Handling large files in workspace

S3 (Simple Storage Service) is an external storage space for storing files. The EPISODES Platform uses it to store particularly the larger ones (bigger than 20 MB), which are placed there automatically or by moving the file manually.

Contents of this guide

In this guide you will learn where large files are stored on the EPISODES Platform and how to switch files between local space and S3 storage. You will also become aware of the differences between local and S3 memory and the portal's behaviour when a user approaches the limit of their local memory provided by the portal.

Overview of the S3 memory and local memory

Files located in a user's workspace can be located in either of two storage spaces:

local user memory (its default size at the moment has been set to 500MB for individual user),
S3 external storage;

It is possible to perform the same operations on files in S3 memory as on files in local memory (sharing, deleting, renaming, etc.) - the only difference may be a slightly longer access time for files located in S3 memory.

Files uploaded by the user which exceed 20MB in size are automatically placed in S3 memory. Alternatively, smaller files from workspace can be transferred to this memory by manually moving them to S3 memory space.

Files can be always transferred from local memory to S3 memory, while in the opposite direction (from S3 memory to local memory) two prerequisites must be fulfilled:

the file size may not exceed 20MB,
the limit of 500MB of used local memory must not be reached after the file is transferred;

Indication of files stored within the S3 storage

The file in the user's workspace, which is located in the S3 storage space, is indicated by an icon (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1. Icon showing that the files are in S3 memory

Manual file transfer between local storage and S3 storage

To manually move a file located in the local memory to the S3 memory, click on the file's context menu and select the "change storage" option (Figure 1.2). Confirm this operation (Figure 1.3) - after a short while, the file bar will show an indication that the file is in S3 memory.

Figure 1.2. Context menu with a button to move the file to S3 memory

Figure 1.3. Window to confirm the file transfer to S3 memory

Manual file transfer between S3 storage and local storage

In order to move a file located in the S3 memory to the user's local memory, click on the context menu of the file, selecting "change storage" (Figure 1.4 - if this option is not displayed, it means that the size of the file does not allow it to be moved to local memory). Once the user has confirmed the operation (Figure 1.5), the file will be moved to the local memory if it does not exceed the local memory limit per user.

Figure 1.4. Context menu with a button to move the file to local memory

Figure 1.5. Window to confirm the file transfer to local memory

Information on approaching the local storage space limit

When the local memory limit allocated to a particular user is approached, a message will be displayed on the top information bar above the Episodes Platform menu (Figure 1.6) to inform of this fact. In order to secure more local memory, it is possible either to move some files to S3 memory or, if they are redundant, to delete them from local memory. When the refresh button is pressed, the size of the available memory on the bar will update. If local memory space is freed up below 450 MB, the bar with the mentioned message will disappear.

Figure 1.6. Message indicating that the local storage space limit is being approached