Setting up M-Files Ground Link

Before you set up the Ground Link feature, make sure that these prerequisites are completed:

gRPC connections are permitted on the on-premises server on which the Ground Link proxy will be configured. This server is later in this instruction called Ground Link proxy server.

If you connect the Ground Link proxy to an on-premises vault, also make sure that these prerequisites are completed:

gRPC connections are permitted on the M-Files server.
The M-Files server has a valid TLS certificate for the encryption of the gRPC connections.

For more information, refer to the knowledge base document Setting Up M-Files to Use gRPC.

To set up the Ground Link feature, you first install external repository connectors to a Ground Link proxy. Then, you set up repository connections in the vault. After that, you can see and edit the on-premises data directly from the vault.

Enabling Ground Link Connection

Complete these steps to enable the channel connection for Ground Link in a vault:

Open M-Files Admin and go to a vault.
1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand an M-Files server connection.
3. Expand Document Vaults.
4. Expand a vault.
Click Configurations.
In the navigation area, expand Advanced Vault Settings > Configuration.
Click Ground Link.
On the Configuration tab, set Enabled to Yes.
Click Save.
Restart the vault for the settings to take effect.

Note: Taking a vault offline should always be done in a controlled manner and the vault users should be notified beforehand.
In the gray navigation area, expand External Repositories > Ground Link and select Configuration.

On the Configuration tab, specify these settings:


Setting name		Description	Example value
Enabled		This setting specifies whether Ground Link is enabled or not.	Yes
Remoting Service	Shared Secrets	A shared secret lets a Ground Link proxy authenticate the vault. Make sure that the shared secret is complex and long enough. You can specify one or more shared secrets. You must enter the shared secret when you configure the Ground Link proxy.
Remoting Service	Timeouts	The timeout values specify in seconds how long remote calls wait for a response. Use the default values. Note: These settings are not available for M-Files Cloud vaults.
Keep Alive Interval		This setting specifies in seconds how frequently the vault makes sure that the Ground Link services are connected.	60 (default value)

Optional: Specify the other settings.
For more information, select a setting and see the Info tab.
Click Save.

Now that the vault uses Ground Link, you can configure the Ground Link proxy.

Configuring a Ground Link Proxy

Before you start, make sure that these prerequisites are completed:

Your Ground Link proxy server has sufficient hardware resources. See the recommended hardware setup.
You have M-Files Server and M-Files Admin installed on the Ground Link proxy server. However, a separate license for M-Files Server is not necessary.
You are logged in to M-Files Server with a login account that has the System administrator server role. To create a login account, see Creating a Login Account.
Your Ground Link proxy server can connect to the on-premises resources (for example, a network folder or an external database) that you want to make available in the vault.

To configure a Ground Link proxy on the Ground Link proxy server:

Open M-Files Admin.
In the left-side tree view, expand a connection to M-Files server.
Click Ground Link Proxies.
On the right-side pane, click New Ground Link Proxy.
Result:The New Ground Link Proxy dialog is opened.
Enter a name for the Ground Link proxy.
Select the database engine for storing Ground Link proxy data.
- To use Firebird, select Use Firebird.
  or
- To use Microsoft SQL Server, select Use Microsoft SQL Server.
For more information, see Database engine and data storage.
Click Define.
Result:The settings dialog for the search engine is opened.

Complete one of these options:

Option	Description
On the Ground Link Proxy - Firebird dialog	Click the ... button and select the file location for the Ground Link proxy data. Click OK to close the dialog.
On the Ground Link Proxy - Microsoft SQL Server dialog	Do the steps from 6 to 10 in Migrating the Ground Link Proxy Database to Microsoft SQL Server.

Click OK to close the New Ground Link Proxy dialog.
Install those external repository connectors that your vault will use to the newly created Ground Link proxy.

Note: If a valid vault application license is necessary for a connector, the license will be for the vault and for the server that contains the vault.

For more information, see Installing and Managing Vault Applications.

Example: To get access to on-premises network folders from M-Files Cloud, install M-Files Network Folder Connector.

Result:The Ground Link proxy is now ready for configuration.
In the left-side tree view, under Ground Link Proxies, select the newly created Ground Link proxy.

On the Configuration tab, specify these settings:


Setting name		Description	Example value
Enabled		This setting specifies whether Ground Link is enabled or not.	Yes
Password		Enter a password that you will use when you apply a configuration for a Ground Link service in the vault.
Channel	Network Address	Enter the network location of the server to connect to. If you connect the Ground Link proxy to an M-Files Cloud, enter the DNS name of the vault.	aa-consulting.cloudvault.m-files.com
	Port number	Enter the port that the server listens. If you connect the Ground Link proxy to an M-Files Cloud vault, the correct port number is 443. If you use the gRPC protocol, use the same port number that your M-Files client uses to connect to the server. For more information, see Adding a Vault Connection. Make sure that the necessary ports are open in the firewall.	443 or 7766
	Secure	This setting specifies whether a secure (SSL encrypted) channel connection is used. In production environments, insecure connections are not recommended.	Yes
	Vault GUID	Enter the GUID of your vault. To see the vault GUID, right-click the vault and select Properties. The GUID is shown in the Unique ID field in the Document Vault Properties dialog.	{990827D8-8AF2-4A4EB1214C1A8AD8ECD0}
	Shared Secret	Copy the shared secret from the vault configuration. The channel connection cannot be established if the shared secret does not match one of the shared secrets specified for Ground Link.
	Reconnect Interval	This value specifies in seconds how frequently the Ground Link proxy tries to connect when the vault is disconnected.	60 (default value)
	Keep Alive Interval	This value specifies in seconds how frequently the Ground Link proxy makes sure that the connection to the vault operates correctly.	60 (default value)
	Timeouts	The timeout values specify in seconds how long remote calls wait for a response. Use the default values.
Multi-Server Compatibility	Check Compatibility	This setting specifies whether the multi-server mode compatibility is checked. If you connect the Ground Link proxy to an M-Files Cloud, this setting must be set to Yes.	Yes (default value)

Optional: Specify the other settings.
For more information, select a setting and see the Info tab.
Click Save.

