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Administration Guide

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Purpose

Welcome. As the administrator for a LucidLink workspace, you have the ability to manage the essential functionality for your team. This guide covers installation instructions, configuration of members, groups, permissions, and other topics designed to enable effective use of LucidLink.  Your success is vital to us, so please reach out if you have any questions about this content. We want to ensure the right balance of security and ease of use.

Overview - LucidLink

LucidLink is a secure, high-performance collaboration platform that enables users to access, edit, and share data files, from anywhere, like a local drive. This cloud-based SaaS solution will make your workflows feel as if you are working off your local NAS or disk drive, but your files are actually in the cloud. LucidLink provides you with fast access to file assets and you will no longer have to wait to download or sync an entire file before you begin working on it.  

 

You can use any computer and any major operating system, macOS, Windows, or Linux. LucidLink enables you to use common industry-standard tools and applications.  Many of the administration features can also be performed in the LucidLink web app.

Admin Guide

Creating your first workspace and filespace

To start using LucidLink you need to create a workspace. A LucidLink workspace is a shared environment in which your team can collaborate using one or more filespaces.  Please see this video to learn how to create your account, workspaces, and filespaces.

Please note:

Due to the robust zero-knowledge security model used by LucidLink, LucidLink cannot recover your user password. Please create and secure a password backup code as shown in the video above to ensure you have the ability to recover your own password in the event that you lose it.  

To interact directly with your data in a filespace on LucidLink, you need to download and install the LucidLink app. You can read more about the installation process on macOS, Windows, and Linux. 

Connecting to a Filespace

To connect to a filespace, hover over the filespace name and click on the "connect" button. 

This will make the filespace available as a "drive" on your computer.  You can open that drive and create folders, upload data, or open any existing folders and files present in the filespace.  You can also choose to connect to more than one filespace by repeating this process.  This will result in a separate drive for each filespace.  Learn more about uploading data into LucidLink.

Disconnecting from a Filespace

Disconnecting from a filespace is very simple and can be done from the Lucid app main window.

  1. Click the chevron button next to the desired filespace
  2. You will see a Disconnect button appear
  3. Click Disconnect

Administering members

Now that you have a workspace, you can invite other users to become a member of your workspace.  Please see the video below to learn how to invite members individually or by email domain, as well as removing members from your workspace.     

Administering groups

LucidLink allows you to organize your members into groups if you choose.  Groups can make managing access to one or more filespaces easier and more efficient.  Please see the video below to learn how to create groups, manage their members, and remove members.

Administering permissions

LucidLink allows you to select which filespaces your members or groups can access, as well as determine specific folders inside those filespaces to which members or groups have permission.  Please see the video below to learn how to administer permissions. 

Administering workspace and filespace settings

LucidLink allows you to manage many settings such as renaming or deleting workspaces and filespaces, as well as other functions.   Please see the video below to learn how to administer these settings for your workspaces and filespaces.

Administering snapshots

LucidLink has an important feature called snapshots.  Snapshots capture the state of your filespace at a certain point in time and protect it in case you need it later, for example in case of accidental deletion of files.  Please see the video below to learn how to administer your snapshots.

For inquiries, administrators can find more information on LucidLink support.

https://support.lucidlink.com/hc/en-us/sections/4416957601421-Support

User guide

To start using LucidLink, users need to create an account.  Please see the video below to learn how to create a LucidLink account and accept an invitation to a workspace.

Connecting to a Filespace

To connect to a filespace, hover over the filespace name and click on the "connect" button. 

This will make the filespace available as a "drive" on your computer.  You can open that drive and create folders, upload data, or open any existing folders and files present in the filespace.  You can also choose to connect to more than one filespace by repeating this process.  This will result in a separate drive for each filespace.  Learn more about uploading data into LucidLink.

Disconnecting from a Filespace

Disconnecting from a filespace is very simple and can be done from the Lucid app main window.

  1. Click the chevron button next to the desired filespace
  2. You will see a Disconnect button appear
  3. Click Disconnect

Managing your filespace settings

LucidLink allows you to manage many settings such as the location where your filespace is mounted, adjust cache size, and many more.  At launch this functionality is provided via the command line interface, but a control panel in the application will be coming soon.

Learn more about managing your Filespace settings.

