Any errors in the discovery job are written to a separate log, under `/errorlog`. Each share with an error has a separate log file. Clicking the ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-CTHJ7AZL.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D) icon downloads the log file as a .csv file.

The second pane in the discovery report has tabs showing the following:

- **Files** – A pie chart with the sizes of the files in the selected shares.
- **Last Access** – A bar chart showing when the files in the selected shares were last accessed.
- **Last Modified** – A bar chart showing when the files in the selected shares were last modified.
- **File Types** – The list of the file types in the selected shares.  

You can display this information either **By Count**, for example, the number of each file type, or **By Size**, for example, the size of each file type.
- Click **Details** to display the list of every time this job was run and rerun with the results of each run.  

![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-BEZSYGUS.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A15%3A23Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A15%3A23Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AuzLeZj10o%2BrOi2qcJij6rAihpKsxrdQ%2FdeYCYwSU94%3D)
- Click **Close** to return to the **Dashboard**.