On-Premise Agent

The Files.com Agent is an installable piece of software that lets you integrate any supported on-premise or cloud hosted system with Files.com.

The Agent works cleanly in enterprise networks. It securely routes traffic through typical firewalls and NAT without requiring inbound rules, port forwarding, or exposing internal systems to the public internet. You do not need to downgrade or disable common enterprise security controls to use the Agent.

The Agent provides a secure connection between remote file systems and Files.com, letting you push and pull files between Files.com and local file systems. Local file systems include locally attached storage, like local disks and drives, and network attached storage, like file share clusters and network drives that use CIFS, SMB, and NFS. The Agent also supports routing connections to SFTP servers and cloud storage providers.

The Agent connects your on-premise file storage directly to Files.com and integrates it into your business processes. The Agent uses your on-premise folders as sources and destinations for FTP(S), SFTP, AS2, and WebDAV connections. Automations and workflows read from and write to those folders. Inboxes deliver data directly into your on-premise folders for collection. Outboxes, share links, and public hosting distribute data from your on-premise folders to any audience. The Agent also pushes and pulls data between your on-premise folders and your Files.com site.

The Agent can use any attached or mounted storage that the operating system has permission to access. It can only access storage locations that the underlying operating system has access to.

The Agent can also serve as a secure proxy for routing connections from your Files.com site to Remote Servers that cannot be reached from the public internet.

How the Agent Works

The Agent connects to your Files.com site using a secure encrypted connection from the host system.

Once connected, your Files.com site can reach the Agent host as a Remote Server. The file system on the Agent host becomes part of your site's file ecosystem, integrating on-premise folders with your cloud-based site and its capabilities.

The Agent runs as a system service, so it starts automatically at boot and operates without manual intervention.

The Agent automatically attempts the fastest transfers possible by using parallel transfers and file chunking. File chunking splits files into parts, transfers the parts in parallel, and rejoins them at the destination, shortening transfer times for business critical files.

Setting Up the Files.com Agent

There are 3 steps to setting up an Agent. First, create a Remote Server for the Agent in your Files.com site. Next, download and install the Agent to the system that you want the Agent to run on. Finally, install the Agent as a system service and start it.

The Agent uses a configuration file to control what it can access on the host machine, how it connects to the Files.com platform, and how it generates log files. Your Files.com site generates this configuration file automatically, and the system administrator of the host machine can modify the settings as needed. This lets a system administrator review an Agent's configuration when the Agent was created by someone else.

Once the Agent service is running, you can use its Remote Server on Files.com to access local folders and integrate them with other Files.com features and capabilities. Use a Remote Mount to access local folders interactively through Files.com, or use a Sync to push files to, and pull files from, folders on the system hosting the Agent.

Creating a Remote Server

Create a new Remote Server and select Files.com Agent from the list of available remote server types.

Enter a name for this connection. This internal name is only used to reference this connection to this Agent.

Select the permissions for the Agent. These permissions restrict Files.com to only those actions.

Enter the full path of a root folder for the Agent. Use a path that exists on the host system. This setting specifies the top-level folder that the Agent can access. The Agent can access any files and folders within this root folder. Locations outside this root folder can only be accessed if you use the Agent's Follow links feature.

Download the Agent that corresponds to your host operating system.

Download the configuration file to the system that will be hosting the Agent.

You can now use the downloaded binary and configuration file to install the Agent as a system service.

Downloading and Installing

Download and install the Agent version that corresponds with your host system.

Running the Agent

Install the Agent as a system service, and start the service.

The Agent only runs on the system that it is installed on. However, it can access network attached folders that have been mounted on that system.

Agent Status

The Agent connects to Files.com to register its current status. To confirm the status of the Agent, review the Remote Server configuration for the Agent. The following fields show the Agent status information:

Add Remote Server Mount

Once the Agent has connected, you can use it for Remote Server Mounts.

Add a Sync

Once the Agent has connected, you can use it with a Sync.