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🐿️ Features of Squirrel Archiving

Squirrel is a powerful, user-friendly archiving solution for SharePoint Online, Teams, and OneDrive. Below is a detailed breakdown of its features, organized by category.

Feature Category	Feature	Description

Smart Archiving	Automated Archiving	Detects inactive or large files for automated archival.
	Automated Site-Level Archiving	Apply archive policies globally across your SharePoint environment.
	Site Whitelisting	Exclude specific sites from archiving via whitelist.
	Per-Site Archiving Policy	Configure individual archive rules per site.
	Manual Archiving/Restore	Admins can manually archive or restore entire sites, document libraries, or folders.
	Custom Retention Rules	Archive based on file size, modified date, last accessed date, path, or metadata — or combinations of these.
	Path-Based Archiving	Supports archiving specific folders or directories.
	MIP Label Awareness	Supports Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) labels. Policies can be configured to skip archiving any files with defined sensitivity labels.

Stub File Replacement	Stub File Creation	Archived files are replaced with small .aspx stub files in SharePoint.
	One-Click Restore	Stub files include a restore button that users can click to request file restoration.
	Metadata & Version Preservation	Retains original file metadata and archives all versions of the file.

User-Initiated Actions	Archive/Restore Buttons	Users can initiate archive or restore from SharePoint or Teams.
	Teams & Private Channels Support	Full compatibility with Teams private channels and document libraries.
	Synced Folder Compatibility	Works seamlessly with OneDrive-synced folders (SharePoint synced folders).
	SharePoint UI Integration	Fully integrated into the native SharePoint user interface.
	Folder & Subfolder Archiving/Restore	Users can archive or restore complete folders and all subfolders/files directly from the SharePoint UI.

Versioning	Archive All Versions	All historical versions of a file can be archived, not just the latest.
	Version Limit Policy	Define how many versions to keep when archiving.
	Auto Delete Excess Versions	Squirrel can automatically delete older versions beyond your specified retention limit.

Orphaned Files	Orphan Detection	Identifies orphaned SharePoint files no longer linked to any site or library.
	Orphan Archiving	Automatically archives orphaned files to preserve content and free up storage.

Geo-Distributed Architecture	Regional Worker Nodes	Deploy workers in multiple regions for local SharePoint environments.
	Centralized Management	All nodes report back to a single central control panel.
	Data Sovereignty Compliance	Satisfies regional data residency requirements.

Azure Blob Integration	Azure Storage Support	Archives files to customer’s Azure Blob storage account.
	Storage Tiering	Use Hot, Cool, or Archive tiers to manage cost.
	Separate Storage for Backup	Archive and backup data stored in different Blob containers.

Security & Compliance	Encrypted Data	Data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
	MIP Label Compliance	Files with defined MIP labels can be excluded from archiving.
	Detailed Logging	Every archive and restore action is logged and auditable.
	Role-Based Access	Manage access and permissions through defined user roles.

Dashboard & Reporting	Real-Time Dashboard	View live data usage, queued files, and active requests.
	Exportable Reports	Download CSV logs and metrics for compliance or review.
	Log Viewer	Built-in log viewer to filter and inspect detailed actions.
	Custom Filters	Filter by site, user, date, or action for granular reporting.

Configuration & Integration	Policy Customization	Set different policies per site, group, or content type.
	PowerShell & REST API	Full control through scripting and API calls.
	CLI & GUI Support	Use either the command line or web UI for configuration and management.

Upcoming Add-On: O365 Backup	OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams Backup	Standalone backup of O365 content separate from archiving.
	Separate Infrastructure	Uses distinct database, storage, and worker nodes from archiving.
	Affordable Add-On	Designed to be cost-effective and easy to manage within the existing Squirrel platform.