File storage
All about storing files and folders on Nuvolos
In all of the following operations, we assume that you know how to pick the appropriate context for your work (that is, finding the current state of an instance in which you are implicitly or explicitly an editor).
Only current states can be modified - snapshots are immutable!
Navigate to the space containing the instance where you want to work by selecting the space from the dashboard or the space list.
Navigate to the instance where you want to work.
Filesystems on Nuvolos
Nuvolos provides multiple storage options, each suited to different use cases. Picking the right one matters: cost, performance, and snapshot/distribution behaviour all differ.
Ephemeral Local Storage
Many operating system files of your running Application are served from a fast but ephemeral storage. Temp files (under /tmp and similar) end up here. Storage is fast but limited (a few GB), and any changes are lost on Application stop.
Nuvolos file system (NFS)
Three folders in every Nuvolos Application are backed by the Nuvolos file system, making them persistent between restarts. These are exposed in the web UI as Workspace, Personal, and Application.
Each storage type has a different locality scope. In all cases, the locations are local to a given Instance - your Personal area in Instance A is independent from your Personal area in Instance B.
Workspace (the FILES area) - shared across all applications and users in a given instance.
Personal (the HOME area) - only visible to one user in one instance.
Application (the LIBRARY area) - shared across all users for a given application in a given instance.
Quotas are enforced at the Instance level; total combined storage usage is monitored at the resource pool level. These locations are best suited for storing between 1 GB and 100 GB of data.
Large File Storage (LFS)
Large File Storage is the persistent storage medium for cost-efficient handling of data above 100 GB. It is suitable for large, static files where read and write performance is good as long as large, contiguous blocks of data need to be read.
LFS is optimised for files that:
Have a large storage footprint (greater than 30 GB).
Do not change frequently (not ideal for temp files due to latency).
Do not need to be snapshotted or distributed.
Do not need to be visible in the Nuvolos web UI.
Interaction with LFS files is currently only possible via Nuvolos Applications. See Large File Storage management below for purchasing, attaching, and managing LFS volumes.
Nuvolos file system quotas
Each Nuvolos subscription has a storage allowance on the Nuvolos file system system that you are free to consume in as many Spaces as you wish. To control runaway storage allocation, each Instance has a hard quota. The only requirement is that your total combined storage usage stays in line with your subscription.
A Space quota of 10 GB means that every Instance in the Space has 10 GB available. The limits for Instances are enforced independently - a lower usage in one Instance does not allow for higher usage in another. Space administrators can modify instance quotas.
View quote usage
Instance Editors and Viewers can check quota consumption in the Files view:
Navigate to the Space and Instance.
Click the folder icon on the sidebar to open the Files view.
In the top right corner, the quota status is shown as "% of GB used".
Click the quota badge for a detailed breakdown.
The detailed dialog shows three donut charts:
Total usage - combined storage across all persistent locations: Application files, Workspace files, Personal files, and free space.
Personal usage - storage used in the Personal home folder, broken down by user.
Application usage - storage used by Application libraries, broken down by Application.
In the top right of the usage dialog, the QUOTAS link takes you to the full quota management interface.
Manage quotas (space administrators)
Space administrators have access to the detailed quota setting screen. Two routes:
From the quota usage dialog above, follow the QUOTAS link.
From the sidebar, click the cogwheel icon, select Project Configuration, and open the QUOTAS AND USAGE tab.
The quota management interface displays:
File system usage - A color-coded bar chart showing the distribution of Workspace (blue), Personal (purple), and Application (green) storage with current usage amounts
File quotas - Individual quota cards organized by instance type (Master, Distributed, Other). Each instance type shows four quota cards:
Instance: Overall instance quota.
Workspace: Workspace folder quota.
Personal: Personal folder quota.
Application: Application folder quota.
Each quota card displays:
The quota size in GBs.
A progress bar showing usage percentage.
Current usage amount (e.g., "0.15 GB/20.00 GB").
An EDIT button for space administrators to modify the quota.
Some cards may also have a VIEW USAGE link for detailed breakdowns.
Modifying quotas
Space administrators can modify quotas through the QUOTAS AND USAGE tab in the Project Configuration interface.
Navigate to the Space and Instance.
From the sidebar, click the cogwheel icon, select Project Configuration, and open the QUOTAS AND USAGE tab.
Click the EDIT button on any quota card to open the Edit File Quota dialog.
Enter a new quota value in GB (must be greater than zero).
Click SAVE.
After saving, you receive a summary email for the quota update task. If an Instance's current usage exceeds the new quota, the update for that Instance is not applied and the issue is flagged in the summary email.
To minimize errors, ensure that the current usage in all instances is not higher than the quota you plan to set before making changes.
Your Space's total storage allocation is managed by your resource pool. Contact Nuvolos support if you need to increase quotas significantly beyond what is currently available.
Snapshots and storage
Snapshots do not multiply data on the file system. File information that doesn't change across snapshots is not stored multiple times. However, file information that is deleted in only one snapshot is not freed from the system.
When freeing up space, ensure the data you want removed is removed from all snapshots. Since snapshots cannot be modified partially, deleting data permanently means retroactively deleting all snapshots that contained that data.
The diff feature
It is possible to view the difference between two text files in two different snapshots. In the file navigator, file status is indicated by a coloured dot next to the filename:
An orange dot - the file has not been snapshotted yet (Unsnapshotted file status).
A blue dot - the file has been snapshotted and has changed since the last snapshot.
A green dot - the file has been snapshotted and has not changed since the last snapshot.
The README feature
A file named README.md in any folder is interpreted and rendered as Markdown by the Nuvolos web UI. The README.md file in the root directory is also displayed on the Space overview page.
Link to heading
You can link to headings in README.md files using standard Markdown syntax, but the target heading must be referenced in its kebab-case form. The web UI provides a dedicated Anchor button to make this easier:
Open the Markdown file in EDIT mode
either by clicking EDIT on the top right of the Overview view,
or by navigating to the file and selecting EDIT from the ... Actions menu.
Inside the editor, the Anchor icon helps you create links.
Recommended flow:
Copy the target heading's text to the clipboard.
Move to the location in the document where you want to insert the link.
Click the Anchor button. Enter the display text for the link and confirm.
Paste the target heading's text and confirm.
Now you have a working link. You can use the visual editor to update the display text anytime.
You can do this in every folder if you want to - this is a great way to document contents of folders beyond the usual filename information you can provide yourself!
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