Access the Allas object storage via the web

Summary

This tutorial shows you how to use the allas object storage via the web interface.

Internet

https://pouta.csc.fi/dashboard/project/containers/

flowchart LR
    A(Log in to cPouta) --> B(Select 'Object Store' and containers)
    B --> C{Modify}
    C -->|Containers| container
    C -->|Files| D(Select container) --> content
  subgraph container [Container]
    E(Create a container)
    F(Select a container) --> G(Delete container)
    F --> H(Publish container)
  end
  subgraph content [Container content]
    I(Upload / Download / Edit / Copy / Delete a file)
    J(Create / Delete a folder)
  end

Prerequisites

1. An existing MyCSC project with Allas service enabled.

Procedure

Use CLI if possible

There are some limitations to the web interface if you use the Allas service a lot: a maximum file size of 5GB and a transfer limit of one file at a time. There may also be some inconsistencies with the command line tools. The preferred way to use Allas is the command line interface.

Login to the Pouta service. Under Object Store, select Containers .

Click the '+ Container' button to create your first container, also known as a bucket.

Enter a name for the bucket. Click Submit to create the bucket.

Note

The name of the bucket must be unique among all buckets in Allas. You cannot have a bucket with the same name as another user.

Unnecessary empty buckets can be deleted . Files can be uploaded and deleted, and folders can be created. A bucket can be made public during or after creation.

Next in our tutorial we will:

1. Create a folder
2. Upload a file
3. View its preferences
4. Make the bucket public
5. Access the file from the web
6. Delete the file
7. Delete the folder
8. Delete the bucket

Click the '+ Folder' button. Give the folder a name . This name must be unique within the bucket.

Accept the new folder with the '+ Create Folder' button.

A newly created folder can be accessed by clicking on its name .

Within the folder, click the upload file (on left of the '+ Folder') button. Then click the 'Browse...' button to select a file to upload.

Warning

In this tutorial we will upload a picture of a cartoon cat. Make sure you also select a file that is safe to publish on the Internet.

Start the upload by pressing the 'Upload File' button.

Next to the file is a button with several actions. The 'Download' action is selected by default. Other actions are 'View Details', 'Edit', 'Copy' and 'Delete'.

Here's the 'View Details' selected and the object details shown to the user.

Close the view by pressing the 'x Close' button.

Then make the file public by selecting Public in the bucket settings.

Disabled text changes to Link text and becomes a public link to the bucket .

Success

The link to a certain file in the bucket is in form https://a3s.fi/bucket-name/folder-name/file-name.

For example, the cat picture uploaded in the tutorial would be behind a link https://a3s.fi/unique-bucket-name/less-unique-folder-name/cat-in-pool.png.

Info

If you followed the link , a slightly different view opened. The url also contained a unique authentication string, which is not necessarily required.

The top level view of the public bucket.

The last thing to do is clean up.

Open the folder containing the image, select it , click on the '' button and confirm deletion with the 'Delete' button .

Close the view by clicking the 'OK' button.

To move up one level, click on the name of the bucket .

Then repeat the same steps - as for the file to delete the folder.

Then all we have to do is delete the bucket. Click on the '' to the right of the bucket name.

Confirm the deletion with the 'Delete' button.

That's it!

We're back to square one.

Further Learning

Here are some suggestions for what to read next:

• Access the Allas object storage from the CLI