Export and Analysis - Volume Reports & Data Analysis | Nife

Export your volume data for reporting, analysis, and documentation purposes.

Exporting Volume Data#

Export Overview#

The Volumes Dashboard provides data export functionality to download all volume information for external analysis and reporting.

Export Benefits

  • Create infrastructure documentation
  • Analyze storage distribution
  • Generate compliance reports
  • Share with team members
  • Import into analysis tools
  • Maintain records
  • Plan capacity
  • Track costs

Export Process#

Step 1: Prepare Data

  1. Navigate to Volumes Dashboard
  2. All volumes automatically included
  3. No filtering required
  4. Refresh for latest data

Step 2: Access Export

  1. Locate header area
  2. Click overflow menu (three dots)
  3. Find "Export Volumes" option
  4. Click to start export

Step 3: Download File

  1. Export begins
  2. JSON file generated
  3. Browser automatically downloads
  4. File saves to Downloads folder
  5. Notification confirms export

Step 4: File Received

  • File named: volumes-YYYY-MM-DD.json
  • Contains all volume data
  • Ready for analysis
  • Portable format

Export File Format#

JSON Structure#

File Format

[
{
"app": "application-name",
"volume": "volume-name",
"size": 50,
"region": "us-east-1",
"created": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}
]

Data Fields

FieldDescription
appApplication name owning volume
volumeVolume name/identifier
sizeStorage size in GB
regionGeographic region
createdISO 8601 timestamp

Data Included#

Comprehensive Data

  • All applications with volumes
  • Every volume per application
  • Complete size information
  • Region details
  • Creation timestamps
  • Application associations

Data Completeness

  • Includes all deployed applications
  • Shows all volumes
  • Current state captured
  • Snapshot time recorded
  • No data filtered

Opening Exported Files#

Using JSON Files#

Text Editor

  1. Open any text editor
  2. File → Open
  3. Select volumes JSON file
  4. View content
  5. Format appears structured

JSON Viewer

  1. Use online JSON viewer
  2. Paste file content
  3. Visual tree display
  4. Easier navigation
  5. Format highlighting

Command Line

# View file content
cat volumes-2024-01-15.json
# Pretty print
cat volumes-2024-01-15.json | jq .
# Filter specific app
cat volumes-2024-01-15.json | jq '.[] | select(.app == "payment-service")'

Importing to Tools#

Spreadsheet Application

  1. Open Google Sheets or Excel
  2. File → Import
  3. Select volumes JSON file
  4. Configure import settings
  5. Data appears in spreadsheet

Database

  1. Connect to database
  2. Import JSON data
  3. Create volumes table
  4. Query and analyze
  5. Generate reports

Analysis Tools

  1. Load JSON into tool
  2. Configure data mapping
  3. Create visualizations
  4. Generate reports
  5. Export results

Analysis and Reporting#

Volume Statistics#

Calculate Metrics

Total Storage

Sum of all volume sizes
= Sum(size for all volumes)

By Application

Total per app
= Sum(size for volumes in app)

By Region

Total per region
= Sum(size for volumes in region)

Average Values

Average volume size
= Total storage / Number of volumes
Average per app
= Total storage / Number of apps

Common Analyses#

Distribution Analysis

  • Storage by application
  • Storage by region
  • Application storage needs
  • Regional distribution
  • Identify outliers

Capacity Planning

  • Current usage trends
  • Growth projections
  • Future requirements
  • Budget planning
  • Resource allocation

Cost Analysis

  • Storage by region (costs vary)
  • Large volume identification
  • Optimization opportunities
  • Budget tracking
  • Cost forecasting

Report Generation#

Summary Report

Volume Summary Report
====================
Total Applications: 5
Total Volumes: 12
Total Storage: 2,190 GB
By Application:
- payment-service: 80 GB (3 volumes)
- user-api: 300 GB (2 volumes)
- analytics-worker: 850 GB (3 volumes)
- media-processor: 1,000 GB (1 volume)
- notification-service: 40 GB (2 volumes)
By Region:
- us-east-1: 170 GB
- eu-west-1: 10 GB
- ap-south-1: 300 GB
- us-west-2: 550 GB
- eu-central-1: 300 GB
- ap-northeast-1: 1,000 GB

Using Exported Data#

Documentation#

Infrastructure Documentation

  1. Export current volumes
  2. Include in runbooks
  3. Add to architecture docs
  4. Share with team
  5. Update regularly

Compliance Documentation

  • Volume inventory
  • Storage locations
  • Data residency
  • Retention policies
  • Audit trail

Team Sharing#

Share with Stakeholders

  1. Export volume data
  2. Create summary report
  3. Share spreadsheet
  4. Present findings
  5. Discuss optimization

Team Collaboration

  1. Upload to shared drive
  2. Team members review
  3. Discuss findings
  4. Plan improvements
  5. Document decisions

Integration#

With Other Systems

  • Import to billing system
  • Feed into monitoring tools
  • Sync with documentation
  • Update configuration management
  • Integrate with automation

