Table of Contents
FotoWeb data folders and disk usage
11. April 2025
Table of Contents
This article provides an overview of all data files and folders created and used by FotoWeb and their requirements. It can be used to decide how to:
- Set up disks and symbolic links on a server system
- Set up backups
- Manage and monitor disk usage
- Folder Content Categories
VALUABLE: Primary data store (i.e., cannot be rebuilt!). Needs backup!
BIG: High disk usage is expected or possible
CACHE: Non-valuable, fast random access is needed
DB: Database files. Fast random access is needed. May not work with network drives
CONFIG: Non-valuable configuration that can be rebuilt (e.g., by fwsetup) or is created if missing
INSTALLER: Same as config, but content is static and populated by installer
TEMPORARY: Files are automatically deleted and may be deleted at any time
LOGS: Diagnostic data. Generally non-valuable.
Base Folders
FotoWeb has two base folder paths, which are configured via the registry. The registry keys are set up during installation:
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The configuration path is where all dynamic configuration files, data files, and temporary files are stored. By default, it is:
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C:\ProgramData\Fotoware\FotoWeb\ |
The installation path is where FotoWeb is installed. By default, it is:
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C:\Program Files (x86)\Fotoware\FotoWeb 8.0\ |
Changing the configuration path is not officially supported and not fully tested.
Configuration Folder Structure
This section describes the folder structure under c:\ProgramData\Fotoware\FotoWeb\, which is the default configuration folder path.
Its basic structure is:
Server Settings: All configuration and data that is global to the server (all sites and/or tenants)
Site Settings: Contains one subfolder with local configuration and data for each site or tenant.
Operations: Contains database files, temporary files, and logs
ALL of these main folders DO contain valuable and sensitive data! This includes specifically the Operations folder!
NOT ALL data that belongs to a specific site or tenant is located in the site or tenant’s subfolder under Site Settings! For example, most site-specific data is stored in MongoDB, under Operations\MongoDBData, and asset files are located elsewhere.
Site Folders
Each site or tenant has a folder with path Site Settings/<SITENAME>/, where SITENAMEis the symbolic name of the site, which is selected when creating a site in FotoWeb on-premises.
The site folder has the following sub-folders:
| Folder Name | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Configuration |
Configuration files (archives, actions, markers, metadata views, etc.) | VALUABLE |
Crop Profile Sets |
Crop profile set files | VALUABLE |
ICC Profiles |
Color profile files | VALUABLE |
Preview Size Lists |
Preview size list files | VALUABLE |
Watermarks |
Watermark image files | VALUABLE |
Processing Profiles |
Processing profile files | VALUABLE |
custom |
Custom logs and custom CSS file | VALUABLE |
Email Templates |
Email template files (not customizable) | VALUABLE |
Reports |
Used for storing reports. See Logs and Reporting. | VALUABLE |
All of the above folders contain customer data. Total size is typically not expected to be very large (a few megabytes).
Other subfolders are:
| Folder Name | Description |
|---|---|
Backup |
Unused |
Documents |
Root folder of the Fotoweb application for IIS for the site. Nothing can be configured or customized here. The web.config file is static. |
Logs |
Unused |
User Folders
A user folder is a folder for a FotoWeb user on a FotoWeb site. Its path is:
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Site Settings/<SITENAME>/Users/<USERNAME>/ |
The user folder stores the following data:
Alerts (in the Alertssub folder). See documentation). This is temporary data as well as configuration.
Upload area (see documentation). If enabled (on-premises only), assets uploaded to the user’s upload area are stored here.
It is recommended not to use the upload area. A better alternative is described in our documentation.
Server Settings
The Server Settings folder contains the following sub-folders:
INSTALLER : This folder is completely populated by the installer and never changes
| Folder name | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Appearances |
FotoWeb 7.0 appearance files. Exists for legacy reasons only. | INSTALLER |
Backup |
Used for storing manual or scheduled backups. | |
Configuration |
Global configuration files | VALUABLE / INSTALLER |
Crop Profile Sets |
Default crop profile set files (for new sites) | INSTALLER |
Database |
SQL database scripts | INSTALLER |
Email templates |
Default email template files (for new sites) | INSTALLER |
Error Templates |
:question_mark: | INSTALLER |
ICC Profiles |
Default color profile files (for new sites) | INSTALLER |
Icons |
File type icons and other icon assets | INSTALLER |
Locales |
Translation files | INSTALLER |
Preview Size Lists |
Default preview size list files (for new sites) | INSTALLER |
Processing Profiles |
Default processing profile files (for new sites) | INSTALLER |
Reports |
Resources for report generation. See Logs and Reporting. | INSTALLER |
Resource Templates |
FotoWeb front-end assets (templates, JavaScript, CSS, etc.) | INSTALLER |
Templates |
No longer in use | INSTALLER |
Watermarks |
Default watermark profile files (for new sites) |
INSTALLER
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Backups
The only folder under Server Settingsthat can grow to a large size is Backup.
FotoWeb on-premises does not provide a complete backup solution!
Backups can be generated automatically but should be moved to different locations. Old backups are not automatically deleted.
Moving the Server Settings/Backup folder to a separate disk is a good start.
Please see Backing up a Fotoware System for more information.
Operations Folder
The Operationsfolder is used for both valuable data and temporary data. Most of it is temporary data and logs.
