Cloud-based File Storage: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "= ownCloud = SIAT provides a Dropbox-like service with the added benefit of storing your files on our local, hosted-in-Canada, on-campus server. That service is called OwnClo...")
 
 
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= ownCloud =
= SFU Vault =
SIAT provides a Dropbox-like service with the added benefit of storing your files on our local, hosted-in-Canada, on-campus server. That service is called OwnCloud.
SFU is offering access to the highly versatile SFU vault cloud storage service to faculty, staff, and students who have an active SFU Computing ID. This service is available at no cost and can be used across multiple devices.  The servers reside in British Columbia which eliminates any risk of storing sensitive information within US-based cloud storage providers such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.


[https://owncloud.iat.sfu.ca https://owncloud.iat.sfu.ca]
SFU vault provides easy file sharing between teams or individual users to assist in the various projects undertaken by University members and to foster collaboration from external access points.


= FAQ =
Faculty, staff, and students will only require Internet connectivity from any location to manage their files in the cloud storage system
; Big deal - I already use DropBox.
: For personal use, Dropbox is fine.  But for research work, SFU has a stated position that no SFU business or documents (including email, calendars) should be sync'd to non-Canadian cloud services:
: [http://www.sfu.ca/itservices/info_security/cloud-computing-faq.html http://www.sfu.ca/itservices/info_security/cloud-computing-faq.html]


; I want to access all my stuff on all my devices.
More information and setup instructions can be located here:
: ownCloud is great for seamlessly integrating field-work with lab-work and office-work!  Clients are available for Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS and Blackberry.
[https://www.sfu.ca/itservices/collaboration/sfu-vault.html https://www.sfu.ca/itservices/collaboration/sfu-vault.html]
: [http://owncloud.org/install/ http://owncloud.org/install/]


; Rather than using a client, is there another way to work with my ownCloud share?
= ownCloud =
: Sure - WebDAV!  Here are some guidelines if you want to try WebDAV: [http://doc.owncloud.org/server/5.0/user_manual/files/files.html http://doc.owncloud.org/server/5.0/user_manual/files/files.html]
As of March 2, 2019, our SIAT ownCloud server has been shut down.  It has been superceded by the SFU Vault service that is also based on the ownCloud platform.
 
; Can I share my stuff selectively with other SIAT Researchers?
: Yes, ownCloud can share individual files with system-users.
 
; Can I selectively share stuff with non-SIAT folks?
: Yes, you can share a really, really long link (tough to stumble across), and you can even password-protect your shared information. Perfect for collaboration.  You can turn off sharing at any time.
 
; What do I need to begin using ownCloud?
: [http://owncloud.iat.sfu.ca Log in], using your SIAT research-computing-credentials: [http://owncloud.iat.sfu.ca http://owncloud.iat.sfu.ca] Try logging in with a web-browser first, then set up the desktop/mobile clients.
 
; Is my data safe?
: Probably; let's look at three aspects of "safe":
:# The hardware is the "best" we've put together in SIAT - in the interests of not losing data from hard-drives, we've employed RAID-6, which allows for two drive-failures without data-loss, and on top of that we have already-spinning "hot-spare" drives ready to step in and auto-replace any failed drive.  We DO NOT have tape-backups, nor off-site storage/replication of data.
:# Your data is encrypted when communicating with the server. We use the same cryptographic quality that DropBox does (AES-256 encryption with RSA 2048-bit keys).
:# Your data IS NOT ENCRYPTED on the server.  This was a deliberate decision to faciliate collaboration and file-sharing. Please use your own file-encryption utility if this is important to you, and be aware that collaboration becomes much more difficult.
 
; Does syncing consume lots of bandwidth?
: It can, if you have lots of data (either a large number of files, or a few files which are themselves large).  You can help reduce bandwidth consumption by selectively-syncing.
 
; How much storage space can I use?
: 50GB.  Obviously, we have a finite amount of storage and 50GB has been estimated to be a useful amount of space.

Latest revision as of 20:45, 26 February 2019

SFU Vault

SFU is offering access to the highly versatile SFU vault cloud storage service to faculty, staff, and students who have an active SFU Computing ID. This service is available at no cost and can be used across multiple devices. The servers reside in British Columbia which eliminates any risk of storing sensitive information within US-based cloud storage providers such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

SFU vault provides easy file sharing between teams or individual users to assist in the various projects undertaken by University members and to foster collaboration from external access points.

Faculty, staff, and students will only require Internet connectivity from any location to manage their files in the cloud storage system

More information and setup instructions can be located here: https://www.sfu.ca/itservices/collaboration/sfu-vault.html

ownCloud

As of March 2, 2019, our SIAT ownCloud server has been shut down. It has been superceded by the SFU Vault service that is also based on the ownCloud platform.

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