Dalet Flex Storage Resource

Storage Resource

A Storage Resource plugin is an object that references the location where your assets are stored. The Storage Resource uses the Virtual File System (VFS) to allow applications to access different types of concrete file systems in a uniform way. 

A VFS  storage resource:

• Provides access to different types of concrete file systems, managed by Dalet Flex, in a uniform way.
• Supports file-based processes between different file systems at the job level
• Offers a larger degree of configuration and security options.
• Makes managing and integrating diverse storage devices simpler

In Dalet Flex, the concrete file system can be made up of:

• Object storage devices
• File storage devices
• Cloud storage devices

VFS Protocols

The following Protocols are supported for a Dalet Flex VFS Storage Resource:

• AZBS
• GCS
• FILE
• FTP
• FTPS
• HTTP
• HTTPS
• S3
• SFTP
• SMB
• WEBDAV

Since a Storage Resource points to a location on a specific storage solution, such as a Windows folder, Amazon S3 bucket, FTP or Google Cloud Storage, you must create storage resources for that specific platform. You must supply the location, connection details and credentials for accessing the storage and the assets stored on it. The exact information depends on the particular storage solution.

Creating a storage resource

1. In Flex Core, in the New menu, select Resource.

2. In the Create new Resource screen, give the storage resource a Name and an optional Description. Set which accounts and groups have access to the storage resource by setting its Visibility and select Storage Resource Plugin. In this example, a storage resource for assets imported into Dalet Flex has been created.

NOTE: Storage Resources are only visible and available in drop down lists for use in actions/workflows on Accounts they have Visibility for. 

3. Click Save and move to the Configuration sub-tab and click Edit to add the location and connection details of your storage. 

4. Select the Protocol for the Storage Resource. 

The configuration fields are displayed dynamically depending on the selected protocol. These are the possible fields.

VFS Location Storage location in the specified virtual filesystem location. To use, expand the section and configure the following properties:

Protocol (Mandatory) Protocol for accessing the VFS location. Supported protocols: AZBS, GCS, FILE, FTP, FTPS, HTTP, HTTPS, S3, SFTP, SMB, WEBDAV

Bucket Mandatory for S3, GCS, AZBC (Container) protocols Bucket for storing the copied files in

Hostname (Mandatory except for FILE, S3, GCS and AZBS protocols) Hostname for accessing the VFS location

Account Name (Mandatory for AZBS protocol) Account name for accessing the Azure Blob srorage

Port (Mandatory except for FILE, S3, GCS and AZBS protocols) Port for accessing the VFS location

Path (Mandatory for File protocol) Path for accessing the location (absolute path starting with / except for FTP, SFTP which are relative to the user home directory)

Username (Mandatory except for FILE protocol) Username for authentication

Password (Mandatory except for FILE, S3, GCS, AZBS protocols) Password for authentication

Key Key for authentication

Secret (Mandatory if a Key is supplied) Secret key for authentication

Token Token for authentication (required for GCS authentication)

Private Key File Mandatory for SFTP certificate authentication Upload the private key used for SFTP authentication

Customer Managed Key ID Customer managed key to perform server side encryption for S3, GCS, AZBS cloud storage providers

Shard Defines whether this VFS location is sharded (note: changing this value will not shard/un-shard existing files.)

Alias Mapping Allows you to define an alias for the configured Storage Resource. Typically used when a VFS needs to be accessible to a 3rd party application from a mountpoint which is different to the one visible to Flex, for example for integration with AmberFin and Vantage. To use, expand the section add the following configurations. NOTE: Identical aliasName/aliasVFSLocation on the same account is not supported. 

Alias (Mandatory) The alias string used for the mapping. 

Protocol (Mandatory) The protocol of the mapped VFS storage location.

Mapping VFS Location (Mandatory)  The required configuration fields for the VFS location as described above. 

5. Click Save to finish and and then click Enable.

6. Click Start to start the folder.