External Storage: General Information

By default, the system stores the files attached to documents in the MYOB Acumatica SQL Server database. Alternatively, the system can store the files outside of the database—either in a local folder on the computer running the MYOB Acumatica website, or in a public cloud using Azure Blob Storage or Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3).

External Storage Risks

[1]janice.paganini1. Shouldn't this topic have the standard sections that are required in a Something: General Information topic between the untitled intro and the chunk-specific sections (such as External Storage Risks)? The sections are Learning Objectives and Applicable Scenarios (see https://wiki.acumatica.com/display/DOC/General+Information+Topic). 2. Actually, it seems that what happened is that this topic was in progress or being reworked; the old draft was never submitted for editing. (Perhaps one person was working on it and they left the company or went on a leave ...? I am not sure, but there was definitely unedited text in the sections you didn't change.) Once I realized this, I took a quick look at the whole thing and fixed typos and text that did not adhere to our style.2024/11/0612:53:49-05:00

We recommend using the default solution provided with MYOB Acumatica, which automatically places attached files in the system database. This affordable solution includes automated backups, versioning, file synchronization, and integrated security.

If you want to implement an external storage solution, you should be aware of the following risks:

  • Backups: MYOB's standard SaaS backup procedures apply to files stored in the database. If files are moved outside the database. then backups, disaster recovery, and support become the responsibility of the customer.
  • Data security and privacy: External storage may allow direct connections which do not go through MYOB Acumatica security. Thus, protecting sensitive data, such as invoices and customer-related files, and meeting General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements become the responsibility of the customer.
  • Data migration: MYOB Acumatica snapshots and backups do not include external files. When the database or snapshot is restored, only database files are included.
  • Testing and non-production environments: When you restore backups or snapshots to a non-production environment (when using an external storage solution), the file reference links will point to production storage. If you add or delete files during testing, you will affect the files in your production environment.
  • Performance and reliability: Retrieving files from an external solution requires a high-speed connection to the external provider. If this connection in interrupted, you may experience errors or slower performance.
  • Troubleshooting: Support and troubleshooting processes are more complex for customers who use external file storage.

To disable the configuration of an external file storage, and administrator can add to the appSettings section of the web.config file the DisableExternalFileStorage key set to true.

External Storage for SaaS Customers of MYOB Business Cloud

Software as a service (SaaS) customers have the option to use Amazon S3 storage if the following risks and limitations are acceptable. Customers must purchase their external storage independently of their MYOB contract and user agreement. Customers that use external storage are responsible for all backup and recovery operations associated with external storage. Customers must be made aware that the storage benefits provided above are not available through customer-managed storage.

External File Storage Configuration

You use the External File Storage (SM202540) form to configure external file storage providers and specify where files should be stored. With regard to file storage functionality, provider denotes the storage provider, which can be a local folder, an Azure Blob service, or an Amazon S3 service.

Attention: To use an external file storage, you must have an account with the provider and configure the file storage to be used by your MYOB Acumatica instance. For more information, see Blob Storage on the Microsoft Azure portal and Amazon S3.

If you created multiple companies in your MYOB Acumatica instance and want to store file attachments out of the database in any of these companies, you need to configure an external storage provider for each company individually. It can be the same provider for all companies or a separate provider for each company.

By default, the system deletes a file in the external storage if a user deletes it in MYOB Acumatica. A system administrator can disable the deletion of files in external storage by adding to the appSettings section of the web.config file the DisableDeleteOnExternalFileStorage key set to true.

See the following topics for the procedures of configuring external file storage in MYOB Acumatica:

File Synchronization

You can synchronize files stored in MYOB Acumatica with[2]janice.paganiniI reordered the two series elements to place the short one first and the long one (with a series within it) second. This seemed especially necessary because I had to spell out the protocols on their first use per our guidelines for acronyms and initialisms. 2024/11/0614:58:42-05:00 files on a shared network folder or with files stored on a File Transfer Protocol (FTP), [3]janice.paganiniOur style requires acronyms and initialisms to be spelled out on first use unless the abbreviation is more common than the spelled out version. I thought HTTP would fit that criterion to not be spelled out, but MS says it should be spelled out when you are talking about protocols (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/a-z-word-list-term-collections/h/http-https) so I did.2024/11/0614:03:05-05:00Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), or Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server. The following topics describe how to configure each type of synchronization:

You can use automation schedules to perform periodic synchronization between a file on an MYOB Acumatica site and a file (or folder) on a local computer or network. For more information, see To Set Up Automatic File Synchronization.

Attention: If you synchronize files with an FTP server, you should use a username [4]janice.paganiniSomething is wrong with this text .. I am not sure if it means without only the slash or backslash or without the slash, comma, and backslash. Would you please check on this and fix the text? If we mean without the slash or backslash, the characters in question should be in italics and we should say "without the / or \ character [singular]" ...2024/11/0610:43:47-05:00without the / or \ character in synchronization settings. Otherwise, MYOB Acumatica will not be able to connect to the server.