How to read this tutorial

• The tutorial does not cover all features of FilmHUB, just a selected set.
• Entries in Bold are made up data for this tutorial only, here you provide your own data as appropriate.
• Labels in Italic correspond to the name of an input were you enter data.
• Text in [ BRACKETS ] denotes a button within user interface, were LINK points out a link - for example a navigation link.

Summary

This guide is a complete walkthrough covering:

• Installing FilmHUB from scratch.
• Configure a FilmHUB site.
• Submit a FilmHUB job syncing a folder and a file from main premises to remote office, both using the CLI job submit, Python API and the REST API.

Scenario

We assume you "andrea@acmefilm.se" have been invited as domain(organization) "acmefilm", having a main server "alpha" @ "hq" site (Stockholm) and a remote server "beta" @ "london" site, that both should work with files on a share called "Projects" (Linux path: "/mnt/projects", PC path: "P:"). Also, we assume you have a private VPN LAN connection between offices, were server "alpha" has IP 10.10.10.1/24 and "beta" has IP 10.10.10.2/24 (this can be omitted and replaced with a port forward of ports 45190-45209 in HQ firewall to "alpha" server in case you do not possess a site-site VPN connection).

Your task would be to make sure people in London have a subset of your files (i.e. a project folder) to work on, having the same paths as on main premises, for easy sync and pick up of work project files. Instead of having to manually copy files forth and back, we collect the files needed to copy and submit a transfer job to FilmHUB using a custom made button in user application.

Important note: The terms mentioned/configuration steps outlined below are described in detail in our FilmHUB Admin Manual, for instructions on how to use the FilmHUB desktop app - have a look at the FilmHUB User Manual. Always consult the manuals before your reach out to support@filmhubsoftware.com.

Getting FilmHUB

Registering and setting up domain

1. Head over to https://customer.filmhubsoftware.com and register using your E-mail address.
2. Check your inbox for activation E-mail, follow the link.
3. Choose a strong password and enter your desired domain name, in this tutorial "acmefilm". Activate account and start initialise domain.
4. Follow the link to be directed to your FilmHUB, in this tutorial https://acmefilm.filmhub.cloud.
5. Follow the setup wizard, start by installing the server software on your server - we assume its hostname is "alpha".
6. (Optional) Configure firewall, skip this step if you only intend to use FilmHUB on local LAN.
7. Browse root share, in this tutorial browse to /mnt/projects and choose "projects" as root share name.
8. Finalise setup.

Configuring site to site

Configuring remote site

1. Go to ADMIN>SITES and click [ CREATE SITE ].
2. Enter "london" as name and click [ CREATE ].

Installing server at remote site

To be able to sync files at remote site, we need to add install a server on a computer that has access to local site storage. We assume the storage is mounted @ "/mnt/projects" here aswell, and the hostname of computer is "beta":

1. Go to ADMIN>SERVERS and click [ INSTALL SERVER ].
2. Click [ SERVING EXISTING ROOT SHARE(S) ON A REMOTE SITE].
3. Download and install the server as told, enter PIN when asked, finalise and launch the server.
4. Choose the site "london" and click [ FINISH ] to finalise server setup.

Setting up server IP overrides

Now we are almost done. FilmHUB attempts to connect using Internet WAN IP addresses, but we want to direct the traffic over our dedicated VPN trunk. To achieve this, we need to configure FilmHUB accordingly:

1. Go to ADMIN>SERVERS and edit the "alpha" server.
2. Check the box next to "Override IP:s".
3. On Client, choose "beta".
4. At Remote IP choose the local LAN IP address remote server "beta" has - in this case 10.10.10.2.
5. At Local IP choose the local LAN IP address local server "alpha" has - in this case 10.10.10.1.
6. Finish by clicking [ SAVE ].

Copying files from main site to remote site

Files

We assume you have decided to copy the following files to remote site for users to start working on:

• /mnt/projects/lostinspace/REF. (directory)
• /mnt/projects/_REF/fire/acme_ref_oil_burning_on_water.tif.

Sending an E-mail to admins plus additional recipient "john@acmefilm.co.uk" when transfer is done.

Submitting the job to FilmHUB using desktop app

1. Download and install the FilmHUB desktop app - retrieve it by logging in to https://<yourdomain>.filmhub.cloud and follow GET APP link.
2. Click [ DOWNLOAD ] in lower right corner (upload/download is relative HQ/main site, in this case we are downloading from hq > london site).
3. Choose [ PUSH ] option.
4. Browse and and add the files from projects root share.
5. Click on the right green label saying "To site: London", enter E-mail "john@acmefilm.co.uk" to have notifications sent to him.
6. Click [ Submit ]. You should see the transfer job progress in medium (default) queue.

Submitting the job to FilmHUB using CLI or Python API

Crafting job JSON

Besides using the FilmHUB desktop app to send files, FilmHUB accepts new jobs defined in JSON format for submit through CLI, Python API or REST. The JSON for files above would be. Save this to temporary file, for example /tmp/filmhub/jobsubmit/A5F1D.json :

{

        "code":"lostinspace refs to london", 

        "mail":"+john@acmevfx.co.uk",

        "tasks":{

                "0":{

                      "source":"acmefilm:/mnt/projects/lostinspace/REF",

                      "destination":"site=london"

                },

                "1":{

                       "source":"acmefilm:share=projects/_REF/fire/acme_ref_oil_burning_on_water.tif",

                       "destination":"site=london"

                }

        }

}

Note: The syntax of second file shows how a named share can be given instead of full path.

Using the CLI

filmhubcli job create /tmp/filmhub/jobsubmit/A5F1D.json

You should get a notification that job has been submitted. The transfer job will appear in desktop app and be listable in CLI.

filmhubcli job find

To look for clues why job is not starting or possible errors during transfer, double-click job in desktop app and sift through the logs that opens when clicking the magnifier glass icon on a file/task. Or using the CLI:

filmhubcli job report <ID>

Using Python API

import filmhub_api

session = filmhub_api.Session()

job = session.create("job","/tmp/filmhub/jobsubmit/A5F1D.json")

Print job status:

print session.str(session.find_one("job where id=%s"%job["id"]))

To add file creatures_showreel_2018.mov to an existing job:

session.create("task", {"tasks":["share=projects/_REF/creatures_showreel_2018.mov"]}, job["id"])

Or if renaming needed:

session.create("task", {"tasks":[{"source":"share=projects/_REF/creatures_showreel_2018.mov","destination":"share=projects/TMP/creatures_showreel_2018_tmp.mov"}]}, job["id"])

HINTS:

• For a complete reference of what can be done with the FilmHUB Python API, please visit: https://support.filmhubsoftware.com/python-api.
• If you tend to submit many jobs, attempt to re-use a job and add files as described above. In that case, we do not want an E-mail sent everytime job finished - submit job with ..,"email":"none",... supplied.

To sync back files from remote office simply reverse the source and destination parties:

{

        "code":"lostinspace refs to HQ", 

        "tasks":{

                "0":{

                      "source":"site=london:/mnt/projects/lostinspace/REF",

                      "destination":"acmefilm" 

                },

                "1":{

                       "source":"site=london,share=projects/_REF/fire/acme_ref_oil_burning_on_water.tif",

                       "destination":"acmefilm"

                }

        }

}

Voila, you should be all setup with FilmHUB!

Rev 1.11, 2019.04.24