Configure multitenant storage zones
A multitenant storage zone is a ShareFile storage zones controller feature that enables ShareFile Service Providers to create and manage a single storage zone that is shared by all tenants.
If you are a ShareFile Service Provider with a partner account provisioned by ShareFile, you can host one multitenant standard storage zone on your domain that supports an unlimited number of tenants. Using a multitenant zone enables you to:
- Provide each tenant with a unique ShareFile account and leverage all the great ShareFile features, such as custom branding, file retention preferences, and security settings.
- Maintain a single storage repository for all of your tenants.
- Onboard new customers faster and reduce the cost and management complexity of creating a separate storage zone for each customer account.
Create a partner account
You must have a partner account before you can register a multitenant storage zone.
To create a partner account, you must register with the CSP program and order a stocking SKU with your preferred distributor that entitles you to offer ShareFile as a service.
If you are already registered as a CSP and have ordered the appropriate ShareFile for CSPs stocking SKU a partner account has already been created for you. If you are unable to locate this new partner account, please contact ShareFile Account Services at acctsvcs@sharefile.com.
As you begin to provision customer accounts under your CSP ShareFile offering, we recommend creating a generic service account admin user on your partner account. This admin can manage all of your customer accounts. Ensure that the service account admin has the Manage Tenants permission enabled.
Install and set up a Multi-Tenant storage zone
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Create a new multitenant storage zone and associate it with your partner account. For details, see Install storage zones controller and create a storage zone.
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Install the storage zone controller and select the checkbox Is Multitenant Zone during the initial zone setup. This setting cannot be changed afterwards.
Configure the new storage zone and associate it with your partner account
For details, see step 10 in Install storage zones controller and create a storage zone.
Log into your partner account where you want to register the new zone.
Important:
This account must have the following ShareFile permissions: Manage Tenants and Create and Manage Zones.
You can now log in to your partner account and see the new multitenant storage zone. Click the Account settings > Storage zones > Partner-managed tab.
Create and manage tenant accounts
In your ShareFile partner account, go to Account settings > Advanced Preferences > Tenant Management. The dashboard lets you view each tenant's status, license consumption, default storage zone, storage consumption, and account status. You can also download the tenant list as a CSV file, cancel accounts, convert trial accounts to paid accounts, and change account plans.
To create a tenant account:
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Select Add Tenant.
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Complete the account type, plan, and any optional support information.
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Under Storage Zone, select Add to Multi-Tenant (Partner-hosted).
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Select Finish.
Any new users provisioned to the tenant account use the multitenant zone as the default location for their files. For complete procedures, see Tenant Management.
Note:
The dashboard is available only to users in your partner account who have the Manage Tenants permission enabled.
Previewing Office files and PDFs with an Office Online Server
This functionality is supported in Office Online Server environments. For setup instructions, see Configure storage zones controller for Web App previews, thumbnails, and view-only sharing.
Connector sharing
This functionality is supported with multitenant zones.
Multitenant limitations
The ShareFile Information Rights Management feature (IRM) is not supported for multitenant storage zones.
Troubleshooting
Failed to create zone: Forbidden
Upon storage zone registration, if you receive the following error: "Failed to create zone: forbidden", check that your user permissions include the "Manage Tenants" permission.