The connection between the vault and the Ground Link proxy is established. Next, you can set up the Ground Link services in the vault.

You can see the status of the vault connection on the Dashboard tab.

Configuring External Object Types over Ground Link

This example tells you how to configure M-Files OLE DB External Object Type Connector in a vault as a Ground Link service to update object types to and from an external database. You can also use the external object type (EOT) connector for value lists. For instructions on how to configure other available M-Files EOT connectors, refer to Installing and Configuring M-Files Connector for Salesforce and Installing and Configuring M-Files Connector for Microsoft Dynamics 365 in M-Files Support Portal.

On the Ground Link proxy server, make sure that the M-Files OLE DB External Object Type Connector application is enabled:

Open M-Files Admin.
In the left-side tree view, expand a connection to M-Files server.
Expand Ground Link Proxies.
Right-click a Ground Link proxy and select Applications.
Result:The Applications dialog is opened.
In the list of applications, find M-Files OLE DB External Object Type Connector and make sure that its status is Enabled. By default, the application is disabled.
To enable the application:
1. Select M-Files OLE DB External Object Type Connector.
2. Click Enable.
3. In the dialog that is opened, click Yes to restart the Ground Link proxy.
Click Close to close the Applications dialog.
On the Ground Link proxy dashboard, make sure that the vault and the EOT connector are connected:
- Cloud Vault Connection shows a green circle ().
- In Installed Connectors, M-Files OLE DB External Object Type Connector shows that one or more servers are connected.
  
  For example:
  
  Note: After the application is enabled, it can take a few minutes to create the server connection for the EOT connector. If necessary, click Refresh to update the view.

Next, create an object type, that uses the EOT connector, to the vault:

Open M-Files Admin and go to a vault for which you have enabled the Ground Link connection.
1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand an M-Files server connection.
3. Expand Document Vaults.
4. Expand a vault.
Expand Metadata Structure (Flat View).
Click Object Types.
In the task area, click New Object Type.
Result:The Object Type Properties dialog is opened.
Specify the information on the General, Advanced, and Permissions tabs. For instructions, see Creating a New Object Type.

Finally, configure the connection to the external database:

In the Object Type Properties dialog, go to the Connection to External Database tab and enable the option Use a connection to an external database to import and modify objects that reside in the external database.
Select Application connection.
In Service, select M-Files OLE DB from Ground Link proxy <name of the Ground Link proxy>.
Click Configure.
If M-Files asks whether you want to create the object type, select Yes.
In the External Object Type Connector dialog that is opened, configure the connection to the external database. For instructions, see Connections to External Databases for Object Types.
After you have saved the configuration, do these operations to make sure that the connection operates without erros:
1. Click Test Select in the top-right corner of the dialog to test the SELECT statement. If the test is successful, M-Files shows you a summary of the property mappings. If the test fails, errors are shown instead. In this case, edit the configuration and try again.
2. Make sure that there are no errors on the Local and Server tabs in the lower-left corner of the dialog. If there are errors, use the given information to solve them.
Click Close to close the External Object Type Connector dialog.
In the Object Type Properties dialog, click OK.

The object type is now updated to and from the external database.

Configuring Connectors over Ground Link

This example tells you how to configure M-Files Network Folder Connector in a vault as a Ground Link service. For information on support for other connectors, contact our customer support in M-Files Support Portal or your M-Files reseller.

Before you begin, make sure that M-Files Network Folder Connector is installed to the Ground Link proxy that is connected to your vault.

To configure a connection to a Ground Link proxy:

Open M-Files Admin and go to a vault for which you have enabled the Ground Link connection.
1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand an M-Files server connection.
3. Expand Document Vaults.
4. Expand a vault.
Click Configurations.
In the navigation area, expand External Repositories.
Click Ground Link.

On the Dashboard tab, you see the connected Ground Link proxies with the available Ground Link services. Make sure that the service that you want to configure, in this case Network Folder, is online.
In the gray navigation area, expand first the Ground Link node and then the Ground Link proxy whose service you want to use.
In the gray navigation area, select the Ground Link service, in this case Network Folder.
On the Dashboard tab, select Add Connection.
In the confirmation dialog that is opened, click OK.
On the Dashboard tab, click Configure to configure the new connection.
For more information, refer to Installing and Configuring M-Files Network Folder Connector.
Click Save.
Click Apply.
Result:The Enter Password dialog is opened.
Enter the password that is defined in the Ground Link proxy configuration.
Optional: Authenticate background users. After you have given the credentials, save and apply the settings again.
For more information, refer to Installing and Configuring M-Files Network Folder Connector.
Click Save.
Optional: Repeat the steps from 5 to 12 to add more connections.

Now you have access to the on-premises network folders from the vault. The objects in the network folders are shown in M-Files. You can edit them and give them metadata in the same way as objects that are stored in the vault.