File System Manager Configuration¶

The Altair Analytics Workbench can be used as a file manager to access and manage files on the system.

The Altair SLC Hub provides access to only the configured paths which are available on the main server node over a protocol called WebDAV. Access to a worker node's file system is also possible, but only when running a link session on it.

Before you start¶

Goal

Configure Hub to show file system and shortcuts in Altair Analytics Workbench.

Prerequisites

A configured Hub server with a working execution profile.
Administration privileges on the Hub server.
Configured Operating system users.

Permissions¶

File access is controlled by the operating system file permissions.

LinuxWindows

Files are accessed as the user configured in the UNIX User Name field of the Hub user.

Files accessed directly from Hub are limited based on which user the slchub.webdav service is run as, no user impersonation is performed. Files accessed via link sessions on the worker nodes will be limited by the User Principal Name configured field of the Hub user.

Configuration¶

The Hub configuration file that defines which parts of the file system may be managed is [etc directory]/config.d/webdav.yaml. To modify these settings, create a copy of the file and save it with a lexicographically greater name such as [etc directory]/config.d/webdav_custom.yaml.

The configuration file that defines which directories are visible by default in the Altair Analytics Workbench File Explorer is [etc directory]/config.d/workbench.yaml. To modify these settings, create a copy of the file and save it with a lexicographically greater name such as [etc directory]/config.d/workbench_custom.yaml. Alternatively, per-link session shortcut directories can be set within an execution profile.

The key fields to configure are rootPaths in webdav_custom.yaml, which is the list of paths to make accessible, and directoryShortcuts in workbench_custom.yaml which is the list of paths to automatically show in the Altair Analytics Workbench. The list of paths configured should be of file shares which are mounted into all nodes, this is a requirement for workflows.

The following example shows how to allow access to two paths and set those as shortcuts in Altair Analytics Workbench.

LinuxWindows

To allow Workbench access to /home and /fileShare, for example, create a the configuration file [etc directory]/config.d/webdav_custom.yaml with the following content:

webdav:
  rootPaths:
    - /home
    - /fileShare

To allow Workbench to access the root directory and the user's home folder, create a file [etc directory]/config.d/workbench.yaml with the content:

workbench:
  directoryShortcuts:
    - name: Root
      path: /
    - name: Home
      path: /home/${userId}

Note that although the Root shortcut is defined as /, only the subdirectories that have also been defined in rootPaths in the webdav configuration file will be available to the Workbench File Explorer. In this example, /home and /fileShare would be available under Root, but not /etc.

To allow Workbench access to the C: drive and the Data folder on the D: drive, create a hub configuration file [etc directory]/config.d/webdav_custom.yaml with the following content:

webdav:
  rootPaths:
    - C:/
    - D:/Data

Note that for the C:/ drive, the entry must end with a trailing slash as the YAML format of the configuration file does not allow a line to end with a colon.

To allow Workbench to manage the D:/ drive and the user's home folder, create a file [etc directory]/config.d/workbench.yaml with the content:

workbench:
  directoryShortcuts:
    - name: Root
      path: D:/
    - name: Home
      path: C:/Users/${userId}

Note that although the Root shortcut is defined as D:/, only the folders that have also been defined in rootPaths in the webdav configuration file will be available to the Workbench File Explorer. In this example, D:/Data would be available under Root, but not D:/Temp.

After making the changes to the configuration, restart Altair SLC Hub by running the following command with suitable permissions:

hubctl service restart

Path Substitutions¶

There are a few variable substitutions that can be used in the paths of the workbench configuration section.

Variable	Value	Example
`${userId}`	The Hub user name	FinanceUser
`${homeDirectory}`	The UNIX home directory property for the Hub user	/home/finance
`${homeDirectorySuffix}`	The last part of the Hub user UNIX home directory property	finance

Verify¶

Verify access to the file system

To verify, launch Altair Analytics Workbench and establish a connection to the Hub. Open the File Explorer view, if this is not open, click Window, click Show View and then click File Explorer. There should be a Hub element in the tree and the configured directory shortcuts should be available. Check that files can now be read or modified in this view.