Self hosted 'Dropbox like' storage solution for Windows

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schnoman

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#194902 29-Mar-2016 14:48

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the active community here, but have had plenty of help reading around throughout the years. Thanks to all of you out there.

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a storage platform that offers similar capability to Dropbox etc. I.e. has a web interface which users can connect and also a sync agent for clients, but is self hosted. Would need to be based on a Windows platform. I had ownCloud in mind but it seems as of recently they've dropped Windows support.

Any first hand experience would help me make a decision too.

Thanks very much.

Andib

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#1522245 29-Mar-2016 14:53

We use Citrix Sharefile with on premise storage, Fits well into our "Citrix friendly" environment.

Currently have 1000+ active users across Web, iPad and Windows clients.

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taneb1

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Mercury

#1522251 29-Mar-2016 15:03

I used Seafile for the past few months, and didn't notice any difference compared to what I had with Dropbox but was self hosted on a VPS out of Auckland.
The install was pretty straight forward (I was running Ubuntu) and was using their iPhone App and Desktop Sync on Windows
Also has built in file encryption which is an added bonus if you are that way inclined.

If you are using 1-3 Users you can also get their Professional Edition for free which has a number of more business focused features then their Community Edition (which is still very good in its own sense)

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davidcole

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#1522304 29-Mar-2016 15:49

Tonido might be a solution. THat used to have a windows version, but it's been a while since i used it.

I can't remember if you have to do all the port forwarding for that or not.

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semigeek

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#1522305 29-Mar-2016 15:50

Tonido or AeroFS?

http://www.tonido.com

https://www.aerofs.com

freitasm

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#1522332 29-Mar-2016 16:19

I use Tonido at home. Pretty good stuff if you have Windows hardware around.

No port forward needed.

regs911

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1522773 30-Mar-2016 13:20

The solution/product really depends what you're using it for.

If it's for home use I have no idea on a good free product, however if it's for business and security is a must, you're best to have a look at CloudFileSync.com they're a Melbourne based start-up offer similar capabilities to Dropbox, Owncloud, ShareFile etc... but with a real focus on business features and security with on-premise deployments. CloudFileSync has a good web interface which users can connect and also a sync agent for clients, and can be self hosted on your Windows PC/servers and is simple to setup, well priced and very secure.

We looked at Enygte, Critix and AreoFS, FileCloud and CentreStack before going with CloudFileSync due to our requirements for more than one server and high availability (HA), as we have an on-premise servers in 3 offices and a HA fail back to remote data centre.

CloudFileSync is a good product and the support is Melbourne based, so if you have an issue you can just message them and they call you straight back. We have been using them the last few months and they're great and we opted for them due the local and server side encryption, multiple servers for the one organisation and HA. For all the security and business features they're quite cheap.

schnoman

3 posts

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#1522778 30-Mar-2016 13:32

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I've narrowed it down to FileCloud & CloudFileSync so will have a play with those. FYI it's for business use.

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michaelmurfy

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#1522785 30-Mar-2016 13:48

What is stopping you from firing up a Linux VM on HyperV and running Owncloud? Seems it is far superior from the Windows options mentioned - also free and open source.

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davidcole

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#1522787 30-Mar-2016 13:49

michaelmurfy: What is stopping you from firing up a Linux VM on HyperV and running Owncloud? Seems it is far superior from the Windows options mentioned - also free and open source.

blasphemer!!!

schnoman

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1522799 30-Mar-2016 14:10

I don't have anything against Linux in general, & take this as opinion rather than matter of fact...and as we also digress a little from the original question let's keep it short.

Putting up a single Linux system up in business environments that are by-and-large Windows-based creates disparity and support issues (VMware doesn't really count in this capacity, as it's only serving to split/provide efficient access to the hardware - unless you're talking enterprise level fail over etc. although my argument is to always use as fewer vendors as possible unless there's a really good reason - stops finger pointing...and Hyper-V's catching up ;-) ).

I'm also not comfortable enough with Linux to ensure I can secure it to the same level I can a Windows box in a domain environment - AD & NTFS permissions etc. are rather handy (*holds breath for all the rebuffing I'm about to get* ;-) ). As for whether it's 'far superior', that's subjective at best depending on the needs of the business & the company behind the product.

deadlyllama

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#1522839 30-Mar-2016 15:13

schnoman:

I don't have anything against Linux in general, & take this as opinion rather than matter of fact...and as we also digress a little from the original question let's keep it short.

Putting up a single Linux system up in business environments that are by-and-large Windows-based creates disparity and support issues [...]

I'm also not comfortable enough with Linux to ensure I can secure it to the same level I can a Windows box in a domain environment [...]

As much as I hate to say it, I'd agree with that. If you're a Windows shop, with staff who know Windows, unless you want to hire new sysadmins or train your existing ones, you'll be stuck with Windows. Or some very badly maintained Linux boxes set up by the guy who installed Ubuntu once. If you can't fix it, or hire people who can, don't put it in your environment.

myopinion

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Ultimate Geek

#1522845 30-Mar-2016 15:40

Linux free...what about the support thats require? In my experience a Linux server ended up costing us more than a licensed Windows server would have. Every time we needed to add some feature it was another grand in fees.

deadlyllama

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#1522850 30-Mar-2016 15:57

myopinion:

Linux free...what about the support thats require? In my experience a Linux server ended up costing us more than a licensed Windows server would have. Every time we needed to add some feature it was another grand in fees.

Fees from who? Contractors to set it up? "Enterprise" Linux with a support contract?