topic Shared drive usage in Peer-Peer Topics

Shared drive usage

jasoncrcsd — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:46:00 GMT

We have over the years accumulated a large number of shared drives. We suspect many may not be used anymore but is there any way to tell? For example can I query drives to see if anyone has accessed any of the files in lets say a year? We're looking to purge some of them but I knwo if I do I'll get an email in a month "this link we use every month doesn't work" So I was wondering if there is some report even in GAM that I can run to see if a drive or drives hasn;t been accessed recently. Anyone know if this is possible?

Re: Shared drive usage

kaned — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:01:07 GMT

I don't know of a way to do that with a report, although I'm interested if one exists.

I do not think there is a way to do this with GAM.

However, Navigating to the root of the shared folder, clicking the information icon in the top right and looking at the activity of the root of a shared drive appears to show activity for all subfolders.

It may take some manual work, but you should at least be able to see if something was touched the last X months.

Re: Shared drive usage

Nabil — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:34:30 GMT

Yes, it's possible to identify shared drives that have not been accessed recently, and there are a few methods you can use to gather that information. While there isn't a direct way to query Google Drive for last access in the Drive UI itself, tools like Google Apps Manager (GAM) or Google Workspace Reports can help.

Here are a couple of approaches:

1. Using Google Apps Manager (GAM):

GAM allows you to manage Google Workspace environments and can help you retrieve information on shared drives and activity. You can run specific queries to get file or drive activity, but it may require some scripting to check drive access times.

Steps:

Use gam print driveactivity to get a report of the activities on drives.

You could also export this data and then filter by timestamps (such as a year back) to see which drives haven't been accessed.

This method may not give you access directly at the shared drive level but will let you audit activity related to files within those drives.

2. Using Google Workspace Admin Reports:

Google Workspace provides built-in reporting tools under the Reports section of the admin console. You can use the Drive Audit Log to see file-level activities.

Steps:

Go to the Admin Console > Reports > Audit > Drive.

Set the time filter to the last year and review the logs for shared drives.

This will allow you to see file creation, views, edits, and other activities.

You can export this data for further analysis, identifying drives with no activity over the past year.

3. Manual Cleanup with Shared Drive Membership:

You can manually check drive memberships and confirm with owners/users about the drives they use frequently. It's less efficient but ensures you don't delete drives people rely on.

If you're unsure about removing a shared drive, you can always notify users first or archive the drive content before purging it. This way, you'll have a backup if anyone requests access later.

Re: Shared drive usage

Nabil — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:35:53 GMT

You're correct that there isn't a built-in report directly for shared drive activity, and GAM doesn't have an out-of-the-box solution for this specific need. However, your approach of manually checking activity through the Google Drive interface is a valid method.

To clarify the steps for this manual approach:

Manual Check for Shared Drive Activity:

1. Navigate to the Shared Drive: Open the shared drive you're investigating.

2. Click the Information Icon: In the top-right corner of the screen, click on the "i" (information) icon.

3. Review Activity: This will bring up a panel on the right that shows recent activity. If you check the root of the shared drive, it will display activity for all subfolders and files.

4. Look at Timeframes: Scroll through the activity feed and check for any updates, accesses, or modifications in the past several months (you can define your timeframe, such as a year).

Pros and Cons of the Manual Approach:

Pros:

It’s simple and doesn't require any admin-level access or complex tools.

You get a clear view of whether files have been touched without diving into a command-line tool.

Cons:

It can be time-consuming, especially if you have a large number of shared drives.

There is no automated reporting, so you'll need to manually check each drive.

Automation (If Interested in a Long-Term Solution):

For larger organizations or frequent purges, it may be worth considering scripting an automated solution using Google Drive APIs. You can retrieve activity logs programmatically and generate a report on last access or modification times, which can make the process more efficient.

This might be a worthwhile long-term project, especially if the manual process proves too tedious for many shared drives.

Re: Shared drive usage

jasoncrcsd — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:41:06 GMT

Acciidentaly hit accept as solution

gam print driveactivity gives me a syntax error

Admin Console > Reports > Audit > Drive. I don;t see. I have reporting and thre is a drive activity log but it doesn't have any options I see fior shared drive I can go file by file but that would take decades

Re: Shared drive usage

panderson — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 15:33:50 GMT

One other thing to consider besides the recent activity, is that some of the documents may be time-sensitive and be required to be kept for so long. I would recommend contacting the owners and members of the group and asking them first; then, if no one says they need the share, remove all the members of the Shared Drive and leave it sit for a defined period of time, requiring a Google Admin to share it again. Then, after the "designated time", remove the drive. I know that doesn't help immediately, but it would be good to get set procedures down to avoid some issues now and in the future