Before you start
To use this Azure Cloud archiving plugin, you need:
CatDV Server 10.1.2 or later
CatDV Pegasus or Enterprise Client 14.1 or later
CatDV Plugin licence 'ARCAZ' (Rest API licence with multiple sessions)
Client set to calculate MD5 when importing files, ideally
Client -> Preferences -> Import
Check "Automatically calculate MD5 when importing files"
NB This will make imports slower. If this is not done, the Azure SDK will calculate its own MD5 each time a file is archived, which will slow down the archiving process.
To trigger Azure cloud file transfers from the Worker you need:
Azure Worker Plugin 2.4, included in this installation as AzureWorker.catdv
In addition, to run the archive service standalone (outside the server):
CatDV Service Control Panel 2.0.0 or later
New Installation
IMPORTANT: If you don't already have an Azure account or you don't know the access keys see ‘Azure Cloud Setup' for further details.
Copy the whole directory extracted from this zip to the plugins directory:
e.g. on Unix systems: /usr/local/catdvServer/plugins
e.g. on Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Square Box\CatDV Server\plugins
Set server properties required by the plugin:
Open 'Server Config' from the control panel
Enter required properties into the CatDV Server tab, 'Other' field. See Plugin server properties.
Restart the CatDV server from the control panel
Open the CatDV client (or log the client back in to the server)
Configure one or more service accounts (see Managing Service Accounts). The first account will always be the default account, used to verify that Azure is available and used as a fallback when necessary. See Manage service Command for information on the details and settings for a service account:
In the client, run Tools->Manage Azure Cloud Archive Service
On the accounts tab enter the service account details. Mandatory details are flagged with an asterisk. Note that once a service account has been used to archive a clip, it will no longer be possible to update its identifier.
Click 'Add'.
Configure service settings (See Manage service Command)
Optionally configure archiving, processing and UI settings for the plugin via the corresponding tabs on Tools->Manage Azure Archive Service.
Set up Media Store Service Path Mappings to automatically map drives/folders to archive locations. If you plan to always use a single service account and a single container, you may skip this step and use default location mapping. However, it is still recommended to use this approach if you don’t want the file ‘paths’ on Azure to include the path of the storage volume.
If Running archive service standalone, then configure and start the archive service via the service control panel.
Verify the service setup: In the client, run Tools->Manage Azure Cloud Archive Service again. The service status should be 'Running (online)'. The status may be 'Running (offline)' if Azure Cloud is not currently accessible.
If the Azure worker plugin IS NOT being installed:
Delete the AzureWorker.catdv from the azure plugin directory (see first step).
If the Azure worker plugin IS being installed:
Move AzureWorker.catdv FROM the azure plugin directory installed in the first step TO the worker plugins directory:
e.g. on a Mac: /Library/Application Support/Square Box/Extensions
e.g. on Windows: %ProgramData%\Square Box\Extensions
e.g. on Linux: /usr/local/catdvWorker/extensions
If the worker is running, re-connect to the server (Edit Config / CatDV Server / Reconnect) so that the archive plugin fields are available.
Verify that the Azure worker actions are available. It may be necessary to quit and re-open the worker to pick up the new worker actions.
Upgrade Installation
Make a note of the current plugin version from this document (or see latest version in Release Notes)
If running the archive service standalone, use the service control panel to stop the service.
Stop the CatDV server from the control panel
Copy the whole directory extracted from this zip to the plugins directory:
e.g. on Unix systems: /usr/local/catdvServer/plugins
e.g. on Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Square Box\CatDV Server\plugins
Remove or move the directory / files for the prior plugin from the plugins directory.
Carry out any 'Upgrade' instructions for each plugin version listed in the Release Notes above the last installed version, working back from the oldest applicable version
Start the CatDV server from the control panel
Read through the 'Changes' for each plugin version listed in the Release Notes above the last installed version, and go to Tools->Manage Azure Cloud Archive Service to verify that the details / settings for each account and the archiving / processing / UI settings for the plugin are correct for this installation. See Manage service command for more details.
If Running archive service standalone, then update and start the archive service via the service control panel.
Open the CatDV client (or log the client back in to the server)
Verify the service setup: In the client, run Tools->Manage Azure Cloud Archive Service again. The service status should be 'Running (online)'. The status may be 'Running (offline)' if Azure is not currently accessible.
Update (or delete) the Azure worker plugin by following the instructions from the last step for a new installation. If there is an older Azure worker plugin file in the extensions directory with a versioned name, delete it.