Data Validation#

Verify Exported Data#

Check Completeness

  1. Count applications
  2. Count volumes
  3. Verify totals match dashboard
  4. Check all regions included
  5. Confirm timestamps

Sample Verification

  1. Pick random volume
  2. Find in dashboard
  3. Compare details
  4. Verify accuracy
  5. Confirm data quality

Data Quality#

Ensure Accuracy

  • Compare with dashboard
  • Check creation dates
  • Verify sizes
  • Validate regions
  • Confirm counts

Fresh Data

  • Export current data
  • Refresh before export
  • Note timestamp of export
  • Document data age
  • Regular exports

File Management#

Organizing Exports#

File Naming

volumes-2024-01-15.json # Daily
volumes-2024-12-31.json # Specific
volumes-backup.json # Archive
volumes-analysis.json # Processed

Folder Structure

volumes/
├── 2024-01/
│ ├── volumes-2024-01-01.json
│ ├── volumes-2024-01-15.json
│ └── volumes-2024-01-31.json
├── 2024-02/
│ ├── volumes-2024-02-01.json
│ └── volumes-2024-02-28.json
└── archive/
├── volumes-2023-12-31.json
└── volumes-2023-11-30.json

Storage and Backup#

Local Storage

  • Keep on computer
  • Regular backups
  • Version control
  • Encrypted storage
  • Access restrictions

Cloud Storage

  • Upload to Google Drive
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Store in AWS S3
  • Archive in company repository
  • Automated backups

Retention Policy#

Keep Exports For

  • Current month: Keep all
  • Past 3 months: Keep weekly
  • Past year: Keep monthly
  • Older: Archive as needed
  • Compliance: Follow requirements

Troubleshooting Export#

Export Issues#

File Won't Download

  1. Check browser download settings
  2. Disable pop-up blockers
  3. Try different browser
  4. Check available disk space
  5. Try again after page refresh

File Size Issues

  1. Large files may take time
  2. Check file actually downloaded
  3. Verify file size in Downloads
  4. Try downloading again
  5. Contact support if issues persist

File Corrupted

  1. Try export again
  2. Try different browser
  3. Check disk space
  4. File may be incomplete
  5. Retry operation

Cannot Open File

  1. Use JSON viewer
  2. Try text editor
  3. Check file extension is .json
  4. Verify file not empty
  5. Try online JSON parser

Export Best Practices#

Regular Exports#

Scheduled Exports

  • Weekly: Trend tracking
  • Monthly: Documentation
  • Quarterly: Capacity planning
  • Annually: Compliance
  • Custom: As needed

Before Major Changes

  • Export current state
  • Document baseline
  • Reference for rollback
  • Change comparison
  • Audit trail

Secure Handling#

Data Protection

  • Encrypt sensitive exports
  • Limit distribution
  • Secure storage
  • Access controls
  • Delete after use

Privacy

  • Only share necessary data
  • Anonymize if needed
  • Redact sensitive info
  • Control access
  • Track distribution

Documentation#

Record Exports

  • Note export date
  • Document reason
  • Track findings
  • Record decisions
  • Update regularly

Version Control

  • Date-named files
  • Folder organization
  • Change notes
  • Archive old exports
  • Maintain history

Advanced Analysis#

Volume Optimization#

Identify Large Volumes

  1. Export volume data
  2. Sort by size descending
  3. Find largest volumes
  4. Review usage
  5. Identify reduction opportunities

Identify Underutilized

  1. Export all volumes
  2. Check creation date
  3. Identify old volumes
  4. Research usage
  5. Plan cleanup

Right-Sizing

  1. Analyze growth trends
  2. Project future needs
  3. Compare to allocated
  4. Plan optimal sizes
  5. Implement changes

Growth Trends#

Track Over Time

  1. Monthly exports
  2. Calculate growth rate
  3. Project future capacity
  4. Plan upgrades
  5. Budget resources

Forecasting

  1. Historical growth data
  2. Linear regression
  3. Seasonal patterns
  4. Capacity planning
  5. Resource allocation

Summary: Using Export Data Effectively#

Exporting volume data enables you to:

Documentation

  • Create infrastructure inventory
  • Document storage allocation
  • Maintain compliance records
  • Share with team members

Analysis

  • Calculate storage metrics
  • Identify growth trends
  • Plan capacity upgrades
  • Analyze distribution patterns

Optimization

  • Find unused volumes
  • Identify optimization opportunities
  • Plan cost reductions
  • Right-size storage allocation

Integration

  • Feed data to BI tools
  • Sync with external systems
  • Automate reporting
  • Enable data pipelines

Regular exports (weekly/monthly) help you maintain accurate infrastructure documentation and identify optimization opportunities.

Next Steps#