Assets Server stores files in a large number of different file formats. Which file formats are stored very much depends on the type of business in which Assets Server is used. For supported file types, previews and thumbnails are generated (where applicable) which help users to see the content of files without opening them.
With the External processing API, the generation of previews and thumbnails of images, videos, and audio files can be handed off to an external service, thereby freeing up internal processing power for other tasks.
In addition, external services can be used for generating previews and thumbnails for specific file formats when Assets Server itself cannot generate these files.
Using external processing engines requires configuration steps in Assets Server. These are explained in this article.
Requirements
Using this features requires the following versions of Assets Server:
- Assets Server 6.109 or higher: External processing can be used in production.
- Assets Server 6.66 – 6.108: External processing is available in beta stage and should not be used in production.
How it works
An external service is configured in Assets Server with a definition of which file types it can handle. Whenever a thumbnail or preview is required for that file type, Assets Server sends out a processing request to that URL. The external service then downloads the original file, generates a preview and thumbnail, and sends these back to Assets Server.
For files that are uploaded, Assets Server does not wait on the generated files and it may therefore take a while before these are available. When the request is from a client application or a download request of a custom rendition, the request will wait for the generated files to be send over.
Configuration
Using external processing engines involves the following configuration steps:
- Enabling the feature.
- Setting the URL on which Assets Server is reachable.
- Setting up external engines in Assets Server.
1. Enabling the feature
Using external processing engines is disabled by default and needs to be enabled by doing the following:
In the Management Console, access the Server configuration > Cluster properties page and search for the following option:
externalProcessingEnabled
Set its value to true and save the change.
2. Setting the URL on which Assets Server is reachable
The previews and thumbnails that are generated by the external processing engine need to be sent back to Assets Server. By default, the value of the serverUrl option is used. If this should be a different URL, define it by doing the following:
On the same Cluster properties page used in step 1, search for the following option:
externalProcessingServerUrl
Update the current value and save the change.
3. Setting up external engines in Assets Server
In this step, the external engines are configured.
Step 1. In the Management Console, choose External Processing (beta) from the menu.
The External processing page appears.
Step 2. Click the +-sign to add a new engine.
Step 3. Fill out the fields. For details about the values to use for each field, see the descriptions on the page.
Step 4. Click Save to store the changes.
Comments
3 comments
It looks like the removing a configured external processing engine isn't possible yet? The "-" sign in the configuration screen will not become active.
Hi Siebrand,
I have turned your question into a ticket for our Support team.
They will reply to you via that ticket.
Best regards,
Maarten van Kleinwee
Senior Technical Writer, WoodWing Software
Hi Siebrand,
The "-" sign indeed remains disabled on selecting one of the items. This is a bug in the UI element. The API does allow to remove the configured external processing engines:
DELETE /services/admin/externalProcessing/all DELETE /services/admin/externalProcessing/<id>Please sign in to leave a comment.