Plugin server properties
When running the archive service "InPlugin", the following server properties must be set:
catdv.azure_archive.licence_code = <generated licence code for plugin>
When running the archive service standalone, the properties for the archive service must include:
catdv.azure_archive.licence_code = <generated licence code for plugin>
catdv.rest_api.host = <CatDV server hostname>
catdv.rest_api.port = <CatDV API port>
catdv.rest_api.user = <CatDV API user>
catdv.rest_api.password = <CatDV API user password> (** exclude if blank, for dev)
Typical rest API values for a development machine would be (password property omitted for a blank password):
catdv.rest_api.host = localhost
catdv.rest_api.port = 8080
catdv.rest_api.user = Administrator
In addition, the following optional property may be set to turn on debug logging on both the server and standalone service:
catdv.azure_archive.debug = true
Running archive service standalone
By default, the service that handles archive jobs runs inside the plugin. The following is required to run the plugin's archive service on a separate machine from the CatDV server:
CatDV Service Control Panel 1.3.1 or later
To configure and start the standalone archive service using the service control panel:
Open the Manage service command in the client / web plugin UI
Verify that the at least one service account has been configured
In the Processing tab, set the ‘Service mode’ to ‘standalone’ and click ‘Save’
Re-open the Manage Service Command and verify that the service is ‘Stopped’. If not, restart the CatDV server.
Install the CatDV Service Control Panel
Replace the Java ‘cacerts’ certificates file in the service control panel JVM with the one from the server JVM
· Replace: <CatDV Service Home>/jre/lib/security/cacerts
· With: <CatDV Server Home>/jre/lib/security/cacerts
Open the CatDV Service Control Panel
Click 'Service Config' to open the service configuration
Fill in license details on the Licensing tab
Optionally, fill in details of a REST endpoint on the REST Service tab
Fill in server connection details on the Server Connection tab (connection can be checked on the control panel)
Enter required service properties on the Other Settings tab. See Plugin server properties above. (**Note the server connection details are duplicated here for now, pending a plugin update to remove them)
On the Installation tab, note the install location ('Server Install Path')
On the file system, navigate to the install location and copy the plugin files into the plugins sub-directory.
Click 'Start' to start the archive service.
To update the standalone archive service:
The service should have been stopped via the Service Control Panel 'Stop' prior to stopping the CatDV Server.
Open the CatDV Service Control Panel
Add / edit service properties on the Other Settings tab if applicable.
Go to the install location (see Installation tab) and replace the plugin files in the plugins sub-directory with those for the latest version of the plugin.
Click 'Start' to start the archive service.
Azure Cloud Configuration
In order to use the plugin, an Azure Cloud account/subscription is required. If you need to set up an Azure Cloud account for testing purposes, follow the link 'Start free' from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free. Then the most straightforward way to proceed is to use an existing Microsoft account.
NB - Whilst Azure Cloud accounts have a free tier, this is only for app plans. After the 30-day free period standard pay as you go costs apply to Storage Accounts (of which there may be many associated with a single Azure Cloud account). The costs vary depending on the configuration of each Storage Account, so it is important to ensure that appropriate settings are configured as suggested below.
For development purposes on Windows machines only an Azure Simulator is available:
download: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=717179&clcid=0x409
instructions: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/storage-use-emulator
Once you are logged into an Azure Cloud account, https://portal.azure.com/ will take you to the Azure console.
In order for the plugin to copy to / move to / restore from your Azure account, you will need to set up a Storage Account with at least one container. If the customer has an Azure virtual machine, there will already be a storage account. The storage account name will be based on the virtual machine name. See the Azure Virtual Machines documentation for more details.
If customers need help setting up a Storage Account for production, see:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/storage-create-storage-account
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/resource-manager-deployment-model
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/
To set up a Storage Account ** for development or test purposes **:
Sign into the Azure Portal: https://portal.azure.com/
Click 'Storage Accounts' on LHS, then click '+ Add'
Then configure optimally for development / test:
Name = e.g. catdvtest<yourname>
lowercase alphanumeric, must be globally unique across all Azure Cloud accounts
Deployment model = Resource Manager
Mandatory for Blob storage account
Account kind = Blob storage
best option for storing media files
cheaper than standard
Replication option = LRS
Access Tier = Hot
Subscription = free trial (or pay as you go, if your 30-dayfree trial has expired)
for pay as you go, you must upgrade to a 'pay as you go' subscription via 'My Account'
Blob pricing: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/storage/blobs/
Resource group: create new = e.g. catdvtest<yourname>
Location = West Europe
Most comprehensive service availability of european regions
Tick pin to dashboard
Click 'Create'
To get the account (access) keys for a Storage Account:
Sign into the Azure Portal: https://portal.azure.com/
Click 'Storage Accounts' on LHS
Click 'Access keys' under 'Settings' in the central menu
Click the copy button for the primary or secondary key on the RHS
To create a container in a Storage Account
Sign into the Azure Portal: https://portal.azure.com/
Click 'Storage Accounts' on LHS
Click on the storage account the container is to be added to
Click '+ Container' in toolbar at the top of the RHS overview area
Enter a container name. A container name must be a valid DNS name, conforming to the following naming rules:
Container names must start with a letter or number, and can contain only letters, numbers, and the dash (-) character.
Every dash (-) character must be immediately preceded and followed by a letter or number; consecutive dashes are not permitted in container names.