MongoDB
All MongoDB data files are stored in Operations/MongoDBData.
This is valuable and sensitive data and can grow to a large size! DO NOT delete!
It is recommended to move this folder (using a symbolic link or junction point)
Away from the C: disk
To a fast disk (SSD)
Video Proxy Files
The Operations/Proxies folder contains transcoded (playable) video files.
This folder can grow significantly if the server has many video files.
DO NOT delete this folder! It will NOT result in automatic re-transcoding.
Rendition Cache
The default location of the FotoWeb rendition cache is Operations/Cache/<SITENAME> for each site or tenant.
This is a cache, so it does not contain valuable data and should be on a fast disk (SSD).
The location of the cache for a site can be configured. FotoWeb also has global settings for cache cleanup schedules and cache size.
The actual cache size may become larger than the configured size!
It is possible to delete the contents of the cache folder. However, the web.config file at the root MUST NOT be deleted. If missing, it can be regenerated by running either fwsetup.exe -restoreIIS or fwsetup.exe -update.
CMS Export Cache
Whenever images are exported using CMS export, they are stored in Operations/Embed.
This cache works similarly to the rendition cache, except it is not cleaned, and exporte/d renditions are stored permanently. They are, however, regenerated on demand.
It is possible to move these files to a CDN using “Push to CDN”.
See also Where are exported assets stored?
Summary
This table summarizes the folders described in this section so far:
| Folder name | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
MongoDBData |
MongoDB |
VALUABLE BIG DB |
Proxies |
Video proxy files | BIG |
Cache |
Rendition cache |
BIG CACHE |
Embed |
CMS export cache |
BIG CACHE |
Logs and Temporary Files
The following sub-folders of Operations contain logs and temporary data. This data is generally not valuable, which means it does not need to be backed up and can be deleted to free up disk space.
Deleting any of these files may temporarily disrupt services, such as downloads failing.
The folders listed in this table MUST NOT be deleted, but their contents MAY be deleted.
| Folder name | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
BackgroundTasks |
Temporary folder for renditions for download |
BIG TEMPORARY |
CMSRender |
Internal Cache folder for CMS export This folder is cleaned at regular intervals. |
CACHE |
FrontEndCache |
Unused | |
IIS |
IIS configuration logs and command files | LOGS |
InternalCache |
Cache used by zoom function and some legacy services |
BIG CACHE |
Logs |
Application trace files |
BIG LOGS |
Logs/MongoDB |
MongoDB logs |
BIG LOGS |
Maildrop |
Queue for outgoing notification emails | TEMPORARY |
Reports |
Temporary folder for generating reports. See Logs and Reporting. | TEMPORARY |
| TEMPORARY | No longer in use | |
Temporary |
Literally a temporary files folder | TEMPORARY |
Workflow |
Temporary folder for alerts and legacy workflows | TEMPORARY |
Other Folders
These sub-folders of OperationsMUST NOT be deleted. They should not cause disk space issues.
| Folder name | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ConfigServer | Config server root | CONFIG |
| Tasks | Scheduling information for scheduled tasks | CONFIG |
Other Data
This section describes data that belongs to other applications that are a part of or communicate with FotoWeb.
SQL Database
If reporting is used, then FotoWeb needs a SQL database. See Logs and Reporting.
FotoWeb can use any database compatible with Microsoft SQL Server. The SQL database files may use considerable disk space, depending on activity and activity log settings.
There is a command to flush/purge the activity log to free up disk space.
IIS Configuration
IIS configuration can be split into two parts:
Configuration of websites, bindings, etc.: This is the customer’s responsibility. If lost, this configuration has to be rebuilt manually.
Configuration of the FotoWeb application, application pools, config server website, and some global configuration: This is set up by FotoWeb and can be rebuilt using the FotoWeb Update Wizard command line interface.
Document Folders
Folders that store actual asset files.
For FotoWeb on-premises, this is the primary storage of the most valuable customer data (their digital assets). Size may vary a lot.
Location is configurable in Index Manager and may vary.
Index Manager Indexes
Search indexes created by Index Manager.
Location is configurable in Index Manager and may vary.
All indexes can be rebuilt if lost. This may take hours or days for large asset collections!
Index Manager Configuration
Must be set up manually, so it should be considered valuable.
Global Server Configuration
Everything else in C:\ProgramData\Fotoware\ outside the FotoWebfolder, especially sServer.xml and the metadata configuration.
This configuration is (mostly) set up by Operations Center and the stand-alone MDC editor.
It must be set up manually, so it should be considered valuable, but initially created with defaults on installation.
Crash Dumps
Stored in C:\ProgramData\Fotoware\Crash Reports. These can grow to a considerable size! However, the presence of crash dumps should generally be regarded as a problem.
Global Server Logs
In C:\ProgramData\Fotoware\Log Files and sub folders, there are more log files which contain logs from all server applications, including Index Manager.
Summary
| Description | Notes |
|---|---|
| SQL database |
VALUABLE BIG DB |
| IIS configuration |
VALUABLE CONFIG |
| Document folders |
VALUABLE BIG |
| Index Manager indexes | CACHE |
| Index Manager configuration | VALUABLE |
| Global server configuration |
VALUABLE INSTALLER CONFIG |
| Crash dumps |
BIG LOGS |
| Global server logs |
BIG LOGS |