REXDESK: upload logs to AWS S3, MinIO or Google Cloud Storage

Enter the mobile connection and the storage bucket once in REXDESK. Then enable upload in a configuration. A REXGEN Air or REXGEN Pro with that configuration sends its logs to AWS S3, a MinIO server or Google Cloud Storage.

This guide covers the REXDESK side. Create the bucket and its access keys in your provider's console first. See these guides:

• REXGEN Air: choosing and setting up cloud upload
• REXGEN Air: uploading logs to Amazon S3

How cloud upload works

The logger connects over the mobile network with the SIM and APN you enter in Mobile settings. REXGEN Pro can also use Wi-Fi. The logger writes its files to your bucket, in a folder named after the logger. It also sends a short status file at a set interval. The logger checks the bucket for new configurations and firmware, so you can update the logger without collecting it.

You set up three things: a mobile setting, a storage setting and upload on the logger. The first two live in Cloud Settings. Any configuration can select them by name.

Cloud Settings window

Select Tools > Cloud Settings. The window has four tabs along the bottom: Mobile, Wi-Fi, FTP Settings and Cloud Storage. Each tab has its own New, Edit and Delete buttons, for example New Mobile, Edit Mobile and Delete Mobile. For FTP servers, see REXDESK: upload logs to an FTP server.

Mobile settings

1. Open the Mobile tab. In Cloud Settings, select Mobile, then New Mobile.
2. Fill in the fields. Enter a label and the details from your SIM provider. The list below explains each field.
3. Save the setting. Select OK. The new setting appears in the list.

Label

A name for this mobile setting. You select it by this name when you enable upload.

User and Pass

The user name and password for the mobile connection, where your SIM provider uses them.

No Communication Timeout (min)

How long, in minutes, the logger waits without communication before it times out.

Use APN and APN

Tick Use APN and enter the access point name your SIM provider gives you.

Realtime Source

Where the logger takes the real time from: Mobile (the mobile network) or NTP (a time server). Choose NTP where the mobile network does not supply the time.

NTP Server

The time server to use with NTP, for example pool.ntp.org.

Wi-Fi settings

REXGEN Pro can upload over Wi-Fi as well as the mobile network. The Wi-Fi tab holds the networks you can select when you enable upload. To join a REXGEN Pro to a Wi-Fi network, see REXGEN Pro: Wi-Fi, LTE and cloud upload.

Add a storage bucket

1. Open the Cloud Storage tab. In Cloud Settings, select Cloud Storage, then New Storage.
2. Choose the type. In Type, select AWS S3, COMPATIBLE (MinIO) or GCSA (JSON). The fields that follow depend on the type.
3. Choose the connection type. In Connection Type, select SSL for HTTPS or Plain for HTTP. SSL needs the certificate in the logger's XML configuration. See REXGEN XML reference: cloud upload and mobile settings.
4. Set the port. Enter 443 for SSL or 80 for Plain.
5. Name the bucket. In Bucket, enter the bucket name exactly as it is in your provider's console.
6. Add the credentials. Enter the Access Key and Secret Key, or for Google Cloud Storage the service account file.
7. Save the storage setting. Select OK. Use Edit Storage to change a setting later and Delete Storage to remove one.

AWS S3

Select the bucket's AWS region in the Region list. REXDESK fills in the Endpoint from the region, so you cannot edit it. Then enter the bucket name and the access key pair of the AWS user the logger uploads as.

MinIO and S3-compatible storage

Use COMPATIBLE (MinIO) for MinIO or any other storage service with an S3-compatible interface. Enter the Region your server expects, or any region name if the server ignores it. Enter the server address in Endpoint, then the port, bucket and access key pair.

Google Cloud Storage

Use GCSA (JSON) for a Google Cloud Storage bucket. Region is unused. The Endpoint is fixed at https://storage.googleapis.com and the connection type is SSL on port 443. Enter the bucket name, then select Browse and select the JSON key file of your Google service account.

Enable upload on the logger

1. Prepare the configuration. Build the logging configuration you want the logger to run.
2. Open the upload settings. In Device Configuration, select S3 (labelled AWS in earlier versions).
3. Enable upload. Tick Enable S3 (AWS, GCS).
4. Choose the settings. Select the Mobile, Wi-Fi and S3 settings in the lists. If you have only one of each, REXDESK fills them in. The button beside each list opens Cloud Settings.
5. Set the intervals and options. See the list below.
6. Send the configuration. Select Run. When REXDESK asks, select Save project to name the project, or Continue as "New Project". When the configuration is written, select OK.
7. Format the internal storage. Open Internal Storage and select Format SD, then unplug the USB cable. The logger connects to the server only when the USB cable is unplugged.

Firmware Check Time (sec)

How often the logger checks the server for new firmware.

Status Send Time (sec)

How often the logger sends its status to the server.

Configuration Check Time (sec)

How often the logger checks the server for a new configuration. See REXDESK: send a new configuration over the air.

Automatic Firmware Update

The logger installs new firmware it finds on the server.

Keep Log Files On Device

The logger keeps a copy of each file after uploading it. If you tick it, format the internal storage after sending the configuration.

Upload All Files Before Sleep

The logger uploads every waiting file before it goes to sleep. To set up sleep, see REXDESK: sleep and wake settings.

Watch: Set up AWS settings with REXGEN (1:19)

Check the connection

If no files arrive, check the APN and the bucket details first. To see each step of the mobile connection, run the LTE debug tool. See REXGEN: check the LTE connection with the debug tool. To send a small file of live decoded values alongside the logs, see REXDESK: send decoded snapshot files to S3.

Next: REXDESK: upload logs to an FTP server.