All letters in a container name must be lowercase.
Container names must be from 3 through 63 characters long.
Click 'Create'
The values required to configure the service in the Azure Cloud plugin are:
account name: Name of a Storage Account which belongs to your Azure Cloud account
account key: Primary or Secondary key of the Storage Account (see above)
default container name - name of an accessible container on the Azure Storage Account which can be used to verify the connection, used as the default container the first time a user attempts to copy / move files to Azure Cloud
Media Store Service Path Mappings
Media Stores should be used to automatically map file storage to archive locations by adding a service path to each media store. The service path determines the service account, container and (optional) folder path for the archived files. Service accounts are set up via the Manage Service screen (see Managing Service Accounts) and are given an identifier when they are created.
For Azure Cloud a service path has the format:
<serviceType>://<accountIdentifier>/<container>
or
<serviceType>://<accountIdentifier>/<container>/<folderPrefix>
For example, if a Media Store were set up with the following two entries:
/Volumes/dance-videos/drafts
azure://squarebox-test/video-test/dance
Then a clip located at:
/Volumes/dance-videos/drafts/greatest-show/this-is-me
Would be archived:
using the credentials from the 'squarebox-test' account
into the container 'video-test'
with a path of '/dance/greatest-show/this-is-me'
Each Media Store is intended to represent a distinct segment of physical storage so, to avoid ambiguity, no path should be present in multiple media stores and paths should not overlap (e.g. there should not co-exist media stores for /Volumes/dance-videos/drafts and /Volumes/dance-videos/drafts/special).
To avoid any clash or overwrite of files with the same path and name from different drives, make sure they are mapped to either distinct containers or distinct folders within the same container.
The 'folder path' can be set or overridden on archive if 'location' is set as an allowed override. See Manage Service Command (UI TAB).
Restore path mapping
If a restore location is not writable when a restore job is run, the plugin will use Media Stores to attempt to find an alternative writable restore location. If there is a Media Store with a path matching the restore location, the plugin will check whether any of the other paths in that Media Store are writable and substitute the root directory of the restore location accordingly.
The restore location can be overridden when a restore job is scheduled, if the option to override it is turned on. In earlier versions of the plugin, in this case no file hierarchy was preserved – all files were written directly to the specified directory. Now the plugin will use Media Stores to try and preserve file hierarchy for restored files. If any Media Store path is found that matches the default restore location, it will be used to substitute the root directory of the default restore location with the override.
Note that if many files are restored together to an overridden location, some files may have hierarchy preserved and some may not, depending on whether matching Media Store paths are found.
Using the plugin
The plugin comprises various commands that are available from the Tools menu in the client.
File transfers are initiated by the schedule copy / move / restore commands but are carried out by a separate process. This means that the client does not automatically reflect updates to a clip on completion of a transfer. Use 'Server->Refresh Window' in the client to pick up any changes during / after transfer.
The plugin includes the following commands:
Command | Description |
Manage Azure Cloud Archive Service | View full status details of the archive service and manage the service account(s) required to access Azure Cloud archives. Service account details include account name, account key and default container. If a connection to Azure Cloud cannot be made an error is displayed and the values are not saved. |
View Azure Cloud Archive Service Job Queue | Lists jobs, which can be filtered by status (Recent, Pending, Complete, Failed, All). It provides the capability to view job contents, view job results and cancel waiting or queued jobs. |
Schedule copy to Azure Cloud | Adds a copy job for each clip selected (if multiple clips reference the same source media only one job is created). Copy jobs can be scheduled when the archive service is not running or is offline but will only be run when the archive service is online (running and Azure Cloud is accessible). When the copy job is run, the source media associated with the clip is copied from the file system to Azure Cloud and the original file is preserved. |
Schedule move to Azure Cloud | As copy but on successful transfer of the file to storage the job attempts to delete the original file. If for some reason the deletion fails, this does not affect the job status (or archive status of the clip) but "Purge failed" is recorded in the job data. |
Schedule restore from Azure Cloud | Adds a restore job for each clip selected (if multiple clips reference the same source media only one job is created). Restores can be scheduled when the archive service is not running or is offline but will only be run when the archive service is online (running and Azure Cloud is accessible). When the restore job is run, the source media associated with the clip is copied from Azure Cloud to the file system. |
Purge files archived to Azure Cloud | Deletes the source media associated with the selected clips if they have been successfully archived. |
Managing Service Accounts
The accounts tab on the Tools->Manage Azure Cloud Archive Service provides facilities to manage the service account(s) used to connect to Azure Cloud archives. A single account is usually sufficient to operate the plugin. However, if required, there is an add-on which enables multiple accounts to be set up for security purposes etc. This is enabled as an add-on via a special server config property.
When there are multiple accounts, the account used may be determined automatically via Media Store Service Path Mappings or selected by the user on archive / restore if allow override of Account ID is turned on (see Manage Service Command UI tab).
