Metalnx v3.1.0

Justin James

Application Engineer

iRODS Consortium

June 17-20, 2025

iRODS User Group Meeting 2025

Durham, NC

Overview of Changes

Metalnx is a web application that is a web based file browser for iRODS.
 

Version 3.1.0 of Metalnx was released in June.

  • Removal of the irods-ext database.
    • Removal of favorites, templates, user profiles, and bookmarks.
    • Removal of user fields that only exist in the irods-ext database.
  • Configuration option added to hide the left sidebar.
  • Added support for the 10 level permission model in iRODS.
  • Upgraded third party packages.
  • New User Form Changes
    • User creation form defaults user type to "rodsuser" (was "rodsadmin")
    • Removed "Personal Information" section
      • Not stored in the iRODS catalog
    • No group assignments at the time of user creation
      • Now must be done via the "Groups" page
  • Added configuration option to enable/disable the public link
    • Default is disabled
  • Removed admin credentials in configuration file
    • Metalnx now authenticates directly with user credentials (no proxy user)
  • Update library dependencies
  • Bug fixes 

Overview of Changes (continued)

Metalnx Database (irods-ext)

To give an idea of what has been deleted....

Metalnx Database (irods-ext)

The Metalnx database provided the following additional functionality:

  • Additional user information (last name, first name, department, etc.)
  • User profiles
  • Bookmarks
  • Favorites
  • Metadata Templates

 

Rationale for removing the database

  • Wanted a generic stateless iRODS GUI.
    • Code is simplified and more maintainable.
  • Only wanted a single source of truth.
    • No longer require a background jobs with admin credentials to keep duplicated data in sync.
    • Synchronization was buggy.
  • Some features can be implemented in the iRODS server.

Left Sidebar Changes - rodsadmin version

Before 3.0.0

3.0.0

Support for Ten Level Permission Model

Old

New

New User Form Changes

Old

New

Enabling the "Public" Link

  • The "Public" link on the left sidebar is now disabled by default.
     
  • To enable the public link update /etc/irods-ext/metalnx.properties:
##########################################################   
# Setting to enable/disable the "Public" sidebar link.
# The default is "false" (hidden)
##########################################################
sidebar.show.public=true

Library Updates

  • metalnx-web
    • tomcat docker image - tomcat:jdk11-adoptopenjdk-hotspot -> tomcat:9.0.98-jdk21-temurin-noble
    • spring - 4.3.18 -> 5.3.39
    • spring security - 3.0.10 -> 5.8.16
    • spring batch - 3.0.10 -> 4.3.10
    • servlet api - 3.0.1 -> 4.0.1
    • logging - slf4j 1.7.7 -> log4j 2.24.3
    • jettison - 1.4.0 -> 1.5.2
    • commons-fileupload - 1.3.3 -> 1.5
    • commons-io - 2.7 -> 2.14.0

 

  • jargon-irods-ext
    • spring - 4.3.18 -> 5.3.39
    • spring security - 3.23.10 -> 5.8.16
    • spring batch - 3.0.8 -> 4.3.10

Bugs Fixed

#133 - iRODS connections remain open when CAT_INVALID_USER is returned.  Connection now closed when Jargon throws  InvalidUserException is thrown from Jargon.

#189 - CSV download failure when exporting CSV from a metadata query when only data objects match the query.  Fixed logic around CSV download.

#307 - spring4shell vulnerability.  Remedied with spring version updates.

#327 - Users created outside of Metalnx are not listed in Metalnx.  iRODS is now the single source of truth.

#373 - Uploads fail when Metalnx's default resource is blank.  Now we allow iRODS to determine the resource in this instance.

#392 - Fix calculation for default max total bytes for zip service.  Report download limit violation to client.

jargon #510 - Fix handling of passwords with backslash and semicolon.


Other issues deemed no longer applicable due to the removal of the Metalnx database and templates. 

Future Work

  • Migrate from Jargon to irods4j
     
  • Update from Spring 5 to Spring 6
    • Some of this work has been completed but this requires a major refactor of the code.

 

  • More bug fixes

Questions and Demo

Thank you.