Chapter 6 Setting Up Folders

You can organize objects within the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System software in several ways using folders.

• Introduction to Folders

Introduction to Folders

Folders are directory-like objects that enable you to organize the provisioning system in a number of ways. Folders allow you to apply permissions to objects and to group those objects as needed. By grouping objects and manipulating permissions, you can organize components and plans to reflect how you use them.

• Organize by user group.

  Every user group can be assigned a work space where they have complete access and control over all objects that exist within their folder. For example, a particular department in your organization might want control over the plans and components that affect their group. The department can set up their folder so that only people within their user group can run the plans or modify the components within the folder. This setup prevents people outside the department from having access to write or execute plans and components.

• Organize by project or application.

  By creating different folders for each project or application, you can control who is working on which projects. If you want to use objects in several different projects, you can create a shared folder for objects and assign permissions to the user groups who need to access the folder.

Folder Characteristics

• Folders give all users read access to all folders, components, and plans.

• Each folder has an owner and a set of write and execute permissions that limits who can perform tasks with objects within the folder.

• The permissions and owner user group of a folder do not extend to other folders.

• A new folder inherits the permissions of its parent folder, but after the initial folder creation the subfolder's permissions are handled directly.

• Each folder acts as its own namespace.

  • Different types of objects can share the same name within a folder.

  • Two objects of the same type cannot share the same name unless they reside in different folders.

• The folder path persists whether viewing components, plans, or folders. When you are in a particular folder, you can navigate between different views and remain in the same folder.

• Users cannot add components, plans, or subfolders to folders that were created by a plug-in.

• The root folder cannot be renamed, moved or deleted.

Creating Folders

Creating new folders allows you to further organize your components and plans.

When you create a new folder, the path of the folder is determined by the folder that is selected at the time the new folder is created. For information about how to change the folder's path after the folder has been created, see How to Move Folders.

The owner user group and permissions of the new folder default to the permissions of the parent folder. For information about how to change a folder's permissions, see How to Modify the Folder Permissions of a User Group.

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Note –

Folders are no longer automatically created when components or plans are created. If you have scripts that rely on the old methods of folder creation, update your scripts to explicitly create folders before creating plans and components that are intended to reside in these folders.

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How to Create Folders

This procedure describes how to create folders by using the browser interface. You can also create folders by using the following command.

• fdb.f.add – Creates new folder.

Before You Begin

To create a folder, you must have write permissions on the parent folder.

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Note –

You do not need to be in the folder's owner user group to create a subfolder. However, if you are not a member of the owner user group, then you cannot modify the new folder's owner user group or default permissions.

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Steps

1. View the folder to which you plan to add a subfolder.

   For the procedure about how to navigate to the desired Folders page, see How to View Folders.

2. In the top row of the table on the Folders page, type a folder name, select an owner user group, and provide a brief description for the new folder and click Create.

   The Edit page for the new folder is displayed.

3. Ensure that the correct folder name, owner user group, and description are displayed.

4. (Optional) If you are a member of the owner user group, you can change the folder's owner user group and set the permissions for each user group that has access to the new folder.

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   Note –

   After you configure a user group's folder permissions, click Add. If you do not click Add, the user group's permissions will be lost when you save the folder.

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   For more information on changing folder permissions, see How to Modify the Folder Permissions of a User Group.

5. Click Save.

Troubleshooting

If your attempt to create a new folder failed, verify the following conditions.

• The folder's creation would not result in the folder path exceeding 512 characters (including forward slashes,/).

• The folder's name contains only letters, numbers, dashes (-), underscores (_), periods (.), and spaces (' ').

• The new folder's name does not conflict with an existing folder in the parent folder.

• The parent folder was not created by a plug-in.

  Only a revision of the plug-in or a plug-in that depends on that plug-in can create new subfolders.

Viewing Folders

You can view folders in two ways: a hierarchical view or a flat view. In each view, you see the folder path, a list of folders that are contained in the folder, and the owners of the folders listed.

The default view is the hierarchical view, which shows the permissions you have for the current folder and the first level of subfolders contained in the folder. The flat view shows the current folder information and displays the entire folder hierarchy below the current folder.

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Tip –

To view all folders in the system, go to the top level folder (/) and select In Flat View.

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How to View Folders

This procedure describes how to view folders by using the browser interface. You can also view folders by using the following commands.

• fdb.f.la – Displays all folders.

• fdb.f.lo – Displays detailed information about a particular folder.

Steps

1. From the navigation menu, choose Folders.

   The folder list page presents a list of folders that are contained in the folder, and the owners of the folders listed.

2. On the Folders page, select the folder that you need to view and click Details.

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   Tip –

   If the folder you need to view is not displayed in the Folder table, click Change Folder. Select the folder from the Folder tree and click Change to Selected Path.

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   The Details page displays your permissions, the user groups with access to the folder, and links to other tasks that you can perform on the folder.

3. (Optional) To see the folder's entire hierarchy of subfolders, select Show Flat View.

   The flat view shows all folders nested under the selected folder in a single table.

4. (Optional) To view the contents of folders, use the Show menu to toggle between components, plans, and subfolders.

Moving Folders

Moving folders allows you to have the flexibility you need as your work space evolves. You might need to move folders if projects change or your team's work flow changes.

Moving a folder also moves all objects that the folder contains. In addition to moving all components, plans, and subfolders, references to the components and plans will automatically update to reflect the new hierarchy.

When a folder is moved, the folder retains its permissions and owner user group, even if they are different from the destination folder.

If you want to move multiple folders at a time, you can move them from the folder's list page. When you move multiple folders at a time, all folders are moved to the same destination folder. However, if one folder fails to move, none of the folders are moved.

How to Move Folders

This procedure describes how to move by using the browser interface. You can also move folders by using the following command.

