How to Access SpectraLogic BlackPearl with Globus

Globus can be used to access and share content from BlackPearl. This document describes how to establish and use Globus to access and share data you have access to on BlackPearl.

You will use a Globus Connect Server with the BlackPearl Connector run by your institution, which acts as the gateway between the Globus ecosystem of endpoints and the BlackPearl Service. Such servers are referred to as "GCSv5 Connector".

Note
To connect BlackPearl, you need access to a Globus Connect Server endpoint that supports the BlackPearl Connector. This type of endpoint must be installed and configured by a system administrator and requires an active subscription. If your institution does not have such an endpoint, please contact us to discuss your requirements.

By following the steps in this document, you will create a Globus guest collection that can access BlackPearl files, called "BlackPearl Collection", so that Globus capabilities can be used with BlackPearl storage. By default, the content on "BlackPearl Collection" will only be accessible to you. You can, if you choose, explicitly set permissions to grant others access via Globus to the content after you have created the "BlackPearl Collection" collection.

The following is a summary of steps needed to create your BlackPearl collection:

  1. Find your institution’s Globus Connect Server with BlackPearl enabled (GCSv5 Connector) and open the Collection Creation app. You can get the URL to the registration app from your institution, or search for it in the endpoints page. See section 1 for details.

  2. Using the app, register your BlackPearl account with the GCSv5 Connector. This registration is associated with one of your identities in a Globus account for security purposes, so that only you can come back to access and manage that registration. See section 2 for details.

  3. Create one or more BlackPearl Guest Collections using that registered BlackPearl account. See section 3 for details.

1. Find a Globus Connect Server that supports the BlackPearl connector

To begin, you must find your institution’s Globus Connect Server that supports the BlackPearl Connector (GCSv5 Connector). You can get that information from your institution or search for such endpoints on the Globus Endpoints page.

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Choose the "Collections" tab on the endpoint and click on the "Add a Collection".

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Select which Storage Gateway that you wish to use to create the Guest Collection. The BlackPearl Storage Gateways will have (BlackPearl) appended to their names.

2. Register your BlackPearl Account with a Globus Connect Server

The first time you use the registration app for a Globus Connect Server, a consent screen will be presented for you to allow the app to register your BlackPearl account with the Globus Connect Server.

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The registration app prompts you to choose a BlackPearl account. The BlackPearl account is the username the admin has mapped to your BlackPearl access ID and secret. It must match the base name of one of your linked identities within the required domain. Only valid BlackPearl usernames will appear in the list. If you’ve already completed this step, you will not be prompted to create a credential, but you may click on "manage these credentials" to delete or create a new credential.

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3. Create your BlackPearl Guest Collection

To create the BlackPearl Guest Collection, chose the folder you want accessible via the collection. In the "Globus Endpoint Information" section, enter information that makes your BlackPearl Guest Collection easy to identify and find with the Globus search features. You can choose the directory to open by default when the endpoint is accessed.

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Your BlackPearl Guest Collection has now been created and you can use it to access the contents of your BlackPearl buckets.

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At this point, only you can access the contents of the BlackPearl buckets via the new guest collection. If desired, you can share content with others via Globus by selecting "Share data on this new endpoint with others" and setting the appropriate permissions.