A local import though Columbus accesses data through the server's Linux file system. Whereas a client import uses the Helper to transfer data from the source to the server via the client.
A local Import can offer a distinct advange especially in the case of data accessed via a network share. Essentially it involves fewer network hops getting the data to the server, thus quicker and less to go awry. There is also no requirement for the client to remain connected via the Helper or otherwise after local import has been initiated.
The image data to be imported must be available through the Server's Linux file system. Essentially you can either copy the file/s to the server or more practically you can mount the network share to the server. Perhaps one of the more common shares would be a Windows share to the Linux system, in which case please see the following technical note which you might find useful:
https://access.redhat.com/solutions/448263
The "columbus" user account on the server must have read access to this share in order to perform the local import and read the files, please bear this in mind when setting up the mount. After setup on the Linux system:
- Log into the Columbus web interface and go to the Import view
- The Helper needs to be installed and a connection file downloaded as is typical but this is merely to access the Import view
- Select the Import Type
- Remove any current Source Folder path starting client://
- Enter the Soure Folder path
Essentially this is the path to the files on the server starting with a forward slash /
You can also use the path starting Local:// or local:// (this was a requirement in legacy versions of Columbus). A caveat for using a local import is that it is not possible to browse the server's file system through the Columbus web interface. Whist this sounds like a bit of a hurdle providing you know the name of the mount point and have the mapped drive available for reference you can easily derive the path to the files. Essentially it would start with /, the name of the mount point, followed by the path to the files on the file share. For instance if the mount point is called fileshare and the data is available in the directory path /data/dataset/ the full path would be /fileshare/data/dataset/
- Choose Import Mode (default Normal)
- Select a Naming Preference
- Start the import