Files.com's integration with Google Cloud Storage (GCS) allows you to integrate with files on a Google Cloud Storage bucket in several different ways.

Files.com's Remote Server Mount feature gives you the ability connect a specific folder on Files.com to the remote server in a real time manner.

That folder then becomes a client, or window, accessing the files stored in your remote server or cloud.

Once you configure a Mount, any operation you perform on or inside that folder will act directly on the remote in real time. Whether you are dropping a file into that folder, deleting a file, creating a subfolder, or performing any other file/folder operations your Files.com user has permissions for, those operations will "pass through" to the remote in real time.

This powerful feature enables a wide variety of use cases such as accessing files on a counterparty (client or vendor)'s cloud without provisioning individual access to individual users, reducing storage costs by leveraging on-premise or bulk storage solutions, enabling applications to access 3rd party clouds via Files.com API, FTP, SFTP, or Files.com Apps and many more.

Alternatively, Files.com's Remote Server Sync feature give you the ability to push or pull files to or from remote servers. This means that the files will exist in both places at the end of the sync process.

A remote sync can be a "push", where files from your Files.com site are transferred to the remote server, a "pull" where files are transferred from the remote server to your Files.com site, or a two-way "sync" where files that are new or changed in either location are pushed and pulled to maintain a synchronized state between the folder on your Files.com site and that on the remote server.

Add Google Cloud Storage as a Remote Server

Add a new Remote Server to your site, and select Google Cloud Storage as the server type.

You must provide an Internal name for this connection. If you're managing multiple remote servers, make the name clear enough to easily identify this particular connection.

You must provide the Google Cloud Storage Bucket name that Files.com will connect to.

The Authentication Information is required because it contains the credentials Files.com will use for connecting to the remote system.

Once your Remote Server is added, you can integrate it to Files.com as either a Remote Server Mount or Remote Server Sync.

Authentication Information

Files.com supports two authentication types for connecting to Google Cloud Storage. By default, JSON is selected.

With the JSON method, you enter your Google Cloud project ID and provide the JSON credentials from your service account. The Credentials (JSON) field must contain a JSON object that includes the access key and other required authentication details. You can open the downloaded JSON key file in a text editor and copy its entire contents into this field. This JSON object is generated when you create a service account key in the Google Cloud Console. To learn more, see Google's documentation.

The second authentication type is HMAC (XML / S3-compatible API). It is intended for use cases where you're connecting through an S3-compatible API or where JSON credentials are not preferred or feasible. This method requires you to provide an access key and a secret key. These keys are part of the HMAC authentication mechanism supported by Google Cloud. You can generate them in the Google Cloud Console by following Google’s HMAC setup guide.

With any authentication type, the Access Key you are using must have the following permissions granted on the Google Cloud side for the appropriate bucket:

resourcemanager.projects.get
storage.buckets.get
storage.buckets.getIamPolicy
storage.buckets.list
storage.buckets.update
storage.objects.create
storage.objects.delete
storage.objects.get
storage.objects.getIamPolicy
storage.objects.list
storage.objects.update

Dedicated IPs

If your site has dedicated IP addresses, you may choose whether the Files.com platform will use those dedicated IP addresses to interact with the remote server. You may wish to enable this for simplifying networking rules in the remote system. If you do not have dedicated IP addresses, or you disable this option, then connections to the remote server may be made using any of Files.com's available IP Addresses.

Add Remote Server Mount

Remote Server Mounts are created by mounting them onto an empty folder in Files.com. This folder should not be the Root of your site, although that is supported if you need it.

Add Remote Server Sync

After creating the Remote Server, you can use it to perform Remote Syncs between your remote server and Files.com.

Case Sensitivity

Be aware of case sensitivity differences when copying, moving, or syncing files and folders between Google Cloud Storage and other storage locations. Google Cloud Storage is a case sensitive system whereas other systems may not be. This can cause files to be overwritten, and folders to have their contents merged, if their case insensitive names are a match.