Storage providers

Storage providers are external data sources that can be synchronised with Raptor. By using a storage provider, external documents can be visualised in the Raptor tenant and used like any other Raptor document. The added benefit is that Raptor does not copy the external documents, but instead contacts the external datasource directly, saving storage cost. Currently the only supported data source is SharePoint.

A document synchronised from the storage provider will appear in Raptor as an external document. The linked SharePoint file can then be opened via the 'External source' button.

Creating a storage provider

To create a storage provider, go to the tab ‘Storage providers’ and click the ‘+’ button. Insert a name of your choosing and hit ‘Save’.

After saving, you can further specify the settings:

demo on how a storage provider is configured

Concept of the storage provider

Storage providers were created to have a generic interface for external services that can access files and stream them to Raptor when needed.

First the storage provider has to register itself; this means that it has to inform Raptor on which URL it will be available for two way communications.

Next, every time a file is uploaded in Raptor and there is an external source URL set, raptor will contact all the known storage providers to verify if they have access to that file.

It is the task of the storage provider to reply yes or no to this question.

If a storage provider confirms that it has access to this file, Raptor will link the file to the storage provider, and if the file is needed at any time; Raptor will ask for the file.

This could happen when a user wants to visualize or download the file.