Using Cyberduck with Flex Cloud Object Storage

Managing Flex Cloud Object Storage using the Skyline UI can be troublesome as you're limited to single actions. Additionally, not everyone is savvy enough to use the API or CLI for managing Object Storage, this is where Cyberduck comes in handy.

Cyberduck is a free, open-source file transfer application that allows users to connect to and manage files on remote servers and cloud storage services. It supports protocols like FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, and integrates with cloud platforms such as Amazon S3, Google Drive, and OpenStack Swift. With a user-friendly interface, Cyberduck makes it easy to upload, download, and organize files, making it a popular choice for developers, system administrators, and general users who need to manage remote files efficiently.

Prerequisites

• A Rackspace Flex Cloud account
• User credentials to the Rackspace Flex Cloud account
• Cyberduck - you can download it here.

Connecting to your Rackspace Flex Cloud Account

First, we'll need to connect to your account using the application. For this, you'll want to be sure you've already got the following credentials ready:

• Username
• Project Name
• API Key

If you're unsure how to find your Project name see this document

1. Launch the Cyberduck application.

2. Click the 'Open Connection' button on the toolbar.

3. In the window provided, choose 'OpenStack Swift (Keystone 3)' from the dropdown.

4. Depending on which region you're accessing, use the appropriate entry for the Server field:

   1. keystone.api.sjc3.rackspacecloud.com/v3
   2. keystone.api.dfw3.rackspacecloud.com/v3

5. For Project:Domain:Username enter your Project Name, rackspace_cloud_domain, and your username.

6. For Password enter your user's API key.

7. Click Connect

8. You'll now be able to see any existing containers, navigate into them, copy new files, and add or delete in bulk.

Migrating Files between Remote Storage Platforms using Cyberduck

It may not be immediately apparent, but a useful application of Cyberduck is to have two instances of the application opened up. You then connect to each storage platform in the application windows. Once you've done this, you can actually drag and drop files directly from one pane to the other to migrate data between S3 to Flex Object Storage for example.