An account which is in use, i.e. has been used to archive files, must be unlocked before it can be updated or deleted. This is to ensure that accidental changes cannot be made to an account such that files can no longer be restored. Note it is not possible to change the account identifier on an in-use account.
IMPORTANT: Account updates should be a rare occurrence. If the plugin service is running in the server these may be picked up without a server restart but, depending on which values were updated, this may cause some existing jobs to fail. If the plugin service is running standalone, the service must be re-started in order to pick up the account changes.
The accounts tab provides the following operations:
Button | Description |
Clear | Clears the current selection / details so that only default values are filled in. |
Set Default | Updates the default account to the current selected account. |
Add | Creates a new account with the specified details. |
Unlock | Unlocks an in-use account in preparation for update / delete. |
Update | Updates the selected account with the specified details. If an account is in use, it must be unlocked before it can be updated. Please take care when updating an account which is in use, as changing some settings could break the restore of files archived with that account. For example, if the account key is switched to one which does not have the same access or if any encryption settings are changed. Note it is not possible to change the account identifier on an in-use account. |
Delete | Deletes the selected account. Please take care when deleting an account which is in use, as it will no longer be possible to restore any clips arched with that account. This feature is intended for removing test accounts and any applicable clips should be deleted or restored and re-archived. |
Manage service command
The following can be configured from Tools->Manage Azure Cloud Archive Service in the web or desktop UI for the plugin:
ACCOUNTS TAB / DETAILS (for an account): | |
Field | Description |
Account Identifier | Identifying name for this service account. This may contain only alpha-numerics and hyphens. Note it is not possible to change the account identifier on an in-use account. |
Account Name | Account name for connecting to this service account |
Account Key | Account key for connecting to this service account |
Default Container Name | The container that will be used as the archive fallback for this account by default. This is not applicable when a media store service mapping applies. Otherwise, if the UI tab settings allow the user to override the container then this will only be used as the default the first time the user does an archive. Subsequent archives by the same user will default to the last value they entered. |
HTTP Protocol | The http protocol to be used to connect to Azure. Defaults to ‘http’. |
Concurrent Request Count | The number of parts (of a multi-part upload) that the Azure SDK will attempt to upload simultaneously. The default value is 1. Increase this value in order to upload a single large blob quickly. |
ARCHIVING TAB: | |
Location mapping | Note that this is mainly for legacy purposes as the preferred approach is now to use Media Store Service Path Mappings. Fallback method for generating the archive file location on Azure if no media store service mapping applies. The default is 'mirror'. Valid values are: mirror: The archive location always mirrors the source file path which means a file is replaced each time it is archived. Use media store mappings to cater for files with the same path on different file systems. batchMirror: The file(s) selected for archive are batched together in a date and time stamped directory (format /yyyy-mm-dd/hh:mm:ss.mmm) and mirror their source file path(s) within the batch directory. This has the effect of versioning uploads to Azure as a new copy is written for each transfer. mediaStoreRelative: Generates relative file paths from the relevant media store(s). If no matching media store path is found, the archive location is generated using the 'mirror' approach. mediaStoreAbsolute: As 'mediaStoreRelative' but also prepends the path with the name of the media store. |
Exclude archived files from archive | Skip files that have already been archived when scheduling jobs to copy / move to archive, unless they currently have a copy / move failed status. Default is “yes” for new installs. Note, if the file(s) were previously copied, an attempt to move the file will simply be skipped, it will not purge the file. When this option is turned on, use the purge operation to purge files which have already been copied. This option can be temporarily disabled if it is necessary to resubmit files for some reason. |
Exclude existing files from restore | Skip files that already exist when scheduling restore jobs. Default is “yes” for new installs. |
Purge directories | Determines whether or not empty directories are deleted when purging (or moving) files. |
PROCESSING TAB: | |
Service mode | NB Always ensure that the standalone service is NOT running prior to changing this value. Determines whether the job processing service runs in-server (as a thread in the CatDV Server) or standalone (via the Service Control Panel). The initial/default value is in-server. When this value is switched, the plugin will attempt to start or stop the in-server service as appropriate. If this does not appear to have been successful, as reported on the Overview tab, then it will be necessary to restart the CatDV server to apply the change. |
Concurrent job limit | Determines the number of transfers that the archive service will attempt to run concurrently. The default value is 4. |
Number Delayed retries | The number of times a waiting job is retried at an interval which increases exponentially. The default value is 10, which is equivalent to roughly 34 hours elapsed running time of the archive service. |
Maximum retry delay (time period in milliseconds) | Limits the maximum time period between retries of waiting jobs. The default value is blank. |
Loop delay (time period in milliseconds) | Determines the frequency with which the archive service checks the Job queue and attempts to run outstanding Jobs. Defaults to 30s. |
Retry running job delay (time period in milliseconds) | Determines the time period after which a Job which is running will be restarted if it has not been updated during that period. Defaults 1h. |
Stalled job delay | Determines the time period since a running job's last progress update, after which its status is flagged as stalled. Defaults to 1m. |
UI TAB: | |
Restrict command access | Restricts the specified plugin commands to sys admin users. Can be used to hide 'config' commands only (i.e. Manage Service), ‘config / archive’ (i.e. to restrict copy and move to archive but not restore and purge), ‘config / archive / purge’ (i.e. to restrict copy, move and purge but not restore) or 'all' commands. Note that a server restart is required to ensure that this change is picked up under all circumstances. Default is ‘none’. |
Days to display | The number of days into the past for which jobs are listed in the job queue. Any job updated in this time period is listed. The default value is 10. |
Max no jobs to display | The maximum number of jobs which will be listed in the job queue. This overrides days_to_display. The default value is 1000. |
Allow overrides | Enables the facility for users to override one or more parameters at the point of archive or restore. |
**Any duration can be set in h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) or any combination in that order, e.g. 2h, 2h 30m, 5m, 1m 30s, 1s.
