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Namespace access

HCP supports access to namespace content through several namespace access protocols, the HCP Namespace Browser, the HCP metadata query API, the HCP Search Console, and HCP Data Migrator.

Namespace access protocols

HCP supports access to namespace content through several industry-standard protocols:

  • A RESTful HTTP API (called REST in HCP).
  • Hitachi API for Amazon S3, which is a RESTful, HTTP-based S3 compatible API. With the S3 compatible API, namespaces are called buckets.
  • HSwift, which is a RESTful, HTTP-based API that’s compatible with OpenStack Swift. With HSwift, namespaces are called containers.
  • WebDAV.
  • CIFS.
  • NFS.

These protocols support various operations: storing data, creating directories, viewing object data and metadata, viewing directories, modifying certain metadata, and deleting objects. You can use these protocols to access data with a web browser, third-party applications, Windows® Explorer, and other native Windows and Unix tools.

HCP allows special-purpose access to namespaces through the SMTP protocol. This protocol is used only for storing email.

The namespace access protocols are configured separately for each namespace and are enabled or disabled independently of each other.

The HTTP, S3 compatible, HSwift, and CIFS protocols can be configured to require authentication. To use a protocol that requires authentication, users and applications must present valid credentials for access to the namespace.

If the HTTP, S3 compatible, HSwift, or CIFS protocol is enabled but is not configured to require authentication or if the WebDAV or NFS protocol is enabled, users and applications can access the namespace anonymously. You can create a secure namespace by enabling only protocols that require authentication.

HCP Namespace Browser

The HCP Namespace Browser lets you manage content in and view information about namespaces. With the Namespace Browser, you can:

  • List, view, and retrieve objects, including old versions of objects
  • View custom metadata and ACLs for objects, including old versions of objects
  • Store and delete objects
  • Create empty directories
  • Display namespace information, including:
    • The namespaces that you own or can access
    • Retention classes available for a given namespace
    • Permissions for namespace access
    • Namespace statistics such as the number of objects in a given namespace or the total capacity of the namespace

HCP metadata query API

The HCP metadata query API lets you search HCP for objects that meet specified criteria. The API supports two types of queries:

  • Object-based queries search for objects based on object metadata. This includes both system metadata and the content of custom metadata and ACLs. The query criteria can also include the object location (that is, the namespace and/or directory that contains the object). These queries use a robust query language that lets you combine search criteria in multiple ways.

    Object-based queries search only for objects that currently exist in the repository.For objects with multiple versions, object-based queries return only the current version.

  • Operation-based queries search not only for objects currently in the repository but also for information about objects that have been deleted by a user or application or deleted through disposition, purged or pruned. For namespaces that support versioning, operation-based queries can return both current and old version of objects.

    Criteria for operation-based queries can include object status (for example, created or deleted), change time, index setting, and location.

The metadata query API returns object metadata only, not object data. The metadata is returned either in XML format, with each object represented by a separate element, or in JSON format, with each object represented by a separate name/value pair. For queries that return large numbers of objects, you can use paged requests.

HCP Search Console

The HCP Search Console is an easy-to-use web application that lets you search for and manage objects based on specified criteria. For example, you can search for objects that were stored before a certain date or that are larger than a specified size. You can then delete the objects listed in the search results or prevent those objects from being deleted. Similar to the metadata query API, the Search Console returns only object metadata, not object data.

By offering a structured environment for performing searches, the Search Console facilitates e-discovery, namespace analysis, and other activities that require the user to examine the contents of namespaces. From the Search Console, you can:

  • Open objects
  • Perform bulk operations on objects
  • Export search results in standard file formats for use as input to other applications
  • Publish feeds to make search results available to web users

The Search Console works with either of these two search facilities:

  • The HCP metadata query engine

    This facility is integrated with HCP and works internally to perform searches and return results to the Search Console. The metadata query engine is also used by the metadata query API.

    NoteWhen working with the metadata query engine, the Search Console is called the Metadata Query Engine Console.
  • The Hitachi Data Discovery Suite (HDDS) search facility

    This facility interacts with Data Discovery Suite, which performs searches and returns results to the HCP Search Console. Data Discovery Suite is a separate product from HCP.

The Search Console can use only one search facility at any given time. The search facility is selected at the HCP system level. If no facility is selected, the HCP system does not support use of the Search Console to search namespaces.

Each search facility maintains its own index of objects in each search-enabled namespace and uses this index for fast retrieval of search results. The search facilities automatically update their indexes to account for new and deleted objects and changes to object metadata.

NoteNot all namespaces support search. To find out whether a namespace is search-enabled, see your tenant administrator.

HCP Data Migrator

HCP Data Migrator (HCP-DM) is a high-performance, multithreaded, client-side utility for viewing, copying, and deleting data.

With HCP-DM, you can:

  • Copy objects, files, and directories between the local file system, HCP namespaces, default namespaces, and earlier HCAP archives
  • Delete individual objects, files, and directories and perform bulk delete operations
  • View the content of current and old versions of objects and the content of files
  • Purge all versions of an object
  • Rename files and directories on the local file system
  • View object, file, and directory properties
  • Change system metadata for multiple objects in a single operation
  • Add, replace, or delete custom metadata for objects
  • Add, replace, or delete ACLs for objects
  • Create empty directories

HCP-DM has both a graphical user interface (GUI) and a command-line interface (CLI).

 

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