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.

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

You must provide the following information in order for Files.com to connect to your Google Cloud Storage:

Bucket - Enter your Google Cloud Storage bucket name.

Project ID - Enter your Google Cloud Project ID.

Credentials (JSON) - A JSON object containing the access key. To learn more about this see Google's documentation.

The Access Key you are using must have the following permissions granted to it on the Google 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.

Reauthenticating

Certain remotes that use OAuth for authentication may require regular rotation of your credentials. When this is needed, you will see an alert in the top left of the web interface. You can click the link in that alert to re-authenticate and re-establish the connection to the remote.