Archive details pane
The plugin automatically creates a panel entitled "Azure Cloud Archive" containing the clip metadata which describes its Azure Cloud archive state, including:
Command | Description |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.serviceType | Type of service responsible for file transfer |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.serviceName | Name of service responsible for file transfer |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.status | Archive status |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.location | Location of file in storage |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.restoreLocation | Location file will be (if job pending) or was last restored to |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.date | Date (timestamp) of latest change in archive status |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.dateLastArchived | Date last archived |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.dateLastRestored | Date last restored |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.numArchives | The number of times the clip has been successfully archived |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.archiveKey | Identifier of file in storage |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.batchID | Identifies the batch of files with which the clip was archived |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.jobID | Identifier of current / latest archive job |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.parentJobID | n/a for Azure Cloud (related to bulk archives) |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.userId | ID of user initiating current / latest transfer |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.historyJson | Record of all archive activity in json format |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.history | Record of all archive activity (including before historyJson added) |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.purged | Indicates whether or not file has been purged by plugin (reset on restore) |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.purgeError | Details of purge failure |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.accountIdentifier | Identifier of the Azure Cloud Storage Account in CatDV |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.accountName | Name of the Azure Cloud Storage Account |
squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.containerName | Name of container to transfer file to / from |
Known Issues
Sometimes when updating the service configuration or when there is a network outage the error message provided by the Azure Cloud SDK is generic and not helpful.
When the host cannot be contacted, due to a network issue or invalid account name, any call to Azure hangs for at least two minutes before timing out with an error.
Occasionally a call to Azure will block for several minutes for no apparent reason. (This may improve in the future when the plugin is updated to use Azure Storage SDK v12)
Licence Code
IMPORTANT: You may install and use this software only in accordance with the terms of the CatDV Server 8 license agreement.
Square Box Systems Ltd.
September 2023
Release notes
2.4p1 (2023-09-08)
- Fix for archiving files from a mapped media path - Fix to exclude service paths when looking for a writable path for restore
- Amend the mechanism to get the next job to process to try and prevent an infinite loop for clips with corrupt archive data. NB jobs for such clips will be consistently skipped and need to be cancelled. The only indication of this will be info entries in the logs (it isn’t necessary for plugin debug to be on to see these).
2.4 (2023-03-06)
Upgrade
- Check requirements in ‘Before you start’
- Check whether CatDV server DB has an index on jobID on the jobResult table. Add this index if it is missing.
- Worker archiving plugin to 2.4 (in release)
Changes
- Add support for nested folder clips (folder / playlist / version-set / multicam)
- Add support for lightweight clips (image sequence lite and lightweight directory clips)
- Add ‘Recover BackBlaze Archive Data’ plugin command (UI and worker)
- New (beta) command “View … Jobs for Clip(s)”, to aid monitoring folder / lightweight clips and for troubleshooting.
- Remove days to display limitation and UI config option for job queue. Limit by max jobs only.
- Add option to restrict access to plugin commands for all but the job queue
- Allow a clip with a failed archive status to be purged - if a re-archive failed, a size/date mismatch will trigger that error
- Add skipped / queue failed job history entry when transfer fails to queue
- Minimise duplicate failure entries in archive history
- Remove stalled job delay / stalled indicator on running jobs
- Add http protocol to azure service accounts
- Prevent move job failing if file is not found for purge, which can occur on job retry after a DB connection failure
- Fix file transfer progress updates so limited to 4 per second when multiple threads are transferring parts
- Fix outstanding job errors to include the archive status text from the outstanding job, rather than the clip.
- Fix for restore issue where filename contains a comma followed by a space
- Fix for NumberFormatException parsing clip JSON from server containing proxyOffset
- Fix job stuck in running state due to server failure between allocating job to service and updating job to running state
- Dump threads when a job stalls or times out, for troubleshooting purposes
- Modify thread syncing for job processing to improve performance and attempt to resolve a thread sync issue that intermittently causes jobs to be re-run after completion.
