Google Cloud Storage External Storage Setup

Overview

Google Cloud Storage (GCS) is a scalable and durable object storage solution from Google Cloud Platform (GCP). CHEQ supports GCS as an external destination for both one-time and scheduled reports, allowing you to securely export and store your CHEQ reports in a designated bucket for later use and analysis.

Create Your Google Cloud Storage Bucket & Service Account

1. Create a GCS Bucket

   1. Log into the Google Cloud Console.

   2. Navigate to Cloud Storage > Buckets and click Create Bucket.

   3. Provide a globally unique Bucket Name (e.g., cheq-analytics-data).

   4. Select your desired Region and default storage class, then finish creation.

2. Create a Service Account for CHEQ

   1. In the GCP Console, go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.

   2. Click Create Service Account, give it a descriptive name, and assign it the role:

      1. Storage Object Admin (to allow read/write access to the bucket).

3. Generate a Key for the Service Account

   1. Select the newly created service account.

   2. Under Keys, click Add Key > Create New Key.

   3. Choose JSON format.

   4. Save the key file securely - you will need values from this file.

Send CHEQ Data to Google Cloud Storage

In the CHEQ platform:

1. Select the relevant product and navigate to Data Exports from the left menu

2. Select the Reports or Report Scheduler tab at the top of the page and click Create Report or Create Report Scheduler, depending on whether you need a one-time report or a recurring scheduled report.

3. Fill in the required fields. Note that the available fields may vary depending on the report selected.

   • Report Type: Select the report type - either Time-series or User Data. If you select User Data, you will also need to choose a user identifier. 

   • Detail Level: Select the relevant option (e.g., Detection detailed)

   • Report Name: Enter a descriptive name for your export (e.g., CHEQ Report).

   • Frequency: Select how often the report should run (Daily, Weekly, etc.).

   • File Format: Choose CSV or XLSX formats.

   • Send To: Select External Storage.

   • Cloud Storage Provider: Choose Google Cloud Storage.

   • Storage Level: Select Flat or Nested.

   • Bucket Name: Enter the GCS bucket name you created.

   • Access ID: Enter the Client Email value from your service account JSON file.

   • Secret: Paste the Private Key value from your JSON file.

The interface will look something like this, where External Storage has been selected:

Populate the fields with the information you just generated from your Google Cloud Storage and click Test Connection to verify that the connection succeeded. You can also check Set as default connection to automatically apply this setup to all future reports. 

Access CHEQ Scheduled Reports Using Google Cloud Storage

Once reports are delivered:

• Go to Cloud Storage > Buckets > <bucket-name> in the Google Cloud Console.

• Look for a folder named after your Scheduled Name (e.g., CHEQ Report).

• The bucket folder path follows the format:

  <bucket-name>/<report_name>/<report_start_date>/

• The report filename follows the format:

  <report_start_date>_<file_num>.<format>