Software tools used in this method: Rclone, WinFsp, and NSSM

Rclone has multiple functions such as managing files in cloud storage and syncing between file systems. In this article, you will use its rclone mount command to mount object storage on your Windows VM.

WinFsp enables accessing custom file systems on Microsoft Windows. In this workflow, it will allow Rclone to mount the S3 storage.

NSSM is a service manager. Here, it will be used for configuring automatic mounting of object storage. You will run it from the command line.

Explanation of the process

By default, Rclone creates and uses the configuration file in the home directory of the current user.

In order to streamline the configuration process, you will instead manually create a configuration file in the location in which the Rclone binary is stored. There, you will paste the code provided in this article. Each time Rclone is executed, the location of that file will be passed to it in a parameter.

Step 1 Download and install the appropriate software

Skip this step you have already configured these software tools for accessing object storage. If you have installed this software in a different way than described in this article, you might need to adjust the following instructions accordingly.

Open PowerShell normally (not as Administrator).

Use the following commands to

• create the directory in which Rclone will be stored and

• navigate to it.

mkdir C:\rclone; cd C:\rclone

Without closing PowerShell, open a web browser on your virtual machine. Navigate to the following website: https://rclone.org/downloads. It should contain the table with links to its different versions:

Download the version of Rclone for the Intel/AMD - 64 Bit platform (for Windows operating system).

A zip archive should be downloaded. In the Microsoft Edge browser it should look like this:

Enter that zip archive, it should contain one directory. Double-click to enter it. Its content should look like this:

Copy the rclone.exe file from that directory to the C:\rclone folder which you previously created using PowerShell.

WinFsp

Return to your Internet browser. Navigate to the following website: https://winfsp.dev/rel/. Click Download WinFsp Installer:

Run the downloaded installer. The installation process will be similar to installation of other Windows programs. Its step called Custom Setup, however, will require you to make a choice:

Leave the default values intact to install only the Core section and click Next. Complete the installation.

NSSM

Navigate to https://nssm.cc/download in your browser.

Click the link in the Latest relase section:

A zip file should be downloaded. It should contain one folder. The content of that folder should look like this:

Navigate to win64 folder. It should have one executable file called nssm:

Copy that file to C:\rclone

Step 2 Enter the connection data

Open the C:\rclone folder using the Windows file manager. File rclone.conf in that folder will be used to store the connection data for object storage, including the EODATA repository. If that file does not exist, create it. Open it using Notepad.

Each section containing the object storage connection data starts with the line containing its name written in square brackets. Below it, there are lines containing different parameters used to connect to that object storage. Such section can be used to access all object storage container accessed using the key pair it contains.

Add the following section in the end of this file (replace 1234 and 4321 with the Access and Secret key you obtained while following Prerequisite No. 2):

[EODATA]
type = s3
provider = Other
access_key_id = 1234
secret_access_key = 4321
endpoint = s3.cloudferro.com

Save the file and close Notepad.

Step 3 Test the connection

You can now test the connection to the eodata repository. Return to (or open) PowerShell and execute the following command:

.\rclone.exe --config "C:\rclone\rclone.conf" lsd EODATA:DIAS

You should see the output similar to this:

To test whether mounting works, execute the command below. It should mount the EODATA repository under the Y: drive letter. If you want the EODATA repository mounted under a different drive letter, use that letter instead of Y: in this command.

.\rclone.exe mount --read-only EODATA:DIAS Y:

You should get the following message:

The service rclone has been started.

Navigate to the This PC window. The EODATA repository should be mounted there:

Its content should look like this:

To stop the test mount, press CTRL+C in the PowerShell. You should get the following output:

The service rclone has been stopped.

The container should no longer be visible in This PC window.

If pressing CTRL+C does not stop the test mount, make sure that the PowerShell window is focused by left-clicking it. Press a letter on your keyboard, for example A, and try pressing CTRL+C again.

Close PowerShell.

Step 4 Configuring automatic mounting of EODATA

To configure automatic mounting of the EODATA repository, start PowerShell as Administrator. Execute the following command to navigate to the appropriate folder:

cd C:\rclone

After that, start the service installer of NSSM:

.\nssm.exe install

You should get the following window:

Click the … button next to the Path: text field.

Choose the location of Rclone. If you followed this tutorial, this location is as follows:

C:\rclone\rclone.exe

In the Arguments text field enter the following code:

--config "C:\rclone\rclone.conf" mount --read-only EODATA:DIAS Y:

In the above command:

• C:\rclone\rclone.conf is the location of Rclone configuration file you created previously

• Y: is the drive letter under which you wish the EODATA repository to be mounted

You can of course choose a different drive letter.

