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Workspaces

Workspaces is available in Mimiq Pro
Mimiq's Workspaces feature lets you remount any folder in a Media Composer-compatible way, akin to how NEXIS makes folders on shared storage available. This allows you to use any type of storage for bin locking. This is particularly useful for utilizing non-NAS storage like RAID, SAN (e.g. Quantum StorNext), and local folders as independent NEXIS shares.
Using a LucidLink Filespace on macOS but can't use your Workspace in Media Composer? Update your Workspaces drivers: Download

Installation

Using Mimiq for Windows? No need to install anything additional – skip to Add a Workspace.
When you attempt to add your first Workspace, Mimiq performs a Preflight Check to confirm all necessary components are installed and loaded on your Mac. If not, Mimiq will prompt you to install the missing components.

1. macFUSE

macFUSE is a macOS kernel extension used to create virtual filesystems. It's built and maintained by Benjamin Fleischer (More information: https://osxfuse.github.io)
The steps to install macFUSE will vary based on:
  1. 1.
    Your Mac - is it Apple silicon or Intel?
  2. 2.
    Which version of macOS you're using.
If your Mac is managed through MDM, stop now and contact your System Administrator. The following steps below will not apply when using MDM.

Apple Silicon and Reduced Security

On Apple silicon, you'll first need to set your Mac's security policy to "Reduced Security" to be able to load signed kernel extensions. If you're on Intel, you can skip to Install macFUSE.
Apple's use of "Reduced Security" language is misleading. With it, your Mac's security is on par with the level of security you've come to expect with previous versions of macOS.
  1. 1.
    Shut down your Apple silicon Mac.
  2. 2.
    Press and hold down the power button until your Mac boots. Your Mac will either send you directly into macOS' Recovery environment, or you'll see an Options button leading to that.
  3. 3.
    Log in with your user account and select the disk you want to use.
  4. 4.
    In the menu bar, go to Utilities, then select Startup Security Utility.
  1. 5.
    Click Security Policy...
Select the disk and click Security policy
  1. 6.
    Select Reduced Security, then enable: Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers .
  1. 7.
    Click OK.
  2. 8.
    In the menu bar, select Shut Down.
  3. 9.
    Turn your Mac back on (press but don't hold the power button this time), then log in.

Install macFUSE

  1. 1.
    Click + Add a Workspace. If Mimiq can't detect macFUSE on your Mac, Mimiq prompts you to install macFUSE first.
  1. 2.
    Click Install. Mimiq downloads a DMG with the macFUSE installer, then opens it for you.
  2. 3.
    In the mounted macFUSE DMG window, double-click Install macFUSE, then follow the prompts to complete installation.
Right before you complete macFUSE installation, a System Extension Blocked or System Extension Updated dialog will appear. Now you'll need to approve macFUSE to load in macOS.

Approving macFUSE in macOS

Confirm which version of macOS you're using with Mimiq, then follow these steps to approve macFUSE to load in macOS:
macOS 13 and newer
macOS 12
macOS 11 and older
  1. 1.
    In the System Extension Blocked or System Extension Updated dialog, click Open System Settings.
    • If you clicked OK instead, click Open Security & Privacy System Preferences in the installer.
  2. 2.
    System Settings will launch, taking you to Privacy & Security > Security.
  3. 3.
    Under the System software from developer "Benjamin Fleischer"… prompt, click Allow.
  4. 4.
    Two Privacy & Security dialogs will appear:
    1. 1.
      In the first Privacy & Security dialog (Privacy & Security is trying to modify your system settings.), enter the password from a local macOS Administrator account, then click Modify Settings.
    2. 2.
      In the second Privacy & Security dialog (Privacy & Security needs to authenticate to continue.), enter your macOS account’s password, then click OK.
  5. 5.
    Restart your Mac. It may restart multiple times.
  1. 1.
    In the System Extension Blocked or System Extension Updated dialog, click Open Security Preferences.
    • If you clicked OK instead, click Open Security & Privacy System Preferences in the installer.
  2. 2.
    System Preferences will launch, taking you to Security & Privacy > General.
  3. 3.
    Click the lock 🔒 in the lower-left corner, then authenticate using a local macOS Administrator account.
  4. 4.
    Once Security & Privacy > General is unlocked, next to the System software from developer "Benjamin Fleischer"… prompt, click Allow.
  5. 5.
    Click OK, then Restart your Mac. It may restart multiple times.
  1. 1.
    Launch System Preferences, then go to Security & Privacy > General.
  2. 2.
    Click the lock 🔒 in the lower-left corner, then authenticate using a local macOS Administrator account.
  3. 3.
    Once Security & Privacy > General is unlocked, click Allow.
  4. 4.
    Click Restart Now.
macFUSE is now installed. ✅

Still no success?

Try loading the kernel extension manually in Terminal:
macOS 11 and newer
macOS 10.15.7
sudo /usr/bin/kmutil load -p /Library/Filesystems/macfuse.fs/Contents/Extensions/11/macfuse.kext
kextload /Library/Filesystems/macfuse.fs/Contents/Extensions/10.15/macfuse.kext
If that returns an error like system policy prevents loading and/or doesn't load macFUSE, your computer is very likely under IT management policies that prevent kernel extensions to load. Talk to your IT department first, they'll know what to do.