- Enhancement to utility script (catdvfixarchivestatus.sql) to selectively update status of queued / running / waiting jobs
- Utility script (catdvreducejobresults.sql) that can be used to clear out intermediate job results
- Utility script (catdvdeleteallplugindata.sql) that can be used to clear out all plugin related data, e.g. to reset an installation set up with the wrong workflow
2.2.9 (2021-05-24)
Upgrade
- server to 9.3.3
Changes
- Add ‘No to all’ option for purge clip confirmation
- Fix for plugin license expiration causing ballooning logs
- Modify handling of waiting jobs to limit the resources they consume, including throttling re-queue of waiting jobs.
2.2.8 (2020-10-08)
Upgrade
- If using worker, update worker plugin to 2.2.8 (included with this plugin)
- If there is any script in place which relies on the value of the cross-plugin source media ‘archiveStatus’ field (e.g. for archive status traffic light indicators), ensure it is updated to reflect that ‘Archived’ may now be either ‘Archived’ or ‘Purged’.
Changes
- Add service config option to ‘Exclude archived files from archive’, now the default for new installs. Where files are not expected to change, this ensures there is no duplication of archive time / cost if files are picked up repeatedly.
- Add ‘purged’ flag to archive parameters
- Update generation of clip level archive status to include a ‘purged’ state
- Improve consistency of error reporting between server and worker plugins
- In worker plugin, return success if file(s) have a pending job of the same type, to reduce errors from picking up duplicate files
2.2.7p1 (2020-06-29)
Upgrade
- Server to 8.0.7p3 or later OR 9.0.1p14 or later
Changes
- Fix for conflicting clip edits in worker archive plugin actions, following meta-clip status update
- Fix to try and ensure that duplicate clips are excluded from restores, based on media path rather than file path
2.2.7 (2020-05-29)
Upgrade
- If using worker, update Archiware worker plugin to 2.2.2 (included with this plugin)
Changes
- Update summary archive status on meta-clips when meta-clip member archive status changes
- Fix for purge of restored file where mapped media path has changed since file was archived
- Additional manage service option to restrict access to purge command along with archive commands
- Add option to exclude existing files from restore jobs
- Fix default html format for json history field, to resolve issue of archive pane flipping / redrawing
2.2.6 (2020-04-22)
Upgrade (READ IN FULL FIRST)
- Now require CatDV Server 8.0.4 or later and CatDV Pegasus 13.0.5 or later (for transfer progress notifications)
- If running service standalone, update CatDV Service Control Panel to 1.3.1
- If required, update worker plugin to 2.2.1
- If required, need to set an undocumented config property to enable multiple accounts, as it is an add on product
- backup the service table from the DB if it contains multiple rows
- run catdvazureplugin2.2.6.sql against the CatDV DB to update the service UID to the new combined value
**Note that if there are multiple service rows with ‘serviceType’ BackBlaze, in which case only the one most recently updated should be in use, this script will update the UID on the service with the most recent lastModifiedDate and delete the other(s).
- The plugin will automatically migrate the connection details from the service definition currently in use (whether in server or standalone) to be the initial 'default' service account. There is a ONE TIME opportunity to customise the identifier of this account by setting the following configuration parameter in the server BEFORE re-starting for the first time after the upgrade, as the identifier of an account which is 'in use' cannot be changed (NB - The specified account identifier may contain only alpha-numerics and hyphens):
catdv.azure_archive.migration_account_identifier = <my-account-identifier>
With a single account and no media store service mappings, the plugin will continue to operate as before, using the default account and configured location mapping for all archives. With multiple accounts and corresponding media store service mappings, any clips for which no service mapping is found will fall back to use the configured location mapping, as before.
- The plugin will automatically migrate any optional config values from the server properties to the service definition and they should subsequently be edited using the web or desktop Manage Service UI. You should be able to confirm that these have been set appropriately by going into the UI and comparing the values to the ones in the server config.
**NB Only server property values previously read and loaded into the DB by the 1.x plugin will be preserved. If properties need to be changed as part of the migration these must be applied in the UI afterwards.
**NB For a standalone service, any additional properties set only in the service config may need to be set manually in the UI.
- After this migration, all optional service config properties should be deleted from the config for the server and
(if applicable) service control panel. The following properties are not optional and should not be removed if present:
catdv.azure_archive.licence_code
catdv.azure_archive.debug
- In the Azure panel, ensure "Azure Archive History" (identifier squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.history) is below the new "Azure Archive History (json)" (identifier squarebox.catdv.archive.Azure.historyjson). Ensure these fields are the last two in the panel as the json history field displays as a table.
Changes (MAJOR UPDATE)
- Add support for multiple archive accounts
- Enhancements to manage service command, enabling most configuration to be done via the UI
- Support for automatic mapping from clips to archive locations, via Media Store service mappings which include
a service identifier, account identifier, container name and (optional) 'folder' e.g. azure://squarebox-test-2/vcvideotest/dance
- Implement restore path mapping
- significant update to plugin initialisation to prevent it blocking the server thread on start-up and simplify switching between in-server or standalone service for job processing. The same UID is now used for in-server and standalone services and the service mode is switched via a UI service config option, rather than system property.
