Configuring file system providers

Xperience allows you to modify the behavior of file system providers. You can use different providers to access different parts of the application’s file repository, and you can change the default locations of different types of files.

Use the Xperience CMS.IO API and the following general process:

1. Open the Xperience solution in Visual Studio.

2. Create a custom module class. Add the class into a custom Class Library project within the solution.

   For basic execution of initialization code, you only need to register a “code-only” module through the API. You do NOT need to create a new module within the Modules application in the administration interface.

3. Override the module’s OnInit method and perform the required StorageProvider modifications. See the following use cases:

   • Changing content file paths to a shared storage

• Using different file system providers for specific parts of the application’s file repository
• Changing content file paths to a different disk drive

4. Save all changes and rebuild the solution.

Changing content file paths to a shared storage

The system allows you to change default file paths to a shared storage directory on a specific server. This is important when you wish to share files between the live site and the administration application, or when using web farms in general. For example, you can map media files to a folder shared between all web farm servers, and thus eliminate the need to synchronize these files among the servers.

1. Edit the custom project holding your storage provider logic in Visual Studio (see the general instructions at the start of this page).
2. Perform the following in your module’s OnInit method:
   • Create a new instance of the StorageProvider class (the parameter of the CreateFileSystemStorageProvider method must be true).
   • Specify the target directory via the CustomRootPath property of the provider. This sets the root of the target path – the provider creates the relative path of the mapped folders within the given root directory.
   • Map a directory from your site to the provider.

using CMS;
using CMS.Base;
using CMS.DataEngine;
using CMS.IO;

// Registers the custom module into the system
[assembly: RegisterModule(typeof(CustomInitializationModule))]

public class CustomInitializationModule : Module
{
    // Module class constructor, the system registers the module under the name "CustomInit"
    public CustomInitializationModule()
        : base("CustomInit")
    {
    }

    // Contains initialization code that is executed when the application starts
    protected override void OnInit()
    {
        base.OnInit();

        // Creates a new StorageProvider instance for the Windows file system
        var sharedMediaProvider = StorageProvider.CreateFileSystemStorageProvider(isSharedStorage : true);

        // Specifies the target root directory. The provider creates the relative path of the mapped folders within the given directory.
        sharedMediaProvider.CustomRootPath = @"\\Server\CustomMediaRoot";

        // Maps a directory from your website to the provider
        StorageHelper.MapStoragePath("~/MySite/Media/", sharedMediaProvider);
    }
}

Now every time the application requests or creates a file in the ~/MySite/Media directory, the location specified in the CustomRootPath property is used instead. In this example, the target folder is \\Server\CustomMediaRoot\MySite\Media.

Web farm servers will not attempt to synchronize media files and will instead use the files in the shared storage.

Mapping the contents of the App_Data folder to a shared storage

The ~/App_Data folder is created and used by the system to store application-specific data and configuration files. Most of the files stored in the App_Data folder are created and updated by the application’s runtime and should not be mapped to a shared storage. The configuration stored in the folder may differ for the live site and administration applications – sharing the configuration between both projects can lead to unintended side effects. However, some files remain unmodified after being created and can be safely mapped without affecting the other application.

The following folders from the App_Data directory can be safely mapped to a shared storage:

Using different file system providers for specific parts of the application’s file repository

The CMS.IO API allows you to access different sections of the application’s file repository using different file system providers. For example, you can store media files in the Azure blob storage, while all other files stay in the default Windows file system.

1. Edit the custom project holding your storage provider logic in Visual Studio (see the general instructions at the start of this page).

2. Perform the following in your module’s OnInit method:

   • Create a new instance of the StorageProvider class.
   • Map a directory to the provider.

using CMS;
using CMS.Base;
using CMS.DataEngine;
using CMS.IO;

// Registers the custom module into the system
[assembly: RegisterModule(typeof(CustomInitializationModule))]

public class CustomInitializationModule : Module
{
    // Module class constructor, the system registers the module under the name "CustomInit"
    public CustomInitializationModule()
        : base("CustomInit")
    {
    }

    // Contains initialization code that is executed when the application starts
    protected override void OnInit()
    {
        base.OnInit();

        // Creates a new StorageProvider instance (Azure storage provider in this example)
        var mediaProvider = StorageProvider.CreateAzureStorageProvider();

        // Maps a directory to the provider
        StorageHelper.MapStoragePath("~/MySite/Media/", mediaProvider);
    }
}

The application now uses the given file system provider to access the specified project folder. In the case of the sample code above, the configured Azure storage provider is used to store and retrieve files from the ~/MySite/Media directory.

Changing content file paths to a different disk drive

The CMS.IO API allows you to change default file paths. For example, when using the Windows file system, you can store media files on a different disk drive.

1. Edit the custom project holding your storage provider logic in Visual Studio (see the general instructions at the start of this page).

2. Perform the following in your module’s OnInit method:

   • Create a new instance of the StorageProvider class.
   • Specify the target directory via the CustomRootPath property of the provider. This sets the root of the target path – the provider creates the relative path of the mapped folders within the given root directory.
   • Map a directory to the provider.

using CMS;
using CMS.Base;
using CMS.DataEngine;
using CMS.IO;

// Registers the custom module into the system
[assembly: RegisterModule(typeof(CustomInitializationModule))]

public class CustomInitializationModule : Module
{
    // Module class constructor, the system registers the module under the name "CustomInit"
    public CustomInitializationModule()
        : base("CustomInit")
    {
    }

    // Contains initialization code that is executed when the application starts
    protected override void OnInit()
    {
        base.OnInit();

        // Creates a new StorageProvider instance for the Windows file system
        var mediaProvider = StorageProvider.CreateFileSystemStorageProvider();

        // Specifies the target root directory. The provider creates the relative path of the mapped folders within the given directory.
        mediaProvider.CustomRootPath = @"D:\CustomMediaRoot";

        // Maps a directory to the provider
        StorageHelper.MapStoragePath("~/MySite/Media/", mediaProvider);
    }
}

This sample code ensures that every time the application requests or creates a file in the ~/MySite/Media directory, the location specified in the CustomRootPath property is used instead. In this example, the target folder is D:\CustomMediaRoot\MySite\Media.