Object Storage

Last updated: 17/12/2021

By default, VMCloud projects do not have access to the VMCloud Object Storage service, which uses Ceph Object Gateway S3 API. However upon request, access may be given, contact si@tecnico.ulisboa.pt for more details. If your project(s) already have access to this service, then the following documentation describes its usage.

If you are having issues with this service, read this page carefully, as it contains details for several error messages.

Managing Containers (Buckets)

On the VMCloud portal, all users with access to a project that has Object Storage enabled should have the Project -> Object Storage -> Containers page. If this page is not available for your user, make sure that the correct project and region is selected on the top bar. If it is correctly selected and the issue persists, then contact us, as access to this page is granted for each user of such project.

In this page, you can create containers, also known as buckets in S3. Container names should be unique to all VMCloud.

When creating a new container through this interface, if the indicated container name already exists, one of the following situations will occur:

• The message A container with that name exists. will appear under the Container Name field, if a container with the same name exists on the same project and submission is not allowed;
• The message Error: Forbidden. Insufficient permissions of the requested operation will appear on the top right as soon as an existing container name from another project is written. If this name is submitted, then the message Error: Unable to create the container. will appear on the top right and the container will not be created.

After creating the container, files and folders can be uploaded and created through the web interface.

Public access to the container can be enabled or disabled at any time. When it is enabled, the web interface will display the container public link, which is used to download the container files.

Containers are not synced between regions, each region is independent.

Quota

Object storage quota refers to the maximum size of all containers per project. At the moment, the VMCloud portal does not show the object storage quota attributed to each project and region. Therefore it is only possible to know the quota already used by checking and adding each container’s size.

If the message Error: Unable to upload the object. appears on the top right when uploading a file, then possibly the project does not have enough quota. Please check the overall size used by all containers of the project and region and make sure that the uploaded file will not exceed the quota. If you have enough quota for the file, then contact us to diagnose the issue.

Using 3rd Party Tools

There are several tools that can be used to upload files to containers, like s3cmd and Cyberduck.

To configure the access, go to the Tecnico DSI -> API Keys page on the VMCloud portal and retrieve the relevant information for the S3 configuration:

• Protocol: S3 (HTTPS)
• Host: Host indicated in the S3 Endpoint value. Ex: rgw03.tp.dsi.tecnico.ulisboa.pt
• Access Key: API User value
• Secret Key: API Key value