- Add ability to restrict access to (config and) archive but allow restore
- Include file size in job data / job queue list
- Support multi-select for cancelling jobs from queue
- Run another job (if available) immediately after completion / failure of a running job
- Add json version of archive history to clip archive metadata
- Update service fields / panel creation to include all fields in field group but exclude some from the panel
- Modify generation of clip level archive status to incorporate both current and pending status e.g. 'Archived [Copy running] to ..." etc
- Use queued archive job notifications to expedite processing of newly queued archive jobs
- Send archive job status notifications for all applicable changes in archive job status
- Change default location mapping for new installs to ‘mirror’, as batching needs to be phased out with media store mapping
- On job queue ensure job details/results fields are cleared when job table empties due to refresh or cancel
- Fix NPE when listing jobs if user doesn't have permission to access selected clip
1.5.0p2 (2019-07-10)
Upgrade - run catdvarchiveplugins1.5.sql against the CatDV DB to fix the field type for archive date fields Changes - Restore by default to current media file path from clip, rather than from last archived parameters, so that target restore location can be updated when e.g. media paths are updated with a different volume name - Fix NPE on cancel job, when associated clip is not found - Changes to purge (apply to move to archive as well as direct purge): clear date last restored, log 'File purged' to clip archive params history, add option of "Yes to all" confirmation for purging multiple altered files. - Fix blocking mechanism for ensuring that multiple processes cannot update a job's status simultaneously
1.4.17 (2019-03-05)
- Prevent spurious NPE error when no restore directory can be extracted from the restore location
- Update thread handling when processing jobs, to ensure a completed job will not be retried before it's status has been fully updated
- Display 'Retry' for status of unsuccessful job results if the job is being / will be retried
- Improve performance of Job Queue command for large lists of jobs
- Fix to cause job creation to fail if no source media are updated with the archive details for the job
1.4.14p1 (2019-01-25)
- Fix for issue of jobs stuck in running / stalled state
- Trim trailing path separators from archive / restore location overrides
1.4.14 (2019-01-20)
- Add plugin command that can be triggered via the rest API to generate clip data for a file archived outside CatDV
- Update README with correct version of required worker plugin (applicable from release 1.4.12)
- Fix to ensure plugin calls server rest API as /catdv/api/... instead of /api/... to prevent failed calls due to redirection of POST requests in some environments
1.4.13 (2018-11-08)
- Add config param 'catdv.azure_archive.max_retry_delay' to limit the delay period between retries of waiting jobs.
1.4.12 (2018-10-17)
- Add config param 'catdv.azure_archive.purge_directories' to turn off purging of directories when moving / purging files.
- Update README to cover installing and updating the archive worker plugin, now included as part of the plugin installation.
1.4.11
Upgrade
- If the 'catdv.azure_archive.allow_override' server property is explicitly set to include
'location:Location:archive', modify it to 'archiveLocation:Location:archive'
Changes
- Add option to restore files to a specified location / directory (can be enabled as an override for restore)
1.4.10 (2018-09-27)
- Archive tier support - on restore, automatically request rehydration to HOT for assets in the archive tier
- Update Azure Storage for Java library to v8
1.4.9 (2018-09-14)
- Fix for error message on cancel job contains NullPointerException
- Fix for issue which causes a new FieldGroup for an archive plugin to be created each time the server is restarted
- Fixed bug causing purge commands to fail from the web UI
- Improve the error reporting when attempting to archive offline files
1.4.8betap3 (2018-07-11)
- Fix build / jar files
1.4.8betap2
- Fix location override for archives triggered from worker
- Record archive failure in clip archive status if clip has never been archived
1.4.8betap1 (2018-06-20)
Upgrade
- The last release of the Azure plugin was 1.3.4beta3, Mar-2017. If upgrading from that version (or earlier) please ensure you execute the Upgrade steps from 1.3.5beta, 1.4.1beta and 1.4.2beta.
Changes
- README update
- Fix to eliminate spurious exception starting / stopping standalone service
- Fix to eliminate spurious logging issue
1.4.8beta (2018-06-19)
- Manage service command: preserve new connection details even if they are not valid / updated, to ease entry
- Manage service command: obfuscate the account key value
1.4.7beta
- Additional location mapping option to determine location on archive from Media Store paths, includes mediaStoreRelative and mediaStoreAbsolute.
