S3-Compatible Storage Configuration

S3 (Simple Storage Service) provides reliable and long-term storage of an unlimited number of files and data. It gives a way to avoid the limitations of the file system when it comes to large amounts of data.

Important

The minio:latest release no longer supports the required functionality. The latest version that is guaranteed to work is minio:RELEASE.2025-04-22T22-12-26Z.

Configure S3-Compatible Storage

In this section, we will describe how to configure S3-compatible MinIO storage for operation with FindFace Multi. If you prefer another S3-compatible storage, you are responsible for configuring it.

Prepare a server on Ubuntu.

Note

MinIO operation has been tested on Ubuntu only. Refer to the official MinIO documentation to find out whether other OS are supported.

To start a container with MinIO, execute the following command, specifying the MINIO_ROOT_USER and the MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD login credentials:

docker run -d \
  -p 9003:9000 \
  -p 9004:9001 \
  -e "MINIO_ROOT_USER=admin" \
  -e "MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=admin_admin" \
  -v /path/to/storage_directory:/data \
  quay.io/minio/minio:RELEASE.2025-04-22T22-12-26Z server /data --console-address ":9001"

where /path/to/storage_directory is a directory allocated for the S3 storage.

MinIO web interface address will depend on the interface that you have selected during FindFace Multi installation in step #4.5. The port in use is 9004, e.g., 192.168.112.254:9004. Log in to the MinIO web interface with MINIO_ROOT_USER, MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD login credentials that you have specified in the previous step.
In the MinIO UI, create a bucket (Buckets → Create Bucket). Assign a default name ffsec.storage to the bucket.

Note

We advise keeping the bucket name ffsec.storage as suggested by default, because it corresponds to the 'STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME' parameter in the /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-legacy/findface-multi-legacy.py and /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-legacy/findface-multi-identity-provider.py configuration files. If you use another name for a bucket, make sure to adjust it in the above-mentioned configuration files accordingly.
Click on the bucket to open its settings.
Change the access policy for the bucket to public for the correct processing of video archives.
In the User → Access Keys section, create an access key. Write down the Access key and Secret key values as you will need them later for FindFace Multi configuration.

Note

MinIO UI may differ. In the earlier versions, set up an access key in the Identity → Service Accounts → Create service account section.

Configure FindFace Multi to Employ S3-Compatible Storage

In the /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-legacy/findface-multi-legacy.py configuration file, locate the EXTERNAL_STORAGE_CONFIG section.
```
sudo vi /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-legacy/findface-multi-legacy.py

EXTERNAL_STORAGE_CONFIG = {
    'STORAGE_TYPE': None,
    'STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME': 'ffsec.storage',
    'ACCESS_KEY_ID': 'access-key',
    'SECRET_ACCESS_KEY': 'secret-key',
    'REGION_NAME': 'eu-west-3',
    'LOCAL_S3_SETTINGS': {
        'CONNECTION_ADDRESS': 'localhost:9003',
    },
}
```
Configure the EXTERNAL_STORAGE_CONFIG parameters:
1. The 'STORAGE_TYPE' parameter may take values None, 'LOCAL', 'AWS':
  - None – local file system (default)
  - 'LOCAL' – any S3-compatible storage (e.g., MinIO)
  - 'AWS' – Amazon S3 storage.
  Change the 'STORAGE_TYPE' parameter to 'LOCAL' to enable S3-compatible storage.
2. The values of the 'STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME', 'ACCESS_KEY_ID', and 'SECRET_ACCESS_KEY' parameters should correspond to those that were specified during MinIO initialization.
3. 'REGION_NAME' – the default value is eu-west-3. It can be changed in MinIO settings.
4. In the 'LOCAL_S3_SETTINGS' → 'CONNECTION_ADDRESS', replace the localhost with MinIO IP host address, e.g., 192.168.112.254.
Configure the /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-identity-provider/findface-multi-identity-provider.py file in the same way. Locate the EXTERNAL_STORAGE_CONFIG section and apply changes analogous to those made in the /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-legacy/findface-multi-legacy.py file in the previous step.

For the UI to load content (thumbnails, full frame images, reports, and so on), configure the /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-ui/nginx-site.conf file. In the server section, locate the set $csp_policy and specify the host and port of the S3 storage {ip_host_s3}:9003 in the default-src, img-src, media-src, and connect-src directives, e.g.:

sudo vi /opt/findface-multi/configs/findface-multi-ui/nginx-site.conf

server {
        ...

        set $csp_policy "default-src 'self' 192.168.112.254:9003; img-src 'self' 192.168.112.254:9003 *.tile.openstreetmap.org blob: data:; media-src 'self' 192.168.112.254:9003 blob:; connect-src 'self' 192.168.112.254:9003 data:; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; frame-src 'self';  object-src 'self'; frame-ancestors 'self'";
        ...
}

Restart all FindFace Multi containers.

cd /opt/findface-multi

sudo docker-compose down
sudo docker-compose up -d

Data Transfer Command

To transfer data to either remote or local storage, use the following command:

sudo docker exec -it findface-multi-findface-multi-legacy-1 /opt/findface-security/bin/python3 /tigre_prototype/manage.py transfer_data --to_local / --to_remote

The argument --to_remote transfers data to remote storage.
The argument --to_local transfers data to the local file system.

Before executing the above command, make sure that you have configured FindFace Multi to use S3-compatible storage.