Getting Started
Last updated
Last updated
Blimp by Züs offers a versatile platform to store your data securely and efficiently while allowing you to set personalized configurations tailored to your storage needs.
Before you can store data on Züs, you need to create what's known as an Allocation. This is essentially a contract that specifies how your data will be stored. Key aspects of an allocation include:
Storage Space Size: The total amount of data you can store.
Write Price Range: The cost per TB per year for data writing operations.
Read Price Range: All read operations are free on Züs, simplifying access costs.
Data Shards: The number of storage servers, or blobbers, that store your data, enhancing data availability and privacy through distribution.
Parity Shards: Additional blobbers that store data redundantly to ensure fault tolerance and high availability.
Upon logging into Blimp, navigate to the home page where you can click on create an allocation and select Multi Cloud Storage.
Specify the size, write and read price ranges, number of data and parity shards according to your requirements. For example, create a new allocation with 4 data and 2 parity blobbers with some criteria for generic blobbers, not brand.
Tune the configuration of your allocation using the following configuration parameters
| Configuration | Description |
|---|---|
Allocation Name | A custom name you give to an allocation. |
Storage | How much storage space you need for your allocation. |
Duration | How long your allocation will remain valid. It's fixed at 1 year, which is what you pay for. |
Brand | Users can choose between a Züs branded blobber or any available blobber. As more users choose a specific branded blobber, the rewards associated with that brand continue to grow. |
Read Price Range | All reads are Free on Züs! |
Write Price Range | This is the range of write price (in ZCN/GB/Month) within which you'd accept for the storage servers (blobbers) to charge your for storage. Each storage server offers a write price and you can use this range filter to narrow down the list of Blobbers that can host your allocation by their write price. |
Data Shards | This is the count of data shards involving in this allocation. Data shards count decides how many blobbers that the allocation data will be split among. |
Parity Shards | This is the count of parity shards involving in this allocation. Parity shards are replicas of the data shards that are used for data protection and fault tolerance. This count also decides how many blobbers will involve in carrying those parity shards. |
Select your desired configuration values and click "Confirm" on the right to move to the next step.
Here you can select the blobbers you prefer to host your data. Your allocation needs a number of blobbers equal to its: Data Shards + Parity Shards. You don't need to select all of them, just one blobber is enough, and the system will select the best blobbers to fill your allocation requirements. In this step, you'll see a table with the available blobbers that fulfill your allocation write price requirements:
For each blobber, the table shows the following information:
| Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
Blobber | The Provider ID of the Blobber. You can use the copy icon next to it to copy it to your clipboard. |
Host Name | The name assigned to the blobber deployment in Chimney, or the subdomain part of the blobber's host url if the name is not provided. |
Allocated Storage | This column shows the allocated storage, along with a range slider showing how much of this allocated storage is used to host users' data. When hovered over, you can see the actual number representing the Used Storage. |
Unallocated Storage | This column shows the unallocated storage, which is the amount of Staked Storage that is not used for allocations yet i.e. not Allocated. |
Unstaked Capacity | This column shows the unstaked capacity, which is the amount of the Blobbers Total Capacity that's not covered by staking tokens by the delegate clients. |
Passed Challenges | This column shows the count of challenges passed by the blobber. Challenges are means by which the system makes sure the blobbers are actually hosting the users' data correctly. They are generated by the blockchain and received by the blobber, which prepares response and submits them to the blockchain to verify, where it can be either successful i.e. counted as passed, or failed. |
Quality Score | This column shows the Quality Score of the blobber, which indicates how the blobber is performing regarding the challenges. Quality Score is the percentage of the Passed Challenges to the total number of challenges generated for the blobber. You can use the ⇅ icon to sort the results based on this field. |
Staked ZCN | This column shows the amount of ZCN Tokens staked by clients to this blobber. |
Write Price | This column shows the Write Price of the blobber, which is the ZCN amount the blobber charges the clients to perform write operations on their data. Write Price is expressed in ZCN/TB/Year, that's because it's deducted upfront from the client in the form of locked tokens to their allocations, which corresponds to the size the users request for their allocations. |
Service Fee | This is the percentage that the blobber takes as cut of the rewards it receives, before splitting the rest of it among the delegates. |
Total Rewards | This is the total amount of rewards the blobber received from the challenges as well as hosting users data, expressed in ZCN. You can use the ⇅ icon to sort the results based on this field. |
Geo | This is the country and the region where the server hosting the blobber lies, according to the Host URL of the blobber's Chimney Deployment. |
To choose one of the blobbers as a preferred blobber for your allocation, you can click the "Add" button to the left of the blobber's row in the table. You'll then see your selected blobbers separated in another table. After selecting your preferred blobber, click Confirm to proceed to the next step.
