Tutorial - Local mapped shares

Summary

This tutorial is targeted companies that:

• Have a part of, or whole work force working from home.

• Or, just need to push and pull files to a remote endpoint.

• Cannot utilise remote desktop/virtualisation solutions such as Teradici® or Parsec®.

• By security reasons, cannot allow remote access to certain partners or vendors.

Wishing to:

• Make it easy to push and pull file assets to remote users - endpoints, vendors or employees working from home, from main servers (on-prem or cloud).

• Enable users to easily download and upload material keeping the folder structure intact.

• Enable employees to browse remote mapped shares and initiate file transfers without user intervention.

• Have file transfers go accelerated and encrypted, having users to choose their own passwords with auditing.

• Have the opportunity to enable file sharing to external clients, vendors and other parties.

This tutorial is a complete walkthrough covering:

• Setting up accsyn on-prem.

• Setting up accsyn at a remote user, running as a client or server.

• Pushing a directory to the user.

• Have user use accsyn for uploading material back to server/headquarters.

• Pull a file from the user back to server/headquarters.

Video

Installing and configuring accsyn workspace and main on-prem(hq) server

The following guide is a short summary of the installation process described in detail here: Admin Manual

• Register your domain @ https://signup.accsyn.com. In this tutorial we will use mycompany(.accsyn.com) as the accsyn workspace name.

• Follow the guide to initialise workspace. Hint: Read through the admin tour when offered, it gives insight into the architecture of accsyn and the terms used/names of entities.

• Install server; when the guide instructs you to install the accsyn daemon, download and install it on your current file transfer on-prem server ("alpha"). Pick a server that has access to your storage, or a the part of your storage that you want to expose to accsyn.

• Network; the guide will ask you to configure your firewall, add NAT port forwards 45190-45210 (tcp) & 443(tcp) to file transfer server "alpha". Note that accsyn daemon DOES NOT listen to any ports 24/7, it will only start a listening process during file transfer init, software firewalled to accept incoming connections from remote client WAN IP only. For more information, please refer to accsyn Security Whitepaper.

• Root share; Browse to your storage where your project files resides. In this tutorial, we assume server is running Linux and have project data accessible/mounted at /mnt/projects (Windows workstation path P: , \\192.168.1.240\projects). 

• Finish installation.

• Finally, we want to learn accsyn about the Windows paths, as we have mixed a Linux and Windows setup. Go to Admin>Shares>Root shares and edit the root share (projects). Enter drive letter P: as Windows path and  \\192.168.1.240\projects as the UNC path (helps accsyn identify files accessed over VPN).

Note: it's perfectly fine to skip Windows drive letters, and go 100% on UNC paths. Drive letters simplifies remote workflows, enabling sites and employees to have a local drive letter keeping project file paths consistent across locations.

You now have a fully working file transfer setup, replacing FTP and similar, allowing you to deliver files to users by their email address.

We will now cover two scenarios, first how to have a restricted user map a share locally and then how to do it for an employee.

Invite user and install app

Next, we are going to setup a accsyn at home for an employee (agnes@mycompany.com).

Prerequisites:

• A PC running Windows (can also be Mac or Linux).

• A local storage (hard drive) formatted, mounted  and writeable at unified path (P:).

Invite the employee

1. Logon to Accsyn webapp (https://mycompany.accsyn.com) as an administrator.

2. Go to Admin>Users and click [Invite user].

3. Enter the Email address of your employee (agnes@mycompany.com) and click [Next].

4. Choose either standard user role (granted share access only), or employee role (allowed full access to projects storage) and click invite.

5. User will receive an Email containing an activation link. 

6. Over at the user PC (AGNES-PC), conclude activation - choose a password.

Install desktop client

This is the most common and simple option - enable file access as long as the desktop app is running.  To have the setup active 24/7, regardless if a user is logged in or not, consider the service option below.

1. Download the accsyn desktop app installer from https://www.accsyn.com/download

2. Install Accsyn desktop app and logon with user mail (agnes@mycompany.com).

User is now all set to start transferring files, but we have not yet configured the local share mapping at proxy storage - enable mirrored path transfers and access by workspace users.

Alternative - install as service

If you seek a 24/7 stable experience, not depending on users running desktop app or not - install the background Windows service version instead:

1. Download the server daemon installer from https://www.accsyn.com/download

2. Run the installer, instead of PIN authentication - choose standard login.

3. (Optional but recommended) Choose to run the service with the same user account as desktop is running, this is to prevent problems with access and permissions at the local storage. 

4. Conclude installation.

Notes:

• Remember to give the user permissions to read and write the local storage.

• Windows; Remember on Windows to give the user rights to logon as a service.

• Mac OSX; Give /bin/bash full disk access (System Settings>Privacy & Security>Full disk access>click [+] sign at bottom and browser to and add /bin/bash). Otherwise Gatekeeper will block accsyn server from accessing the local storage.

For more detailed information on how to manage the accsyn background daemon installation or how to install it on Mac and Linux, refer to the Admin manual.

accsyn will now launch with your computer, staying online regardless if any user is logged in or not.

Configuring accsyn to map a share locally

By default, local storage is never exposed in accsyn - users choose in the desktop app were to save deliveries and what to upload. To enable mirrored path downloads and uploads, and share the local storage with workspace elevated users (employees and admins), accsyn support something called mapped local shares.

Prerequisites

If you have invited the user as an employee, the will have full access to root shares. If invited as an standard user, you will first need to create a share and grant user full (read & write) access to it. 

Mapping a root share for employee

1. Logged in as employee at home computer (AGNES-PC), go to preferences within accsyn desktop app (Email button in top right corner).

2. In Mapped Shares section, tick entry for projects and choose Override path.

3. Browse to local storage/hard drive: P:

4. Check Read and Write options - enables others download from, and upload to local storage.

5. Click Close] when ready.

From this point on: 

• Files sent to employee/downloaded from server projects area, will end up with same paths at local project area (P:).

• When drag-n-dropping a file from local P: on accsyn, it will suggest to upload/transmig with mirrored paths to on-prem server/hq.

• When drag-n-dropping a file over VPN path (\\192.168.1.240\projects), accsyn will suggest to download to local project area, or send/transmit to another employee. 

• Elevated workspace users (employees and admins) can push files to the employee (local P: drive only) as long as desktop app is running or computer is on and connected to the Internet (server installation).

• Elevated workspace users (employees and admins) can pull files from the employee (local P: drive only) as long as desktop app is running or computer is on and connected to the Internet (server installation).

Mapping a share for a standard restricted user are done the same way, except that instead of choosing the entire root share/volume (projects) you choose the share user have been granted access to.

Conclusion

With accsyn in a working from home/remote endpoint setup, your employees gets tightly integrated when it comes to file management, with encrypted high speed file transfers that resumes were left off and no missing or corrupt parts. 

For more information/tutorials, please head over to support.accsyn.com.