Step 1
Every node has a management interface that lets you:
Step 2
creative.space lets you share content with everyone you work with. All you need to do is add them to your team. Your team consists of user accounts, which can be organized into groups and sorted into roles.
Your user account is your passport to the node. It determines what content can access, and what kinds of changes you can make to the node. Your account is a system administrator account. You can access everything on the node, from the content stored in it, to the management interface. Most notably, you have the power to grant others access to the node, by creating user accounts for them.
As the system administrator, you decide which spaces each user can access, and what each user can do in the management interface.
TIP
Create a separate account for everyone you work with. Do not share a single user account among different team members.
To create a user account:
Click 
.
If you have a large team, you can organize each team member into one or more groups. A group is a set of user accounts. A user account can be included in as many or as few groups as you want. Groups make it easy to grant all the user accounts included within them access to the same space.
To create a group:
Go to 
.
TIP
Create groups that match your organization's structure. For example, if your organization has a group of editors, a group of animators, a group of VFX artists, and a group of production managers, make one group for each of these roles.
TIP
You can put a user in more than one group. For example, if your organization has someone who edits and animates, you can add their user account to both the editor and animator groups.
WARNING
If you delete a group, you will not delete any of the users within that group. However, you will revoke all of the access that the group conferred upon the included users.
Step 3
A space is a portion of the node's storage. It is a versatile way to organize, protect and restrict access to your content.
By default, spaces stretch to fit the content you place within them. However, you can limit how large a space can grow, and you can also limit how small a space can shrink.
Each space can have its own set of access restrictions. By default, no one can access a space except for the person who created it. However, you can always grant users and groups permission to access a space.
Click 
.
Step 4
Each space can be shared over your network. This means that you can access it from any workstation on your network. How you connect to a space varies depending on your workstation's operating system:
MacOS 10.15
CATALINA
Windows 10
MAY 2020 UPDATE
CentOS 7.8
Build 2003
Click on 
. Next, find the space you want to share, and then click on the 
.
Step 5
TIP
Download our creative.space Zerotier Integration whitepaper for even more information on remote workflows with creative.space and Zerotier.
Under routine post-production workflows, remote access to shared storage was challenging. Now with a pandemic, creatives require twenty-four-hour access and collaboration from any location. VPN, WAN, and Internet access to shared projects and files present technical challenges that can be difficult to overcome, especially for small production teams. creative.space has integrated ZeroTier’s VPN and SD-WAN technology on its easy, reliable, and secure storage platform to empower the creative process. Collaborative storage is the main hub connecting remote locations.
Now, effortlessly control team and device access to your creative.space storage from anywhere and anytime. Create secure networks between on-premise, cloud, desktop, and mobile devices. Easily provision and de-provision remote access authorization for users, freelancers, and clients. We simplify your network stack by unifying VPNs, VLANs, and SD-WANs into one solution. The creative.space storage seamlessly interacts with ZeroTier’s zero-trust networking software to provide scalable security, peer-to-peer (P2P) connections, and 256-bit end-to-end encryption.
What does this mean for your workflow? The bottom line is that you can quickly provide secure SMB (Network Share) and FTP remote access to folders and files on your shared storage. As an example, the SMB connection smb://192.168.1.33/dailies, works the same as if you were onsite. Just be aware that you may need to adapt your projects to account for bandwidth speed and latency. We can assist you in implementing a proxy-based workflow.
FTP is excellent for transferring multiple directories and files to and from your creative.space storage. Another advantage of FTP is the ability to continue transferring files even if the connection is lost. In case you accidentally lose your connection or have to reboot your computer, you don’t have to worry about starting from the beginning again. You can pick up right from where you left off.
Securely authorize users and devices, and configure networks all within the creative.space web app. This integration saves multiple manual steps and needed IT security knowledge if only using the ZeroTier administration website. There are two levels of authorization for users to access the creative.space storage. The first is ZeroTier for encrypted network access. The second is the creative.space LDAP server to control user rights and folder/file permissions. Think of it as a locked gate and front door. You must have the right keys to both before you can get inside. ZeroTier offers a free Basic account for up to 50 network members and 1 admin. Their Professional account increases the numbers to 500 network members and 10 admins for $49 per month. You can always start with their free account and then upgrade as your requirements change.