2. Additional Components

Once you install macFUSE, you’ll need to install some additional components – autoconf, pkgconfig, bindfs, and Apple Command Line Tools (CLT).
  1. 1.
    Click + Add a Workspace. If Mimiq can't detect the required additional components on your Mac, Mimiq prompts you to install those first.
  2. 2.
    Click Install. Mimiq downloads Mimiq Workspaces.pkg then launches the Install Mimiq Workspaces installer for you.
  3. 3.
    In the Install Mimiq Workspaces window, follow the prompts to complete installation.
  4. 4.
    The installer will detect if CLT is on your Mac. If CLT isn’t installed:
    1. 1.
      You’ll see a dialog: Apple Command Line Tools is missing.
    2. 2.
      You’ll be prompted to install CLT: The "xcode-select" command requires the command line developer tools.
    3. 3.
      Click Install, then wait. (CLT is hosted by Apple, and the timers are known to be exaggerated.)
    4. 4.
      Once CLT is installed, click Close in the Apple Command Line Tools is missing dialog.
  5. 5.
    Back in the Install Mimiq Workspaces window, follow the prompts to complete installation.
The additional components for Workspaces are now installed, and you're ready to add your first Workspace. ✅

Add a Workspace

  1. 1.
    Click the Mimiq icon in the menu bar (macOS) or System Tray (Windows), then + Add a Workspace.
  1. 2.
    Select a folder to create a Workspace, then click Select (macOS) or Select Folder (Windows).
  2. 3.
    Your Workspace will appear in Mimiq with a green 🟢 status, then mount in Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows).
You can access your Workspace through Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows) or double-click a Workspace listed in Mimiq to open it in a new window.
To use a Workspace with Media Composer, follow the steps in Mimiq's Getting Started article, starting with Step 4 - Launch Media Composer.
You can currently create a maximum of 8 Workspaces in Mimiq for macOS.

Disable a Workspace

Click the Mimiq icon in the menu bar (macOS) or System Tray (Windows), mouse over the Workspace you wish to disable, then click (⋯) > Disable.
Your Workspace will appear in Mimiq with a grey ⚪️ status.
Disabling a Workspace renders it temporarily unavailable to Media Composer without removing it. You may want to disable a Workspace to simplify media management by reducing the number of volumes Media Composer can read from / write to.

Remove a Workspace

Click the Mimiq icon in the menubar (macOS) or System Tray (Windows), mouse over the Workspace you wish to remove, then click (⋯) > Remove Workspace.
Once you remove a Workspace, it's ejected from your computer and no longer available in Media Composer until you add it again.

Questions

What happens if I add/remove/disable a Workspace while Media Composer is open?

Media Composer cannot cope with volumes mounting/ejecting (or connecting/disconnecting) while it’s open.
If you need to add/remove/disable a Workspace, quit/exit Media Composer first.

Why does Mimiq say my Workspace is Unreachable?

Either your shared storage is unavailable (e.g. disconnected from the network, powered off), or someone renamed the source folder you selected.
Take the appropriate action to make that source folder available again, then quit-then-relaunch Mimiq.
If Mimiq still says the Workspace is Unreachable, you may have to remove the Workspace and then re-add it.

My SAN is mounted, so why does Mimiq say, No lockable volumes found?

Unlike other eligible volumes, Mimiq will not show the mount point of your SAN share as a lockable volume.
As long as you have read and write permissions to that share, once you add a folder from your SAN as a Workspace, Mimiq will activate Bin Locking on that folder.

Can I create Workspaces on one computer, then share those same Workspaces with other Mimiq users?

Yes. Mimiq saves paths to Workspaces in a JSON file:
macOS
Windows
~/Library/Application Support/Mimiq/MimiqWorkspaces.json
C:\Users\(Your Windows Account)\AppData\Roaming\Mimiq\Workspaces.json
You could even sync this JSON file among your local and remote team members using something like Resilio Sync, as long as you sync it among Mimiq users with a matching operating system.

I followed all the steps to install and approve macFUSE to load in macOS, but macOS keeps telling me System Extension Blocked. What can I do?

If your Mac is managed through MDM, stop now and contact your System Administrator.
Starting in macOS Big Sur, the local kernel extension (i.e. kext) database in macOS may not retain your decisions on approving third-party system or kernel extensions to load in macOS. If macOS doesn't load macFUSE despite multiple approvals from you, you can safely reset macOS' kext database, which revokes approval for all third-party kexts installed on your system volume.
Once you reset the local kext database, you can log back into macOS and approve any/all system or kernel extensions installed on your Mac.
  1. 1.
    Save any open work, then power down your Mac.
  2. 2.
    Once your Mac is fully powered down, power up your Mac again in Recovery mode.
  3. 3.
    Choose your system volume, log in with a macOS Administrator account, then launch Terminal.
  4. 4.
    Use this command to reset your Mac's Kernel Extension database:
    1. 1.
      kmutil trigger-panic-medic --volume-root /Volumes/(SYSTEM VOLUME)
      • If your system volume has a space in its name (e.g. Macintosh HD), enclose the volume name in quotation marks (e.g. "/Volumes/Macintosh HD").
    2. 2.
      Press the (Return) key.
      • If you entered this command correctly, you'll see this response, All third party kexts have been unapproved and uninstalled from /Volumes/(SYSTEM VOLUME).
  5. 5.
    Restart your Mac.
Once you log into macOS, you'll likely be greeted with multiple dialog boxes saying...
  • System Extension Updated
  • System Extension Blocked
...along with confirmation that you triggered the Panic Medic Boot.
You've successfully reset your local kext database in macOS.
Now you can approve macFUSE, and any other existing system or kernel extensions, to load in macOS.