Data Classification deploys another layer of AI alongside your NetApp Console system and storage systems. It then scans the data on volumes, buckets, databases, and other storage accounts and indexes the data insights that are found. Data Classification leverages both artificial intelligence and natural language processing, as opposed to alternative solutions that are commonly built around regular expressions and pattern matching.

Data Classification uses AI to provide contextual understanding of data for accurate detection and classification. It is driven by AI because it is designed for modern data types and scale. It also understands data context in order to provide strong, accurate, discovery and classification.

Learn more about how Data Classification works.

Yes, Data Classification has a REST API for the supported features in the Data Classification version that is part of the Console core platform. See API documentation.

Data Classification is part of the NetApp Console core features, so you do not need to use the marketplaces for this service .

While the initial scan of your data might take a little bit of time, subsequent scans only inspect the incremental changes, which reduces system scan times. Data Classification scans your data continuously in a round-robin fashion, six repositories at a time, so that all changed data is classified very quickly.

Learn how scans work.

Data Classification scans databases only once per day; databases are not continuously scanned like other data sources.

Data scans have a negligible impact on your storage systems and on your data.

Scan performance can vary based on the network bandwidth and the average file size in your environment. It can also depend on the size characteristics of the host system (either in the cloud or on-premises). See The Data Classification instance and Deploying Data Classification for more information.

When initially adding new data sources, you can also choose to perform only a "mapping" (Mapping only) scan instead of a full "classification" (Map & Classify) scan. Mapping can be done on your data sources very quickly because it does not access files to see the data inside. See the difference between a mapping and classification scan.

Data Classification offers extensive search capabilities that make it easy to search for a specific file or piece of data across all connected sources. Data Classification empowers users to search deeper than just what the metadata reflects. It is a language-agnostic service that can also read the files and analyze a multitude of sensitive data types, such as names and IDs. For example, users can search across both structured and unstructured data stores to find data that may have leaked from databases to user files, in violation of corporate policy. Searches can be saved for later, and policies can be created to search and take action on the results at a set frequency.

Once the files of interest are found, characteristics can be listed, including tags, system account, bucket, file path, category (from classification), file size, last modified, permission status, duplicates, sensitivity level, personal data, sensitive data types within the file, owner, file type, file size, created time, file hash, whether the data was assigned to someone seeking their attention, and more. Filters can be applied to screen out characteristics that are not pertinent.

Data Classification also has role-based access control (RBAC) to allow files to be moved or deleted, if the right permissions are present. If the right permissions are not present, the tasks can be assigned to someone in the organization who does have the right permissions.

First you need to deploy an instance of Data Classification in the Console, or on an on-premises system. Once the instance is running, you can enable the service on existing systems, databases, and other data sources from the Configuration tab or by selecting a specific system. Learn how to get started.

You can disable Data Classification from scanning an individual system, database, or file share group from the Data Classification Configuration page. See Remove data sources from Data Classification.

To completely remove the Data Classification instance, manually remove the Data Classification instance from your cloud provider's portal or on-prem location.

Yes. If you want Data Classification to exclude scanning data that resides in certain data source directories, you can provide that list to the classification engine. After you apply that change, Data Classification will exclude scanning data in the specified directories. Learn more.

No. Data Classification does not scan snapshots because the content is identical to the content in the volume.

When Data Classification scans volumes that have cold data tiered to object storage using the Mapping only scans, it scans all of the data—​data that's on local disks and cold data tiered to object storage. This is also true for non-NetApp products that implement tiering.

The Mapping only scan doesn't heat up the cold data—​it stays cold and remains in object storage. On the other hand, if you perform the Map & Classify scan, some configurations might heat up the cold data.

Data Classification is supported when the Console agent is deployed in a Government region (AWS GovCloud, Azure Gov, or Azure DoD) - also known as "Restricted mode".

Data Classification can only scan data from data sources that are local to the on-premises site. At this time, Data Classification can scan the following local data sources in "Private mode" - also known as a "dark" site:

Data Classification scans all files for category and metadata insights, and displays all file types in the file types section of the dashboard.

When Data Classification detects Personal Identifiable Information (PII), or when it performs a DSAR search, only the following file formats are supported:

.CSV, .DCM, .DOC, .DOCX, .JSON, .PDF, .PPTX, .RTF, .TXT, .XLS, .XLSX, Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Data Classification enables you to run a general "mapping" scan or a full "classification" scan on your data sources. Mapping provides only a high-level overview of your data, whereas Classification provides deep-level scanning of your data. Mapping can be done on your data sources very quickly because it does not access files to see the data inside.

Data Classification captures metadata such as: file name, permissions, creation time, last access, and last modification. This includes all of the metadata that appears in the Data Investigatcdion Details page and in Data Investigation Reports.

Data Classification can identify many types of private data such as personal information (PII) and sensitive personal information (SPII). For details about private data, refer to Categories of private data that Data Classification scans.

Yes, Data Classification is fully integrated with the NetApp Console. NetApp Console users can only see information for the systems they are eligible to view according to their permissions.

Additionally, if you want to allow certain users to just view Data Classification scan results without having the ability to manage Data Classification settings, you can assign those users the Classification viewer role (when using the NetApp Console in standard mode) or the Compliance Viewer role (when using the NetApp Console in restricted mode). Learn more.

No. The private data sent between your browser and the Data Classification instance are secured with end-to-end encryption using TLS 1.2, which means NetApp and non-NetApp parties can't read it. Data Classification won't share any data or results with NetApp unless you request and approve access.

The data that is scanned stays within your environment.

NetApp does not have access to sensitive data and does not display it in the UI. Sensitive data is masked, for example, the last four numbers are displayed for credit card information.

Scan results are stored in Elasticsearch within your Data Classification instance.

Data Classification accesses data stored in Elasticsearch through API calls, which require authentication and are encrypted using AES-128. Accessing Elasticsearch directly requires root access.

Data Classification is a NetApp Console core capability. It's not charged.

The Console agent is software running on a compute instance either within your cloud account, or on-premises, that enables the NetApp Console to securely manage cloud resources. You must deploy a Console agent to use Data Classification.

When scanning data, the NetApp Console Console agent needs to be installed in the following locations:

If you have data in these locations, you may need to use multiple Console agents.

Data Classification itself doesn't retrieve storage credentials. Instead, they are stored within the Console agent.

Data Classification uses data plane credentials, for example, CIFS credentials to mount shares before scanning.

Yes, Data Classification communicates with the Console agent using HTTP.

The NetApp Console allows the user to scan and report on systems virtually anywhere, including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. Data Classification is normally deployed using a SaaS model, in which the service is enabled via the Console interface and requires no hardware or software installation. Even in this click-and-run deployment mode, data management can be done regardless of whether the data stores are on premises or in the public cloud.

When deployed in the cloud:

Learn more about how Data Classification works.

Yes. You can install Data Classification software on a Linux host that has internet access in your network or in the cloud. Everything works the same and you continue to manage your scan configuration and results through the Console. See Deploying Data Classification on premises for system requirements and installation details.

Yes, that's also supported. You can deploy Data Classification in an on-premises site that doesn't have internet access for completely secure sites.