Fast and scalable ownCloud Infinite Scale

Everything Must Go

Traefik

The application design brings about some challenges to the underlying network, and the oCIS developers have chosen the Traefik framework [7] to tackle those. Traefik automatically load balances between the different instances of microservices, takes care of automated SSL encryption, and allows for the additional deployment of firewall rules.

The split between the back end and the front end add additional advantages to oCIS. In fact, actions triggered by the user by means of ownCloud Web are completely decoupled from the ownCloud engine performing the respective task in the back end. If a user manually starts a virus check on their file(s) stored in ownCloud, they do not have to wait for the check to be finished. Instead, the check itself happens in the background, and the user only ever sees the result once the check is completed – the principle of concurrency at work.

Extensions as Microservices

Like other web services, ownCloud also supports extending its capabilities with extensions. oCIS doesn't change that, but it is promising to tackle a well-known problem, especially with community apps. Apps of unknown origin can cause trouble in the server and hamper updates and often have negative effects on the server's overall performance. The new oCIS gRPC-based architecture makes it much easier to create additional extensions spawned alongside the already existing microservices. Because the API is predefined by gRPC, all developers really have to do is create a microservice featuring the desired functionality that can be controlled by gRPC. Traefik will, on a per-case basis, ensure that newly deployed add-ons are automatically added to the existing communication mesh. For users and third parties interested in ownCloud, this means that a flood of additional ownCloud functionality will likely start to pour in for oCIS.

Arbitrary Extensions

The oCIS developers make it very clear that they want to support such extensions, and they are even making it very easy for developers to integrate custom modules. Their documentation [8], for instance, contains a detailed explanation of how to write oCIS extensions, along with code for a real-world example.

Said documentation suggests that writing an oCIS extension is not super-complex for experienced Go jockeys. Three major components are required: the server providing the extension's functionality through a gRPC API, a so-called "greeter API" to serve requests to the extension from the outside, and, if desired, a separate component integrating the extension into ownCloud Web.

The greeter API integrates with the oCIS server itself to allow commands to the server to be caught on the API of the oCIS instance. It communicates with the server through gRPC. The Hello World example [9] in the oCIS documentation illustrates this clearly: For instance, the command received through the oCIS API could be for Hello World to be returned as the result of an oCIS API request. The greeter API would catch that request, trigger the corresponding action over gRPC, and deliver the return value. The web interface can be used to send the Hello World request to the greeter API.

Although a simple Hello World is an oversimplified example, the flow of commands brought up by oCIS developers also allows for highly complex operations to be performed by oCIS extensions. Of course, all oCIS extensions will still benefit from Go's concurrency functionality and its default optimization for performance purposes.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy ADMIN Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • ownCloud

    ownCloud is an alternative to the many online storage services whose data protection promises could turn out to be as nebulous as their offerings.

  • Ubuntu 16.04 LTS as an ownCloud server
    Locally hosted collaboration servers are an alternative to letting employees swap files in a public cloud. We show you how to set up an ownCloud 9 environment on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.
  • Spotlight on the Kubernetes package manager, Helm
    A Helm chart is a template of several parts that defines, deploys, and upgrades Kubernetes apps and can be considered the standard package manager in the Kubernetes world.
  • Nine home clouds compared
    Dropbox was the first of a number of cloud service providers. However, only services that promise full control over your own data can give users a feeling of security. We provide an overview of nine cloud projects and two BitTorrent tools.
  • Identity and access management with Authelia
    Add access controls to web applications that do not have their own user administration; however, this useful gatekeeper requires a reverse proxy.
comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs



Support Our Work

ADMIN content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More”>
	</a>

<hr>		    
			</div>
		    		</div>

		<div class=