Nextcloud

Nextcloud is a suite of client-server software for creating and using file hosting services. It is enterprise-ready with comprehensive support options. Being free and open-source software, anyone is allowed to install and operate it on their own private server devices.

Nextcloud
Developer(s)Nextcloud GmbH.,[1] Community
Stable release
Server25.0.1 / November 3, 2022 (2022-11-03)[2]
Android3.22.1 / October 21, 2022 (2022-10-21)[3][4]
iOS4.5.0 / October 19, 2022 (2022-10-19)[5][6]
Desktop3.6.1 / October 19, 2022 (2022-10-19)[7]
Repository
Written inPHP, JavaScript
Operating systemServer: Linux
Clients: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
TypeOnline storage, data synchronization
LicenceAGPL-3.0-or-later
Websitenextcloud.com

Nextcloud is functionally similar to Dropbox, Office 365 or Google Drive when used with its integrated office suite solutions Collabora Online or OnlyOffice. It can be hosted in the cloud or on-premises. It is scalable from home office solutions based on the low cost Raspberry Pi all the way through to full sized data centre solutions that support millions of users.[8]

The original ownCloud developer Frank Karlitschek forked ownCloud and created Nextcloud, which continues to be actively developed by Karlitschek and other members of the original ownCloud team.

Features

Nextcloud files are stored in conventional directory structures, accessible via WebDAV if necessary. User files are encrypted during transit and optionally at rest. Nextcloud can synchronise with local clients running Windows (Windows 7, 8, and 10),[9] macOS (10.6 or later), or various Linux distributions.

Nextcloud permits user and group administration (via OpenID or LDAP). Content can be shared by defining granular read/write permissions between users and groups. Alternatively, Nextcloud users can create public URLs when sharing files. Logging of file-related actions, as well as disallowing access based on file access rules is also available.[10]

Nextcloud has planned new features such as monitoring capabilities, full-text search and Kerberos authentication, as well as audio/video conferencing, expanded federation and smaller user interface improvements.[11]

On 17 April 2018, the Federal Information Technology Centre (ITZBund) of Germany announced the decision of the tender for the "Bundescloud".[12] 300,000 people in the ministries and other federal institutions will use the Nextcloud software.

Nextcloud Box
Nextcloud Box package

In September 2016, Nextcloud, in cooperation with Western Digital Labs and Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu), released the Nextcloud Box.[13] The Nextcloud box was based on a Raspberry Pi, running Ubuntu Core with Snappy; it was intended to serve as a reference device for other vendors.[14] In June 2017, Western Digital shut down Western Digital Labs,[15] which caused the production of the box to end.[16]

History of the fork from ownCloud

In April 2016 Karlitschek and most core contributors [17] left ownCloud Inc.[18] These included some of ownCloud's staff according to sources near to the ownCloud community.[19]

The fork was preceded by a blog post of Karlitschek, asking questions such as "Who owns the community? Who owns ownCloud itself? And what matters more, short term money or long term responsibility and growth?"[18] There have been no official statements about the reason for the fork. However, Karlitschek mentioned the fork several times in a talk at the 2018 FOSDEM conference, emphasizing cultural mismatch between open source developers and business oriented people not used to the open source community.[20]

On June 2, within 12 hours of the announcement of the fork, the American entity "ownCloud Inc." announced that it is shutting down with immediate effect, stating that "[…] main lenders in the US have cancelled our credit. Following American law, we are forced to close the doors of ownCloud, Inc. with immediate effect and terminate the contracts of 8 employees.". ownCloud Inc. accused Karlitschek of poaching developers, while Nextcloud developers such as Arthur Schiwon stated that he "decided to quit because not everything in the ownCloud Inc. company world evolved as I imagined".[21] ownCloud GmbH continued operations, secured financing from new investors and took over the business of ownCloud Inc.[22]

See also
  • Seafile (FOSS client-server software for file storage and transfer)
  • Comparison of file hosting services
  • Comparison of file synchronization software
  • Comparison of online backup services

References
  1. "Official Company Website".
  2. "Nextcloud Server Changelog". Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  3. "Changelog of Android-App at Github". Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  4. "Play store site for Android". Google Play. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  5. "iOS app Github Releases". Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  6. "App Store site for iOS". App Store (iOS). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  7. "Changelog of Nextcloud desktop client". Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  8. Nestor, Marius (2021-03-25). "Canonical, Collabora, and Nextcloud Deliver Work From Home Solution to Raspberry Pi Users". 9to5Linux. Retrieved 2021-04-15. ...fully pre-configured and automatically updated in time so you won’t have to do any manual maintenance on it
  9. "Installing the Desktop Synchronization Client — Nextcloud Client Manual 2.4.0 documentation".
  10. "File Access Control – A firewall for your private files in Nextcloud". 25 August 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  11. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (14 December 2016). "Nextcloud adds security and scalability to its private cloud offering". ZDNet. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  12. "Die cloudbasierte Datenorganisation des Bundes". 24 October 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  13. "Nextcloud Box – a private cloud and IoT solution for home users – from Nextcloud, Canonical and WDLabs Box". Nextcloud. 16 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  14. Swapnil Bhartiya (16 September 2016). "Everything you need to know about Nextcloud Box". CIO.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  15. Kevin Parrish (22 June 2017). "Source confirms Western Digital is closing WDLabs and canceling projects". Digital Trends. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  16. "Nextcloud box updates: Raspberry Pi 3, Nextcloud 12 and looking for a new provider". Nextcloud. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  17. Github (1 June 2016). "Contribution overview to Nextcloud Server". Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  18. Frank Karlitschek (27 April 2016). "big changes: I am leaving ownCloud, Inc. today". blog. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  19. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (2 June 2016). "OwnCloud founder forks popular open-source cloud". ZDNET. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  20. Frank Karlitschek (4 February 2018). "Why I forked my own project and my own company".
  21. Swapnil Bhartiya (6 June 2016). "What we can learn from ownCloud's collapse". CIO.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  22. "ownCloud Secures Financing and Expands its Management Team - ownCloud". 14 July 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nextcloud.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.