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Frequently Asked Questions

This page answers common questions about using, configuring, and extending the Visual Asset Management System (VAMS).

User Management​

How do I reset my password?​

The password reset process depends on your authentication provider:

  • Amazon Cognito (default): An administrator can reset your password through the VAMS web interface under Admin - Auth > User Management, or by using the VamsCLI command vamscli user cognito reset-password. You will receive an email with a temporary password.
  • External OAuth Identity Provider: Password management is handled by your external identity provider. Contact your organization's identity administrator.
note

The User Management page is only visible when Amazon Cognito authentication is active.

How do I add a new user?​

Using the web interface:

  1. Navigate to Admin - Auth > User Management.
  2. Select Create User.
  3. Enter the user's email address and any required attributes.
  4. The user receives an email with a temporary password.

Using the VamsCLI:

vamscli user cognito create --email user@example.com

Using the API:

POST /user/cognito

After creating the user, assign them to a role under Admin - Auth > User Roles to grant appropriate permissions.

Why can I not see certain navigation pages?​

VAMS uses a two-tier permission system. Navigation pages are filtered based on your assigned role constraints. If a page is missing from your navigation menu, your role does not include a web object type constraint that grants access to that route. Contact your VAMS administrator to review your role assignments and constraints.

tip

If no navigation items appear at all, a message will display indicating that your user does not have permissions to view any web navigation pages.

Asset Management​

How do I make an asset downloadable?​

When creating or editing an asset, set the isDistributable flag to true. This flag controls whether download operations are permitted for the asset. Assets with isDistributable set to false will not generate presigned download URLs.

How do I import existing Amazon S3 data?​

VAMS can register assets from existing Amazon S3 buckets in two ways:

  1. External asset buckets: Configure app.assetBuckets.externalAssetBuckets in infra/config/config.json with the bucket ARN, base assets prefix, and default sync database ID. VAMS will index existing objects as assets during deployment.

  2. Direct Amazon S3 placement: Place files into a VAMS-managed asset bucket under the correct prefix structure ({assetId}/{files}). The Amazon S3 bucket sync process will detect new objects and create corresponding asset records.

warning

When importing from external buckets, ensure asset IDs do not conflict with existing assets in other databases. See Known Limitations for details.

How do I back up VAMS data?​

VAMS data is stored across Amazon DynamoDB tables and Amazon S3 buckets. To back up your data:

  • Amazon DynamoDB: Enable point-in-time recovery (PITR) on VAMS DynamoDB tables, or use AWS Backup to create scheduled backups.
  • Amazon S3: Enable versioning on asset buckets (enabled by default) and configure Amazon S3 Lifecycle rules or AWS Backup for cross-region replication if needed.
  • Amazon OpenSearch: Use OpenSearch snapshot and restore for search index backups, though indexes can be rebuilt from DynamoDB data using the re-index tool.

For full environment migration, use the data migration scripts provided in infra/deploymentDataMigration/.

Search and Filtering​

Can I use VAMS without Amazon OpenSearch?​

Yes. Amazon OpenSearch is optional. When neither OpenSearch Serverless nor OpenSearch Provisioned is enabled:

  • The NOOPENSEARCH feature flag is set automatically.
  • The web application hides search-specific UI elements.
  • Asset and file listing uses Amazon DynamoDB queries with pagination instead of full-text search.
  • Advanced search features (full-text search, metadata field filtering, relevance ranking) are not available.

Deployment and Configuration​

Can I deploy to AWS GovCloud?​

Yes. VAMS supports AWS GovCloud (US) regions with specific configuration requirements:

  1. Set app.govCloud.enabled: true in infra/config/config.json.
  2. Set app.useGlobalVpc.enabled: true (required for GovCloud).
  3. Set app.useCloudFront.enabled: false (CloudFront is not available in GovCloud).
  4. Set app.useLocationService.enabled: false (Location Service is not available in GovCloud).
  5. Use the ALB deployment mode for the web interface.

A GovCloud-specific configuration template is provided at infra/config/config.template.govcloud.json.

What file types are blocked from upload?​

The following file extensions are blocked by the VAMS upload API for security reasons:

.jar, .java, .com, .php, .reg, .pif, .bak, .dll, .exe, .nat, .cmd, .lnk, .docm, .vbs, .bat

Additionally, the following MIME types are blocked:

application/java-archive, application/x-msdownload, application/x-sh, application/x-php, application/javascript, application/x-powershell, application/vbscript

info

These restrictions apply only to the upload API. Files placed directly into Amazon S3 buckets bypass these checks.

How do I connect VAMS to my existing authentication system?​

VAMS supports external OAuth 2.0 identity providers as an alternative to Amazon Cognito. To configure external authentication:

  1. Set app.authProvider.useCognito.enabled: false in your configuration.
  2. Set app.authProvider.useExternalOAuthIdp.enabled: true.
  3. Provide the required OAuth 2.0 endpoints:
    • idpAuthProviderUrl -- Identity provider base URL
    • idpAuthClientId -- OAuth client ID
    • idpAuthProviderTokenEndpoint -- Token endpoint
    • idpAuthProviderAuthorizationEndpoint -- Authorization endpoint
    • idpAuthProviderDiscoveryEndpoint -- Discovery endpoint
    • lambdaAuthorizorJWTIssuerUrl -- JWT issuer URL for token validation
    • lambdaAuthorizorJWTAudience -- Expected JWT audience
  4. Deploy the stack with the updated configuration.

Refer to the Configuration Guide for the complete list of required external OAuth fields.

Extensibility​

How do I add a custom 3D viewer?​

VAMS uses a plugin-based viewer architecture. To add a custom viewer:

  1. Create a viewer plugin directory under web/src/visualizerPlugin/viewers/YourViewerPlugin/.
  2. Implement the React component following the ViewerPluginProps interface.
  3. Register the viewer in web/src/visualizerPlugin/config/viewerConfig.json with its supported extensions, priority, and category.
  4. Add the component path to web/src/visualizerPlugin/viewers/manifest.ts.
  5. If the viewer has external dependencies, add a custom install script under web/customInstalls/.

Refer to Viewer Plugins for the complete viewer reference and the plugin README at web/src/visualizerPlugin/README.md for development details.

How do I create a custom pipeline?​

To create a custom processing pipeline:

  1. Create a directory under backendPipelines/{useCase}/ with lambda/ and optionally container/ subdirectories.
  2. Implement the vamsExecute Lambda handler to receive workflow payloads.
  3. Implement the constructPipeline Lambda to build the container job definition.
  4. Create a CDK nested stack under infra/lib/nestedStacks/pipelines/.
  5. Add the pipeline configuration to infra/config/config.ts under the pipelines section.
  6. Register the pipeline in the pipeline builder nested stack.
  7. Add the pipeline feature flag to the VPC builder if it requires AWS Batch or Amazon ECR endpoints.

VAMS pipelines support three execution types: Lambda (synchronous or asynchronous), Amazon SQS (asynchronous), and Amazon EventBridge (asynchronous). Refer to the Developer Guide for detailed pipeline development instructions.