You can also select from Restricted Blobbers. Restricted blobbers provide private storage solutions that are visible only to authorized users. This feature is particularly useful for enterprise users needing controlled access to storage resources. Only whitelisted IDs will be able to see and interact with the restricted blobber. For more information, see Restricted Blobbers in more details here.
After configuring your allocation and choosing your preferred blobbers, you'll need to lock some tokens to your Write Pool to use them for your uploads. You'll be shown a popup window with the minimum amount of tokens you can lock:
Click Next to proceed to the next step and pay for your allocation. You can either get them by using ERC-20 tokens in your metamask wallet, or using your Bank Card. If you've ZCN tokens in your Züs wallet, you can use them instead of paying for new ones. You can use your existing balance by choosing "ERC-20 Tokens" then choosing "Pay from existing balance"
After you pay for the locked tokens, the allocation will be created for you, automatically activated on Blimp.
Blimp provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing your digital storage efficiently. This guide covers the essential functionalities available to you for uploading, downloading, and managing your files.
Recents: Quickly access and manage your recently used files.
Favorites: All your favorite files are gathered here for quick retrieval.
Encrypted: Securely manage files that you have encrypted.
Shared: Oversee all your shared files, whether shared publicly or privately.
Offline: Access files you’ve designated for offline viewing, useful when you are not connected to the internet.
Storage Summary Card: Located in the bottom-left corner of the Vult and Blimp interface, this feature provides a quick overview of your storage capacity, usage, and the expiration date of your storage plan. It also includes an "Upgrade Storage" button for when you need more space.
Uploading Files:
Use the "Upload File(s)" or "Upload Folder" buttons to add new content to your storage. You can either drag and drop files or use the upload dialog to select files or folders.
Downloading Files:
Files can be easily downloaded with a simple click on the "Download File" option in the file operations menu.
Sharing Files:
Utilize the "Share" function in the file operations menu to share files either publicly or privately, controlling exactly who can access your data.
File Operations:
View: Open files with supported formats directly within Blimp.
Copy, Rename, Move, Delete: Manage your files efficiently by copying, renaming, relocating, or removing them as needed.
Make Available Offline: Choose files to be accessible without an internet connection.
Managing File Details:
Access the File Details Viewer to see extensive information about a file, including size, encryption status, creation, and modification dates.
Additional Functionalities
Search and Filtering: Locate files quickly using the search function and filter them according to your needs.
Batch File Operations: Perform actions like moving, deleting, or favoriting multiple files simultaneously to enhance productivity.
File Viewer and Details: Inspect contents directly within Blimp for supported file formats and check detailed metadata for a deeper understanding of your data.
Making an allocation immutable in Blimp is a critical step for users who want to ensure the integrity and security of their stored data. This feature is particularly useful in scenarios where data must not be altered once written. Here’s how you can set your storage allocation to immutable:
Begin by logging into your Blimp account. From the Blimp Homepage, access the Manage Allocations section. It allows you to view and manage all your current storage allocations.
Find the specific allocation you wish to modify.
Click on the three dots (more options) beside the allocation name to open the settings menu for that particular allocation. Select the Make Allocation Immutable option.
A confirmation popup will appear, ensuring that you understand the implications of this setting: You cannot update anything once an allocation is set to immutable. Only upload and download operations are allowed.
Once set to immutable, the allocation cannot be reverted to a mutable state. It’s important to be certain of your decision before confirming the immutability.
Understanding the specifics of server selection for your allocation is crucial for assessing your stored data's security, distribution, and reliability. By knowing which blobbers are handling your data, you can make informed decisions about potential upgrades or changes to your storage plan to meet your needs better.
Locate and click on Manage Allocations to view a list of all your current allocations.
Within the Manage Allocations section, find the specific allocation you want to check.
Click on the three dots next to the allocation.
Select View Storage Providers from the dropdown menu.
Step 3: Review Blobber Details:
The system will display a detailed list of all the storage providers (blobbers) associated with your selected allocation.
Review each blobber's information, which include their name, geographic location, health status, and other relevant data. This information provides insight into where and how your data is being stored.