• fdb.f.mv – Moves or renames one folder.

Before You Begin

To move a folder, you must have write permissions on the parent folder of the folder that you plan to move and the destination folder. You do not need write permissions on other objects that will be affected by moving the folder.

Steps

1. View the Details page of the folder that you plan to move.

   For more information about how to navigate to a folder's Details page, see How to View Folders.

2. Click Move.

   The Move Folder window appears.

3. Select the destination folder to which you want to move the folder.

   You can select the new parent folder in one of two ways.

   • Navigate through the folder tree and select the parent folder.

   • Type the parent folder's name into the Move to Folder field.

4. Click Move.

   After the move is complete, the folder's Details page shows the folder's new path.

Troubleshooting

If your attempt to move a folder failed, verify the following items.

• The moved folder name does not conflict with an existing folder in the destination folder.

• Moving the folder into the new path would not result in a folder path exceeding 512 characters.

• The folder, all of its subfolders, and the destination folder were not created by a plug-in.

How to Rename Folders

This procedure describes how to rename folders and change their descriptions by using the browser interface. You can also rename folders by using the following command.

• fdb.f.mv – Moves or renames the folder.

Before You Begin

When you rename a folder, references to the old folder are automatically updated.

To rename a folder you must have write permissions on the parent folder. You do not need write permissions on other objects that will be affected by renaming the folder.

Steps

1. View the Details page of the folder that you plan to rename.

   For more information about how to navigate to a folder's Details page, see How to View Folders.

2. Click Rename.

   The Rename Folder window appears.

3. Type the new folder name in the text field and click Rename.

   The folder's Details page shows the folder's new name.

Troubleshooting

If your attempt to rename a folder failed, verify the following items.

• The new folder name does not contain special characters.

• Renaming the folder does not result in a path that is greater than 512 characters.

• The new folder name does not conflict with an existing folder in the parent folder.

• The folder and all of its subfolders were not created by a plug-in.

How to Change the Description of Folders

This procedure describes how to change folder descriptions by using the browser interface. You can also change folder descriptions by using the following command.

• fdb.f.mod – Modifies a folders description.

Before You Begin

To change the description of a folder, you must have write permissions on the folder you plan to change.

Steps

1. Go to the Details page of the folder that you plan to edit.

   For more information about how to navigate to a folder's Details page, see How to View Folders.

2. Click Edit.

3. Type the new description in the Description field.

4. Click Save.

Granting Folder Permissions to User Groups

To change a folder's permissions, you can add or remove user groups from the folders or you can alter the type of permissions granted to the current user groups.

How to Modify the Folder Permissions of a User Group

This procedure describes how to change a folder's permissions by using the browser interface. You can also add or revoke permissions from a particular group by using the following command.

• fdb.f.mp – Modifies folder permissions and adds user groups to folders.

Before You Begin

If you plan to add permissions to a folder while you are creating the folder, you must be a member of the parent folder's owner user group. However, after the folder is created, you must be a member of the folder's owner user group.

Steps

1. View the Details page of the folder you plan to edit.

   For more information about how to navigate to a folder's Details page, see How to View Folders.

2. On the Details page, click Edit.

3. Add or remove user groups from the Permissions table.

   • Add a user group.

     1. In the Permissions table, select the user group to which you want to assign folder permissions.

     2. Select the permissions that you want to assign to the user group.

        For a description of each of the permissions, see Folder-Specific Permissions.

     3. Click Add to register the new user group's permissions.

   • Remove a user group by selecting Remove from the Action column.

4. Click Save.

Changing Folder Owners

You can assign administrative permissions of a folder to different groups by changing the folder's owner user group. You might want to change a folder's owner user groups if you or another user creates a new subfolder for the purpose of allowing a different user group to have absolute control over all objects contained within the subfolder.

How to Change Folder Owners

This procedure describes how to change a folder's owner by using the browser interface. You can also change owners by using the following command.

• fdb.f.co – Changes a folder's owner.

Before You Begin

To change the owner user group of a folder, you need to be a member of the current owner user group. However, you do not need to be a member of the new owner user group.

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Note –

You can remove ownership permissions from yourself and everyone else in the current owner group.

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Steps

1. View the Details page of the folder you plan to edit.

   For more information about how to navigate to a folder's Details page, see How to View Folders.

2. On the Details page, click Edit.

3. Select the new owner user group from the Owner User Group menu.

4. To save your changes, click Save.

Deleting Folders

When you delete a folder, you delete everything contained in the folder, including components, plans, and other folders. If any object fails to delete, none of the contained objects are deleted and the folder remains.

If you want to delete multiple folders at a time, you can delete them from the folder's list page. When deleting multiple folders, you might succeed in deleting some folders even if other folders fail to delete.

How to Delete Folders

This procedure describes how to delete a folder by using the browser interface. You can also delete folders by using the following command.

• fdb.f.del – Deletes a folder.

Before You Begin

To delete a folder you must have write permissions on the folder, the parent folder, and all folders contained by the folder that you need to delete.

Steps

1. View the Details page of the folder that you plan to delete.

   For more information about how to navigate to a folder's Details page, see How to View Folders.

2. Click the Delete button at the bottom of the page.

   You are asked to verify or cancel the deletion.

3. Verify that you are deleting the correct folder and click the Continue to Delete button.

   The folder that you deleted is no longer listed in the parent folder's table.

Troubleshooting

If your attempt to delete a folder failed, verify the following items.

• The folder and all objects contained in the folder (such as plans and components) are not in use.

  For more information on deleting components and plans, see N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Plan and Component Developer’s Guide.

• The folder you attempted to delete was not created by a plug-in.

  You can only delete folders created by a plug-in by deleting the plug-in.

• The folder you attempted to delete did not contain a subfolder that was created by a plug-in.