Recovering data using snapshots

Please see the video below to learn how to use snapshots to recover data that was accidentally deleted, or to recover an earlier version of a file that was modified.

LucidLink Performance Throughput vs. latency

In the LucidLink application main window, you will notice a connection quality indicator ranging from an excellent connection (green) to a poor connection (red). This status measures the latency in the path between your storage and your computer, which is not the same as your Internet bandwidth. You can have sizable bandwidth for your Internet connection and still have high latency that can adversely affect performance. If you have anything less than “excellent” or “good” status, report it to your administrator so they can work with you to optimize it. LucidLink streams data on-demand. The solution is designed to be used in the same manner as you would a local drive instead of older “sync-n-share” technologies or “file transfer” solutions. You will not have to copy a file to your computer to edit it. Avoid the tendency to copy a file to your local computer to edit it. Edit the file directly from the Filespace; LucidLink enables fast access to data from anywhere. Editing from the cloud will minimize the company’s cost of egress and provide great results when bandwidth and file bit-rates are appropriately matched.

Team collaboration

Pay attention to partially uploaded data When uploading files to LucidLink, it’s essential to know that copying a file using Finder, File Explorer, or other applications will only quickly copy the file up to your specific local cache size limit. After this, the file copy speed will match your actual upload throughput.

  • This file copy is not the same as upload progress, and the upload may finish quite sometime after the file copy to the cache folder has finished. Finder in macOS or File Explorer in Windows may not be the most optimum means of copying and negotiating a large transfer.
  • If you have a large amount of data to move to the cloud, contact your LucidLink administrator to discuss the best way to accomplish this.
  • It is important to always check the remaining upload indicators before closing the laptop or disconnecting from LucidLink to ensure changes are appropriately saved. Don’t shut down your computer prematurely when uploading.

Security Recommendations

The increase in remote users and distributed workloads can pose a significant threat to Cybersecurity. To address this, LucidLink has taken an innovative approach to data confidentiality in the cloud. LucidLink minimizes the amount of trust required by all entities involved in storing, managing, and transferring data. “Zero-knowledge” encryption model With LucidLink’s “zero-knowledge” encryption model the network infrastructure, the cloud storage providers, and LucidLink know nothing about the data the customers store and transmit on their infrastructure. Only the customer can “see” the data. Full System Encryption – In flight and at rest Data is encrypted on the customer device and remains encrypted both in transit and at rest and only the customer is in possession of the encryption keys. In contrast, server-side encryption typically employed by other cloud storage services, data is encrypted at only rest, and the service providers maintain the encryption keys and therefore have full access to the content.

Authenticated AES-256 encryption in GCM mode

Any malicious tampering or data integrity issues such as bit rot on the server-side are immediately detected upon access. Thanks to this robust security model, your data is as secure as possible using the default settings as long as proper user authentication and access controls are deployed in conjunction with good password hygiene.

Password management

Please see the video below to learn how to change or recover your user password.

A few essential security best practices provide a very good level of protection, without slowing down the user.

  • Use unique usernames and passwords:
    • Use a password that is difficult to guess.
    • Passwords should be a minimum of 9 characters long.
    • Passwords should not be the user’s name or company’s name.
    • Try picking a favorite passage from a book, movie or song.
    • Users should periodically change their passwords, LucidLink does not prompt password changes.
    • Do not disclose passwords to others or leave them written down in visible places.
    • Do not share passwords with, or use the same passwords, as other users.
    • Consider using a password manager such as 1Password or LastPass.
  • Change your password every 3 months and do not repeat old passwords.
  • Disable guest accounts on Mac.
  • Do not check the box for automatic logins and enable screen lock (Mac, Windows).

Due to the zero-knowledge security enforced by LucidLink, user passwords can only be recovered using the backup code.  LucidLink support staff cannot recover or reset your password in any way!  

Lost/Stolen Devices

Any lost or stolen device containing production data should be reported immediately to your administrator, so they can change the delete the user. A few things to do before getting started with LucidLink Familiarize yourself with the LucidLink website and click on the support tab. Here you will find a wealth of information about using the service, there’s an FAQ, solution guides and “Tips & Tricks.”

Additional information and videos can be found on the LucidLink YouTube Channel and on the LucidLink Support YouTube Channel.

 

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