Distribution

Outcome You push files, tables, or applications from a source instance to one or more target instances using the staging-and-distribute click-flow.

Before you start

• You hold at least Instance Viewer in the source instance and Instance Editor in the target.

• You are in the Current State (or in a snapshot view if you are distributing from a snapshot) of the source.

• You have decided which distribution strategy to use - Overwrite, Distribute Extra, Mirror, or Skip. See Reference › Configuration for the four strategies.

Distribution is how content moves between Instances on Nuvolos - files, tables, applications, or any combination. The same mechanical click-flow applies regardless of the source and target. This page documents the mechanic; the role-specific applications (who you distribute to, why, and what strategy to use) are covered in the role-specific documents.

You can distribute the following object types:

• Files, sets of files, or entire directories

• Tables or sets of tables

• Applications or sets of applications

• Entire snapshots

Distributing a selected list of items

You can distribute a set of items from a single instance using the Stage - a temporary area for collecting objects to be distributed. To distribute from multiple sources, you must initiate a separate distribution from each source.

The procedure:

1

Navigate to the source instance and the Current State.

2

On the sidebar, click Files. Select the file you want to distribute and click STAGE.

You can also do mass operations on the action item row about the file list table in the vertical ... menu.

3

(Optional) On the sidebar, click Applications. Select the application you want to distribute and stage it.

4

(Optional) On the sidebar, click Tables. Select the tables you want to distribute, and stage them.

5

On the sidebar, click the share icon to open the Stage.

6

Review your staged objects - you can remove items using the red "X" button - and click CONTINUE.

(Optional) Save the staged objects as a named bundle for future reference. Useful if you plan to re-run the same distribution later - you can re-distribute the bundle without re-staging individual items.

7

Select the target for distribution. You can distribute within the current space, to another space, or to another organisation. You can also choose whether to share with all instances (education-only) or just one. Click CONTINUE.

8

(Optional) Enable notifications - Nuvolos can send a notification email to recipients on completion with a custom message. The message notifies all users in the target instances about a distribution having completed.

9

Select the distribution strategy. Overwrite is the default and almost always the correct choice.

10

(Optional) Create a snapshot in the target before distribution to guard against data loss. Click CONTINUE.

11

Review the list of items and click SHARE OBJECTS.

Selecting a folder adds the entire file tree recursively. If a sub-folder is selected, the folder structure above it is created so paths match across all targets. Recently used Applications are auto-added to the distribution - remove them before continuing if you didn't intend to include them.

Distribution runs in the background. You will receive an email when it completes. If it fails, contact [email protected]. For large Application images, allow at least an hour before any time-sensitive deadline (such as an instructor distributing before a live lab session, or a researcher refreshing a dataset for collaborators).

Role-specific notes

This page covers only the mechanical click-flow. For role-specific applications:

🎓 For instructors

See How-to › For Instructors › Distribute teaching material for the cohort-distribution workflow including current and future student instances, and Tutorials › Running a data-heavy lab session for the live lab-session pattern.

📖 For students

🔬 For researchers