SpectraLogic BlackPearl Connector
Last Updated: September 4, 2019
Note: Globus is now certified with BlackPearl 5.x
This connector enables use of a Globus data access interface on a SpectraLogic BlackPearl storage system. This requires the installation of Globus Connect Server and an additional package that is specific to the BlackPearl storage system called the BlackPearl DSI.
This connector is a premium feature available only to Globus subscribers, and is thus only available for Managed Endpoints.
Prerequisites
A functional Globus Connect Server installation is required for installation and use of the BlackPearl connector. The Globus Connect Server Installation Guide provides detailed documentation on the steps for installing and configuring a server endpoint.
Supported Linux Distributions
The BlackPearl DSI supports all Linux distributions supported by Globus Connect Server v4 except variants of enterprise linux version 6 (Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Scientific Linux, CentOS). See the GCS v4 supported Linux distributions for more information.
Installation
Install the package specific for your platform and BlackPearl version:
If you are using BlackPearl version 5 or newer:
RHEL/CentOS:
yum install globus-gridftp-server-blackpearl
Ubuntu/Debian:
apt-get install globus-gridftp-server-blackpearl
If you are using BlackPearl version 4 or older:
RHEL/CentOS:
yum install gridftp-blackpearl-dsi
Ubuntu/Debian:
apt-get install gridftp-blackpearl-dsi
Configuration
Configure the BlackPearl DSI
You must now configure the BlackPearl DSI by creating two files. The first file will be /etc/blackpearl/GridFTPConfig and it must contain only the following:
EndPoint https://<blackpearl_data_port_address> AccessIDFile /etc/blackpearl/AccessIDFile
EndPoint
is the location of the BlackPearl’s data port. If your BlackPearl
does not have TLS enabled, you may use an IP address and port
(ex. http://10.0.1.2:8000
) or hostname with optional port
(ex. http://blackpearl:8000
). However, if you are using TLS with BlackPearl,
you must specificy a fully qualified domain name (fqdn), for example
https://bp.example.com
, and the fqdn must match the BlackPearl’s TLS
certificate DN. Do not use a trailing /
on the EndPoint
value; doing so
will cause requests to BlackPearl to fail.
The second file will be /etc/blackpearl/AccessIDFile and it will contain mappings, one per line, that will provide a mapping from a local user on the system where the GridFTP server is running to a user on the BlackPearl system. Below is an example /etc/blackpearl/AccessIDFile file:
local_user1 black_pearl_S3_Access_ID_01 black_pearl_S3_Secret_Key_01 local_user2 black_pearl_S3_Access_ID_02 black_pearl_S3_Secret_Key_02 local_user3 black_pearl_S3_Access_ID_03 black_pearl_S3_Secret_Key_03
globus-blackpearl
user created above.
When a user activates an endpoint, the GridFTP server will map those activation credentials to a local user. That local user will then be mapped to a BlackPearl user via the /etc/blackpearl/AccessIDFile, and the user will have access to the BlackPearl per those mapped credentials. After installing the BlackPearl packages and configuring the BlackPearl DSI per the instructions above, the GridFTP service needs to be restarted.
Basic Endpoint Functionality Test
After completing the installation, you should do some basic transfer tests with your endpoint to ensure that it is working. We document a process for basic endpoint functionality testing here.