Before you can set up zerotier, you will need to make sure this port is open on your gateway:
| Port Number | TCP/UDP | Inbound/Outbound | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9993 | UDP | Inbound and Outbound | Zerotier uses port 9993 to receive incoming connections. |
We also recommend that you open the following ports. While you do not have to open them, it helps us help you if you do:
| Port Number | TCP/UDP | Inbound/Outbound | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | TCP | Outbound | We use port 22 to apply software updates and provide remote support. |
| 53 | TCP and UDP | Outbound | The node's network interfaces use port 53 to connect to Domain Name Services (DNS). Without this port, you cannot configure any network interfaces to use a custom DNS. |
| 80 | TCP | Outbound | The node's management interface uses this port to show up in your web browser |
| 123 | TCP and UDP | Outbound | The node uses this port to get the time from a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server. Without this port, you cannot connect your node to an external NTP server. |
| 443 | TCP | Outbound | The node uses this port to send you email notifications |
| 12975 | TCP | Outbound | We use port 12975 to apply software updates and provide remote support. |
| 32976 | TCP | Outbound | We use port 32976 to apply software updates and provide remote support. |
Create a ZeroTier account and log in to your account at my.zerotier.com. Then Select 
from the top menu bar.
The ZeroTier configuration panel lets you
The configuration panel is divided by Active Networks, Disabled Networks, and Available Networks. This is based upon the current status of your creative.space storage within each network. It also displays the number of nodes authorized for each network. A “Node” is a device on the network. A user’s name is automatically added to the node description field. A user can have multiple devices such as a desktop, laptop, and iPad authorized on multiple networks, each with a separate “Node ID”.
Use 
to update the token you use to connect to your ZeroTier account. This token allows the creative.space management interface to communicate with ZeroTier.
Use 
to search among the ZeroTier networks associated with your account.
The Active networks section lists the networks that your node is connected to. If your node is connected to a network, it can connect to the other nodes on the network. In this case, a node can be another creative.space node, or a workstation.
The Disabled networks section lists the networks on your ZeroTier account that nothing can connect to. To use these networks, you must first enable them.
The Available networks section lists the networks on your ZeroTier account that you can connect your creative.space node to. Once you connect your node to an available network, the network will move to the active networks section.
Use 
and to create a new ZeroTier network with a name and IP address range of your choice. The network will show up in the Available Networks section as soon as you create it.
Download and install both the ZeroTier One 
and creative.space desktop 
applications.
Click the “View Connected Users” button in the Connected Users Panel. It will display connected users, and you can monitor what Spaces, Folders, and Files are being accessed. This is great for troubleshooting or looking for detecting suspicious activity. If a user’s credentials are being used from multiple IP locations, then they may be compromised or shared.
In the ZeroTier Network panel, you can view Active and Disabled networks. For “Active Networks,” you have a graphical chart displaying network bandwidth speed and activity. The “Connection Type” Private or Public, “Network ID”, and IP address of the storage is shown.
“Disabled Networks” display networks that the storage has been disabled on. Click the “Reconnect Network” button to make live and reachable again.
Through the creative.space web app, you can only create “Private” networks. If you wish to create a “Public” network not requiring node authorization, it must be done on the ZeroTier administration website. If a network is configured for “Public”, the panel will display it with a red border and warning message.
At the bottom of the ZeroTier panel is a section to add a ZeroTier Network ID that is not on your ZeroTier account. It will automatically add the network, but you will need to add the storage Node ID and approve it manually on the ZeroTier administration website.
Add the ZeroTier Network ID and click the “Add” button.
On the “Manage ZeroTier Networks” panel, there is a “Change ZeroTier API Token” button. Click this to change the API token if needed.
In the “Services” panel, you can Start and Stop the ZeroTier service if needed. Click on the “Change” button and select “Start ZeroTier” or “Stop ZeroTier”.
and then 
.
to select or upload a profile picture for the new user.
to enter a username for the new user.
to set a password for the new user.
to select the 
to enter the user's first and last name.
to enter the user's email address.
to enter the user's phone number.
to select where you would like the node to send notifications.
.
and then on 
.
to enter a group name. Then click 
.
to enter a name for your space. Keep in mind that names cannot start with a number, and cannot contain spaces or punctuation.
.
.
. The link to access the space will be copied to your computer's clipboard.
.
.
.
. Then, click 
.
and the password you use to log into the node in 
. Then, click 
. The link to access the space will be copied to your computer's clipboard.
.
and then click 
.
and the password you use to log into the node in 
. Then click 
. Your space will show up as a network share.
, then select 
.
you want to connect to. In this case, it's 
you want to connect to. In this case, it's 
. Then enter the username you use to log into the node in 
, enter 
and the password you use to log into the node in 
. Finally, click 
.
, then 
, and select 
.
.
in 
> 
section of Firewall Configuration. Then close the window.
.
to give your token a name that matches your node, and then click 
.
Then, click 
. After that, click 
.
.
to select the network you want to add your workstation to.
.
. Next, type a memorable name for your workstation into 
. Finally, click 
to send an invitation to the email associated with your creative.space login.
.
to enter the username you use to connect to your node, and use 
to enter the password you use to connect to your node. Then, click 
.