Deploying High Speed Transfer Server

Create a High Speed Transfer Server instance by using the Platform UI. With HSTS, an unlimited number of concurrent users can transfer files of any size at high speed by using an Aspera client.

Before you begin

To create an High-Speed Transfer Server (HSTS) service instance by using the Platform UI:

  • Install Cloud Pak for Integration, including the HSTS operator. For more information, see "Manual installation" in Installing.
  • When deploying multiple HSTS instances, use a unique name for each namespace (project) that you create.
  • If your environment does not provide public IP addresses for worker nodes, you must use Aspera Proxy to allow transfers from clients to the HSTS instance, which requires additional configuration of your HSTS instance. See Using Aspera Proxy with HSTS.

Aspera security considerations

HSTS file transfers do not include anti-virus and malware scanning before or after the transfer. If your business security requirements include anti-virus and anti-malware scanning, you must implement a separate process for the scan before you transfer files in HSTS.

HSTS can restrict upload and transfer by file extension type. If your business requirements include this level of restriction, you must create policies for transfer file types and extensions by using the Node API. For more information see Aspera Node API.

Preinstallation requirements

Note: When deploying multiple HSTS instances, you must use a unique name for each namespace that you create, because the OpenShift cluster doesn’t support using the same name.

For guidance on OpenShift resource requirements, see Resource requirements.

The following items are prerequisites for installing the Aspera High-Speed Transfer Server operator:

Aspera license
Obtain an Aspera license. To do so, email aspera-license@ibm.com with the sales order number and number of VPCs for HSTS.
You can also get an evaluation license key from the IBM sales team.
Note: To obtain full HSTS performance you need an Aspera production environment license.
Monitoring
Enable the OpenShift monitoring stack to collect metrics. For more information, see Enabling OpenShift Container Platform monitoring.

Procedure

  1. Log in to Platform UI.
  2. Click Create an instance.
  3. Select High speed transfer server and click Next.
  4. Use one of the following deployment options:
    • Select Quick start, Development, or Production, then click Next.
    • Deploy by using an existing template from Automation assets:
      1. Click the Select a template tile. If you do not have Automation assets installed, a panel opens. Click the link to open a guided installation for Automation assets.
      2. Select a template and preview its contents.
      3. Click Create from asset.
  5. Make sure the UI Form perspective is selected for the configuration option.

    The UI Form view gives the standard configuration options and is selected by default. The YAML view opens an editor where you can add the parameters and values to configure HSTS.

  6. In the Details section:
    1. Add the Instance name.
      Note: The instance name can be changed. If you don't change your instance name, the default name of the instance is the type of configuration template you selected: quickstart, Development, or Production.
    2. Add the Namespace.
      Important: If you selected a single namespace-scoped deployment, the option to change the namespace for the instance is disabled.
  7. In the License section:
    1. Enable the Accept License checkbox to accept the conditions of your license.
    2. In the Aspera License field, enter your license.
    3. From the License Use drop-down, select your license use type (for AsperaProduction or AsperaNonProduction use).
      Note: To obtain full HSTS performance, you need an Aspera production environment license.
  8. In the Redis section, add your Redis configuration:
    • If you want to use Redis, Sentinel, Redis tls, or Persistence, enter the configuration information.
      Important: When you need to upgrade Cloud Pak for Integration, you will not be able to perform the upgrade until you perform a backup and restore of the Redis database (in other words, the database needs to be relocated).
  9. In the Storage section, add your storage configuration:
    1. Click the YAML perspective tab to assign the Claim name. This refers to the persistent volume storage used when transferring files. For example, 
      claimName: hsts-transfer-pvc
     mountPath: /data/
    2. From the Storage class drop-down menu, select the storage and make sure that the storage supports ReadWriteMany so you can use it for the claim.
    3. Enable the Delete Claim checkbox if you want the claim to be deleted when the instance is deleted.
    4. In the Size field, enter the total amount of storage that is required for this volume.
    5. In the Mount Path field, change the name if you want to use a different one.

      The mountPath specification is required; it defines where the storage is mounted to the pod.

  10. The latest instance version is selected by default. If you want to change to an earlier version, enter a different value. For more information, see Operator and instance versions for this release.

  11. Add the Node API credentials to your YAML file by switching the configuration option.
    Note: The HSTS operator automatically creates the HSTS Node API credentials. The credentials consist of a unique Node API username and password, which are stored in a secret called your_deployment_name-asperanoded-admin. If you want to change the credentials (username and password) see: Deploying High Speed Transfer Server.
    For example,
    credentials:
    secretName: mySecretName
    user: NODE_USER
    pass: NODE_PASS
  12. (Optional) If you're not ready to deploy your instance, save a draft version of it. Click the overflow menu (three-dot icon), then click Save as draft. The configuration for the instance is stored in the Platform UI. You can continue editing the draft version until you are ready to create the instance from it.
  13. Click Create to create and deploy the instance. When the entry in the Status column displays Ready, HSTS is running.

Next

Initiating high-speed transfers