The Kinetica File System (KiFS) is a file system interface that's packaged with Kinetica. It provides a repository for users to store and make use of files within the database.
KiFS can be leveraged by several Kinetica features:
- UDFs (in SQL)
- External tables (in SQL)
- /insert/records/fromfiles API calls (SQL LOAD INTO)
KiFS files can be referenced with the following URI:
kifs://<kifs directory><kifs file>
For example, the following URI can be broken down into three components:
kifs://data/geospatial/flights.csv
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| Scheme | kifs:// |
| Directory | data |
| File | /geospatial/flights.csv |
The unique KiFS file name, when referenced in the API, is the composite of the directory and file:
data/geospatial/flights.csv
Configuration
KiFS makes use of Amazon S3 for managing files, automatically configured during provisioning.
SQL Interface
KiFS, as of Kinetica v7.1.5, is able to be managed via SQL. See Files & Directories (KiFS) for details.
Files can be uploaded to and downloaded from KiFS using Kinetica SQL (KiSQL) or any JDBC client by using the Kinetica JDBC Driver.
Native API Support
The Kinetica Java API provides a streamlined interface for managing files & directories in KiFS. See KiFS API Support for details.