Navigate to the Log on tab and make sure that Local System account is selected.

Click Install service.

Return to PowerShell and start the service by executing the command below.

.\nssm.exe start EODATA

You should now get the following output:

EODATA: START: The operation completed successfully.

After executing this command the EODATA repository should be accessible from This PC window.

Restart your computer and check whether the drive is visible in the This PC window. If it is, the service works as intended.

You can now copy the resources to the hard drive of your computer or open them using your processing software. If you are using the latter option, please make sure that your software does not try to save its results to the eodata repository since you do not have write permissions there.

Removing open source software responsible for automatic mounting of eodata

If you no longer want to access the eodata repository on a particular machine, you can remove the appropriate configuration and software. The whole procedure will be covered in this section:

• Removal of automatic mounting created in NSSM

• Uninstalling WinFsp

• Removal of C:\rclone folder containing Rclone and NSSM

Open PowerShell as administrator. Navigate to the C:\rclone directory by executing the following command:

cd C:\rclone

To check the status of your automatic mounting service, execute the following command:

.\nssm.exe status EODATA

You should get the following output:

SERVICE_RUNNING

To stop the automatic mounting of your container, execute the command below. Replace EODATA as previously.

.\nssm.exe stop EODATA

Delete the service by executing the command below. Replace EODATA as previously.

.\nssm.exe remove EODATA confirm

You should now get the output similar to this:

Service "EODATA" removed successfully.

Repeat the procedure for any other mounting service you might already have.

Click the Start menu and type control panel.

You should now see the following search result:

Click on it to enter the Control Panel.

Make sure that the drop-down menu View by is set to Category.

In the section Programs select Uninstall a program.

On the list which appeared find the WinFsp entry:

Right-click it and choose Uninstall:

You will now get the following question:

Click Yes. You should get the following window:

Close all your open programs and File Explorer windows (for example a This PC or Documents window). Make sure that the option Automatically close applications and attempt to restart them after setup is complete. is selected and click OK.

You will now be prompted to reboot your computer:

Make sure that you saved your work and closed the programs; click Yes.

Your computer should now get rebooted.

Once you have logged in again, open This PC window.

Enter your C: drive.

Remove the rclone folder in it - you might need administrative privileges for it.

Rclone and other software used for mounting eodata should now be removed.

Step 1 Download Air Live Drive

On your computer navigate to https://www.airlivedrive.com/en/download/ using the Internet browser.

Click DOWNLOAD:

Step 2 Install Air Live Drive

Execute the downloaded installer and install the program.

Step 3 Mount eodata

After installing and running the program, its window should appear:

Click Add Cloud Disk. You should see the following window:

Click S3.

The form used to enter the access data should appear:

In the text fields Access Key ID and secret_access_key enter the access and secret key you obtained in Step 1.

In the text field REST endpoint type the following:

s3.cloudferro.com

Select the check box Connecto to a specific bucket.

In the text field Bucket: enter DIAS.

Your form should now look similar to this this:

Of course, instead of 1234567890, the text fields Access Key ID and Secret Access Key should have the appropriate credentials.

Click OK.

The eodata repository should now be visible in the Air Live Drive window:

Click the gear icon to the right of the Connect button. The following window should appear:

Select Mount as read only.

Optionally, you can choose Connect at startup if you want the mounting process to happen automatically after running Air Live Drive.

Click Close.

Before mounting, you can choose the drive letter using the drop-down menu.

Click Connect. You should now see the window with the content of the eodata repository:

This repository should also be visible in the This PC window:

You can now copy the resources to the hard drive of your computer or open them using your processing software. If you are using the latter option, please make sure that your software does not try to save its results to the eodata repository since you do not have write permissions there.

Step 4 Configuring automatic mounting of eodata

If you want Air Live Drive to start automatically after Windows has started, please go to its Options using the gear icon in the lower-left section of the window:

Check Run Air Live Drive at login.

If you didn’t choose automatic mounting of the eodata repository after running Air Live Drive as described above, do it now. Go to the list of your drives:

If your drive is connected, click Disconnect.

Click the gear icon to the right of the Connect button next to your drive:

The following window should appear:

Select the checkbox Connect at startup and click Close.

The repository will now be mounted immediately after logging in to your Windows account.