- Fix to ensure that location on archive does not contain '\' separators, regardless of location mapping in use
- Fix for NPE when clip has media file but no metadata (introduced by fix in 1.4.5)
- Integrate with ServicePlugin framework
1.4.5 (2018-05-03)
- Fix for rest.NotFoundException scheduling jobs: change method for checking job exists, to avoid server incompatibility
1.4.5beta
- Move packages in order to split out re-usable plugin SDK classes
- Fix to prevent NPE - on archiving / restoring, skip clips that have no source media (i.e. sequences)
- Fix for location override in WorkerBackupCommand
1.4.4beta
- Upgraded httpclient and httpcore libraries (required to support other archive plugin)
1.4.3beta (2018-02)
- Add config param 'catdv.azure_archive.allow_override' to enable override of archive location from the UI.
- Add config param 'catdv.azure_archive.location_mapping' to enable batching of file archive locations to be turned off - i.e. subsequent archives replace the existing file(s), rather than creating new 'date / time stamped' copies.
- Fix to ensure server config values that affect the UI are picked up on startup when archive service is standalone.
- Fix exponential back off timing for archive job retries
- Add date last restored as an archive parameter
1.4.2betap1 (2018-01-22)
- Fix for archive service start
1.4.2beta (2018-01-09)
Upgrade
- run catdvarchiveplugins1.4.2.sql against the CatDV DB to rename a job data field and to update the textual job and clip archive status values for consistency
Changes
- Add capability to run plugin archive service standalone, via config param catdv.azure_archive.service_mode
- Provision for providing more detailed status information for jobs and (archiving) files
- Add detailed job status and job data to Job Details pane in the Service Job Queue UI
- New config param 'catdv.azure_archive.max_jobs_to_display' for configuring the maximum number of jobs which will be listed in the job queue. This overrides days_to_display and defaults to 1000
- Increased default value for 'catdv.azure_archive.loop_delay' to 30 seconds
- Increased default value for 'catdv.azure_archive.concurrent_transfer_limit' to 4
- Increased default value for 'catdv.azure_archive.days_to_display' to 10
1.4.1betap6 (2017-12-22)
- Fixes for worker plugin commands
1.4.1betap5 (2017-12-20)
- Return json response message from WorkerPurgeCommand
- Include metaclipID where applicable in error details for worker backup / restore / purge commands
1.4.1betap4 (2017-12-12)
- Fix bulk backup and restore commands to capture and report unexpected errors queuing child jobs
- Update worker backup and restore commands to return a JSON representation of the archive result in the command response.
1.4.1betap3 (2017-12-01)
- Fix to ignore clips with duplicate mapped file paths, before processing to queue jobs
1.4.1betap2
- New hidden versions of backup (copy/move) and purge commands for use by worker
1.4.1betap1 (2017-11-16)
- Fix to ensure archive metadata for source media with matching media paths are updated simultaneously
- Additional service logging, new config param 'catdv.azure_archive.debug' now turns on/off most logging after initial plugin startup
1.4.1beta (2017-06-09)
Upgrade
- remove 'catdv.rest_api.*' config properties in Server Config on CatDV control panel
Changes
- major update to job queue command UI, utilising new features provided by version 3 of plugin framework
- make API calls in process (inside server) from plugin commands and from archive service when running inside server (depends on version 3 of plugin framework)
1.3.5beta (2017-06-09)
Upgrade
- change config property 'catdv.rest_api.client_key' to 'catdv.azure_archive.licence_code' in Server Config on CatDV control panel
- run catdvarchiveplugins1.3.5.sql against the CatDV DB to fix the field type for archive date fields
Changes
- improve job processing loop so that job priorities are always respected: only take one job from the queue at a time, when waiting job delays have elapsed re-queue jobs rather than processing waiting jobs directly (note re-queued jobs of equal priority will be processed before newer jobs, as the lowest job id will be processed first)
- ensure that transfers to Azure never block the job processing loop, keeping the connection status up to date
- enable processing of multiple concurrent transfers plus config param max_jobs_running_delay for optimisation
- improve handling when Azure is unavailable: after a short period the service status updates to "Running (offline)"
- restart orphaned "in progress" jobs (e.g. from a server restart) more quickly
- Option to enter container name when copying / moving files to Azure. The container name on the Manage Service screen is now only the default value filled in the first time a user attempts to copy or move files. Once the user has entered a container, a subsequent move / copy will default to the last value entered. The container warning and "Apply container to queued jobs" checkbox are no longer on the Manage Service screen as changes there now only affect the default container for a new user of the archive plugin.
- Option to specify destination location 'path' when copying / moving files to Azure from the worker.
- Add config param "catdv.azure_archive.restrict_command_access" which can be used to hide 'all' plugin commands or 'config' commands (currently Manage Service). See README for details.
- switch to using statusCode as primary status value (except job queries which requires latest server)
- add support for pausing a service (processing transfers)
- improve plugin licence handling
- Fix archive date fields in desktop client
- fix NPE when clip has no metadata
1.3.4beta3 (2017-03-02)
- Fix restore issue relating to "The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process."
1.3.4beta2 (2017-03-02)
- Fix move command so that purge file succeeds after transfer
- Add missing apache commons lang library for wrapping messages
1.3.4beta (2017-02-14)
Initial beta version
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