Integrity Checker Developer Interview

Now for the main event: the developer interview!

Tell us about yourself.

We’ve actually been around for over a year. We have five add-ons currently shipping for the WHS/SBS community: TimeTravelerWHS, Integrity Checker (WHS + SBS), and Snoop-de-dupe (WHS + SBS). Our company name is electrongoo (www.electrongoo.com) although we have not advertised the company behind the products; generally we let the product take focus on itself. Our average engineer has over 12 years of industry experience.

What is Integrity Checker for those who have never tried it before? Key features, capabilities, etc.

Integrity Checker is an add-in supporting both WHS (Original) and WHS/SBS 2011. It will automatically watch for new/changed files and create an integrity stamp which is added to the files alternate data stream. These integrity stamps can be used later to validate the contents of the file. We have many frequently asked questions documented on our site http://www.integrity-checker.com/faq.html. Also we include a robust How To list describing the products features/uses http://www.integrity-checker.com/howto.html.

The integrity stamps are generated by Integrity Checker automatically as a background process on the server. The user can run an integrity scan on demand. An integrity scan will compare the existing hash stamp in the alternate data stream to a new hash stamp generated from the current file. If the integrity stamp does not match then it’s a sign that the hard drive might be going bad and the file no longer matches its original state.

Typically users run integrity scans for the following reasons: periodically to ensure their hard drive is not failing, before a backup operation to ensure all files being protected have not been compromised, or to compare a known SHA-1 hash stamp from a file downloaded from the internet (e.g. http://www.integrity-checker.com/howto_verifydownload.html )

Who is the target audience for Integrity Checker?

The home user, small business, and IT consultant.

Can you tell me something about integrity checking in general, and why a WHS user needs to use it?

The Home and Small Business Server is the heart of your data. Many people use their server to store priceless data (photos, documents, etc). Hard drives have many moving parts and are prone to failure. Integrity Checker gives you the comfort knowing you’re watching for potential data loss and will have the option to confront it before it hits too much data.

Tell me about how your product generates integrity stamps.

Integrity Checker runs as a service on your server. The process is always running in the background and will quietly and efficiently watch the Shares that you select for new and changed files.  Whenever a file without a integrity stamp is located, it will be queued and automatically processed by Integrity Checker. This process will be completed with no interaction on your part.  An integrity stamp is comprised of three separate pieces of information: file modification date, file size, and the SHA-1 hash of file data.  The integrity stamp information is written to each file as an Alternate Data Stream (ADS).  Integrity stamp information will remain attached to the file when you copy the file to other servers and PC’s. Note, some applications may delete the ADS when they write to an existing file. If the file remains in a folder watched by Integrity Checker then the integrity stamp will automatically be regenerated when the file is changed.  Integrity Checker uses SHA-1, 160-bit hashing algorithm.

What are the key draws that you think will excite potential users about this application?

Ease of use. Integrity checker is a very simple application from the users perspective (although complex on the back-end engineering side). Once Integrity Checker is installed and configured then it runs automatically on its own; locating new/changed files and generating integrity-stamps.

What was the inspiration for Integrity Checker? Can you tell me why you set out to deliver the application?

One of our engineers developed this application for personal and internal use a while back. We considered releasing it last year publicly but felt the add-in might not have much of a market. A few months ago we were contacted by a user of our TimeTraveler add-in who just happened to inquire about an “integrity checker” type of add-in. We released the product shortly afterwards on the assumption that many other users would find the add-in useful as well.

How is your application differentiated from the competition?

Competition? Where? There are server utilities for scanning the surface of the hard drive but Integrity Checker scans at the file level allowing you to not only gauge the integrity of the entire hard drive but also focus on select files. For example, if you wanted to validate the integrity of your photos before protecting to an offsite backup then you could run an integrity scan on your photos share and guarantee exactly which files are validated.

What are your plans for future development? Are there any features that you plan to add in future releases?

We do have a number of ideas for future products for WHS/SBS. We will certainly keep you posted with news on beta/release cycles.

We tend to watch requests directly from our user-base to gauge which features we add. Our users have been very commutative about what they would like to see in future releases. We’re always amazed at the great feedback we receive both on the general usability of the add-in as well as requests for new features. I believe we have some of the smartest most engaged users anywhere. We’re very fortunate to be in this space.

The most requested feature is scheduling of integrity scans. We are evaluating adding a more robust scheduler based on product success.

Any lessons learned from this project for budding developers out there?

First, always listed to the customer. We’re in a great space where we receive great feedback from customers and use that to build new products and features. Second, we always built from our needs. If the product is something that we would not use ourselves then we don’t build it at all. That is, you gotta love what you do!

What is the price point for the application?

A one-time cost of $11.99. This buys a license for both WHS (original) and WHS/SBS 2011).

I’ll be downloading and installing this application soon, so look for a review.  And thanks, Jim, for taking the time to explain this application to me!