Metalnx 3.0.0

February 12, 2025

TRiRODS

Chapel Hill, NC

Justin James

Application Engineer, iRODS Consortium

Overview of Changes

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

Version 3.0.0 of Metalnx was released this week.

  • 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.

Overview of Changes (continued)

 

  • New User Form Changes
    • User creation form defaults user type to "rodsuser".  The previous default was "rodsadmin".
    • No longer has a "Personal Information" section since this information was not being stored in the iRODS database.
    • Adding group assignments at the time of user creation was awkward and has been removed.  Group assignment now must be done via the "Groups" page.
  • Added a configuration option to enable/disable the public link.  (Default is disabled.)
  • Update library dependencies.
  • Bug fixes 

Metalnx Database (irods-ext)

Just to give you 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
  • 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 determined the resource in this instance.

 

Other issues deemed no longer applicable due to the removal of the Metalnx database and templates. 

Questions and Demo

Thank you.

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