Global document storage directory

Last update: January 3, 2025

CREATED FOR:

  • User
  • Developer

The global document storage (GDS) directory is a directory used to store long-lived files that are used within a process. These files include PDFs, policies, and form templates. Long-lived files are a critical part of the overall state of many AEM forms deployments. If some or all long-lived documents are lost or corrupted, the Forms Server may become unstable. Input documents for asynchronous job invocations are also stored in the GDS directory and must be available to process requests. It is important that you consider the reliability of the file system that hosts the GDS directory. User a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) or other technology as appropriate for your quality and level of service needs.

Long-lived files may contain sensitive user information. This information may require special credentials when accessed by using the AEM forms APIs or user interfaces. It is important that the GDS directory is properly secured through the operating system. Only the administrator account that is used to run the application server should have read/write access to the GDS directory.

In addition to selecting a secure, highly available directory for GDS, you can also choose to enable document storage in the database. Notice that even with using the AEM forms database for document storage, AEM forms still requires the GDS directory. (See Backup options when database is used for document storage.)

AEM forms application data resides in the GDS directory and the AEM forms database. The following table describes the data and its locations.

AEM forms DataDatabaseGDS
Application data (users, roles, processes, policies, endpoints, events, and so on.)YesNo
Deployed service containersYesNo
Document ManagerNoYes
Forms RepositoryYesNo
System configurationYesNo
Watched foldersNoYes

Configuring the GDS directory

The location of the GDS directory can be configured manually during the AEM forms installation process. If the location setting remains empty during installation, the location defaults to a directory under the application server installation as follows:

  • (JBoss) [appserver root]/server/[type]/svcnative/DocumentStorage
  • (WebLogic) [appserverdomain]/'server'/adobe/DocumentServer/DocumentStorage
  • (WebSphere) [appserver root]/installedApps/adobe/'server'/DocumentStorage

Change the default GDS location

You can change the GDS location in administration console after the AEM forms installation is completed. Manually relocate the data to complete the process.

NOTE
  • Migrate the data in the following manner or data loss will occur.
  • Ensure that the user has admin privileges to access the administrator console.
  1. Log in to administration console and click Settings > Core System Settings > Configurations.
  2. In the Global Document Storage Directory box, enter the full path to the new GDS directory and then click OK.
  3. Immediately shut down the application server.
  4. Move all the files from the old GDS directory to the new location, keeping the internal directory structure.
  5. Restart the application server.