Local File Storage

When locally deploying the Form.io Platform, MinIO Server is the preferred method for local file storage. MinIO is an open-source distributed object storage server written in Go, designed for Private Cloud infrastructure providing AWS S3 storage functionality. This server is best suited for storing unstructured data and files such as photos and videos within the local environment.

MinIO can be used on an Enterprise level, however many customers opt to use storage provided by an existing component of their technology stack, or other storage methods when deploying to the Cloud or their own On-Premise environment.

Installing MinIO

If the Form.io Platform was deployed to the environment with the docker-compose methodology, MinIO is already included in the deployment, and manual installation is not required.

Pre-Requisites

To deploy a new MinIO server, complete the following pre-requisite steps:

1. Install Docker either on the local machine, or on a private cloud server.

2. Create the necessary directories to store files using the file browser, or by executing the following commands:

   mkdir ~/minio/data
   mkdir ~/minio/config

3. Run the following command to pull the MinIO container from Docker Hub:

   docker pull minio/minio

Deploying the MinIO Container

1. Execute the following command to start the MinIO container:

docker run -itd \
  -e "MINIO_ROOT_USER=CHANGEME" \
  -e "MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=CHANGEME" \
  -e "MINIO_HOST: 127.0.0.1" \
  -e "S3_ENDPOINT: $MINIO_HOST:9000/minio/formio" \
  --name formio-minio \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 9000:9000 \
  -p 9001:9001 \
  -v ~/minio/data:/data \
  -v ~/minio/config:/root/.minio \
  minio/minio server /data --console-address ":9001"

When a more secure deployment is required, exclude the environment variables for MINIO_ROOT_USER and MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD as follows:

docker run -itd \
  -e "MINIO_HOST: 127.0.0.1" \
  -e "S3_ENDPOINT: $MINIO_HOST:9000/minio/formio" \
  --name formio-minio \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 9000:9000 \
  -p 9001:9001 \
  -v ~/minio/data:/data \
  -v ~/minio/config:/root/.minio \
  minio/minio server /data --console-address ":9001"

These keys can later be determined by running the Docker command:

docker logs formio-minio

Make sure to take note of these keys for later configurations.

Note that the sample credentials "CHANGEME" should be updated to reflect the credentials intended for access to the file storage.

In this example, note that MinIO is mounting the folder ~/minio. This can be changed to any drive on the system machine where MinIO should store files.

2. Verify the formio-minio container is running by executing the following command:

docker ps

The result should look similar to the following:

3. Modify the hosts file to allow easy access to MinIO:

   • On MacOS/Linux: From the terminal run the following command, logging in if prompted:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

• On Windows: Use Notepad as an Administrator to open the file C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts Once the file is open, modify the appropriate line to read:

127.0.0.1       localhost minioSave the file and exit the text editor.

4. In a browser, navigate to http://minio:9001/ ( or http://localhost:9001) to view the MinIO interface. Log in using the MINIO_ROOT_USER and MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD previously used to start the container.

5. After successfully loading the MinIO dashboard, navigate to Buckets under the Administrator tools on the left-hand menu.

5. Create a new Bucket by clicking on the Create Bucket+ button. Give the bucket a descriptive name and record the choice for future configurations.

The MinIO Server should now be operational.