LucidLink Filespace
Introduction
LucidLink Filespaces is a distributed global file system for object storage that performs like a local disk and provides seamless access to data stored in distant locations. LucidLink's cloud-native distributed file system allows many users to access it concurrently via a folder placed on the local client. The LucidLink cloud NAS provides access to large datasets through direct streaming, eliminating the need for downloading and synchronizing.
Visit https://www.lucidlink.com/ for more information.
Advantages of Storj with Lucidlink
Using Storj with LucidLink provides resilient cloud object storage with blazing performance and zero-trust security. This integration ensures:
Fast performance that simulates disk storage: LucidLink enables unparalleled performance with object storage where only the data bits required at the current time are streamed to and from the client and storage.
- Combined security features: LucidLink provides a “Zero-Knowledge” security model that encrypts all the data starting in the local cache on the client, in-flight, and in the object storage itself—and only the customer has the encryption key. Storj encrypts your data as well.
Access: Allows multiple globally distributed users simultaneous access to data.
This integration uses S3 credentials passed from Storj to LucidLink. You will need to set up a Storj account, create a Storj bucket for LucidLink, and generate S3 credentials for LucidLink. Then, you will need to create a Filespace on LucidLink using and initialize it with credentials created in Storj.
Software Requirements
LucidLink integrates with any S3-compatible cloud storage platform, including Storj.
To integrate LucidLink with Storj, you will need:
- A Storj account
- A LucidLink account
- The LucidLink desktop app
LucidLink is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Download LucidLink here: https://www.lucidlink.com/download
Or sign up for a free trial of LucidLink here: https://www.lucidlink.com/trial
To begin, you will need to create a Storj account. If you already an account, go to https://storj.io/login.
Navigate to https://storj.io/signup to sign up. Enter your full name, email address, and a password, as shown below:
Create a Bucket
Once you have your Storj account, create a Storj bucket for LucidLink following the steps below. This Is the bucket that the LucidLink Filespace will access.
1. Navigate to “Buckets” on the left side menu.
2. Click “New Bucket” on the top right.
4. Select “Continue”.
5. Generate a passphrase or enter your own.
6. Select “Continue”.
7. Record the passphrase somewhere safe.
Remember your passphrase as you will need it for future access of your data. Storj is unable to recover your passphrase for you.
You will need to generate S3 credentials for LucidLink to access your bucket in Storj. S3 credentials consist of an access key, secret key, and endpoint. You will need to store them somewhere safe, as they cannot be recovered.
Create S3 credentials in the Storj web console:
- Navigate to “Access” on the left side menu
- Click “Create S3 Credentials” under the S3 Credentials block.
3. When the Create Access screen comes up, set specifications according to the following guidelines:
- Type: S3 Credentials
- Name: The name of the credentials (e.g. Lucidlink)
- Permissions: All
- Buckets: Feel free to specify the bucket you created above (e.g. lucidlink-bucket), or leave as “All”
4. Check the "Encryption Information" pop-up message that says, "By generating S3 credentials, you are opting in to server-side encryption". The click "Continue".
5. Select your passphrase encryption from either the "Generate Passphrase" or "Create My Own Passphrase" options. This is the passphrase used to access the files in your bucket.
6. You can then click one of the "Copy to Clipboard" or "Download .txt" options.
7. Check the message to acknowledge that you have read it: "I understand that Storj does not know or store my encryption passphrase. If I lose it, I won't be able to recover files."
8. Click the "Create My Access" button.
9. Your S3 credentials are created. Write them down and store them, or click the "Download .txt" button. You will need these credentials for the following steps.
To complete the integration, you will need the S3 credentials created in the previous steps, a LucidLink Filespace for Storj, and the LucidApp on your local machine.
To sign in to your LucidLink account, visit https://www.lucidlink.com/webportal/login or visit https://www.lucidlink.com/ and click "Sign in". Otherwise, create an account.
Signing in takes you to the LucidLink web portal, where you will create your domain and Filespace.
When you initially log in to LucidLink, you will be prompted to name your domain. Your domain is where you will create Filespaces. In this case, we have named our domain "storjdemo".
Create a LucidLink Filespace
1. From the webportal, click on the "Create New Filespace" card.
2. Choose the "Custom Filespace" plan to add your own cloud storage.
3. Choose the "Custom Filespace" option to use your own cloud storage.
4. Choose a Filespace name. In this case, we will use "storj".
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5. On the "Choose Your Provider" screen, scroll down to "Other Cloud" and select that option.
6. Enter the endpoint URL that you saved from your S3 credentials in the "Endpoint URL" field. In this case, our endpoint is https://gateway.storjshare.io.
7. If desired, set your region under the "Region name" field. This is not required.
8. If desired, check "Configure advanced settings" at the bottom of the page before clicking "Continue".
9. On the Advanced Settings page, enter the bucket name that you created in Storj. In this instance, the bucket is "lucidlink-bucket".
10. It is recommended to set the block size to at least 2MB for optimal data stream quality.
12. Review and confirm the details of your Filespace before clicking "Create" at the bottom of the page.
13. LucidLink will redirect you to your dashboard while it sets up your Filespace. Once the Filespace is set up, you will have to initialize it. Follow the steps below to initialize your Filespace.
Initializing your Filespace must be completed through the LucidLink client, which you can download from the Lucidlink website. You will be prompted for your S3 credentials and required to set a root password during initialization.
1. Click "Initialize" on your new Filespace.
2. Read through the pop-up window detailing the instructions for initializing your Filespace.
- At the top is a link to download the LucidLink client. If you have not already downloaded it, click on the link, or visit https://www.lucidlink.com/download.
- If you have already downloaded the LucidLink client (LucidApp), click "Launch the desktop client" at the bottom of the window.
3. Once the LucidApp has launched, add your saved access key and secret key created in Storj into the "Access Key" and "Secret Key" fields, respectively. Click "Next".
4. Create a root password. Make sure to save this password because it cannot be recovered. Check the "Remember password" box at the bottom of the screen if you wish to store your password. Then click "Initialize".
Initializing the Filespace from the command line allows you more options in configuring the initialization. The command takes the following general format:
With our credentails in this example, we would have the following command:
For more information on using the command line with LucidLink, see the following guide: https://support.lucidlink.com/hc/en-us/articles/5778797132557
