About this update

The updates include several bug fixes, enhancements in file handling, performance optimization, and other improvements in all supported versions of Nextcloud Hub. You can find the full changelog on our website.

Updates are available for:

• Nextcloud Hub 6 (version 27.1.9)
• Nextcloud Hub 7 (version 28.0.5)

Make the most of your platform with Nextcloud Hub 8

Even more automated and optimized all around, Nextcloud Hub 8 is here to give you back control over your time. Upgrade today to unlock multiple new features in your favourite platform:

• Nextcloud Assistant: Chat summaries, Nextcloud Mail reply suggestions, answers based on your data, and more!
• Interactive previews for files, folders, boards and events
• Federated chat and message editing in Talk
• Mini-apps based on Tables
• Public Collectives sharing, previews and QR-codes
• Manage your team resources like a pro with Nextcloud Teams
• Forms: automatically sync with a spreadsheet
• And much more

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

Always keep your server up to date!

Nextcloud’s minor releases primarily focus on addressing security vulnerabilities and functionality bugs, avoiding major system overhauls that could jeopardize user data. Keeping your server up to date is vital, and our approach to testing and validation ensures that upgrading to minor releases is generally smooth and reliable.

For mission-critical Nextcloud systems in enterprise settings, consider switching to Nextcloud Enterprise. The tier provides you with ultimate deployment confidence: direct access to the Nextcloud engineering team, full assistance throughout deployment and integration, and peace of mind for system administrators. If you’re responsible for maintaining Nextcloud in your setting, this option may be the ideal solution for you.

The post Maintenance updates for Nextcloud Hub 6 and 7 are here appeared first on Nextcloud.

OVHcloud is a returning sponsor of Nextcloud Enterprise Day – Nextcloud’s annual enterprise event for like-minded industry professionals and decision-makers to get the most out of their Content Collaboration Platform.

By supporting Nextcloud Enterprise Day, OVHcloud reinforces its position as a cloud provider that values privacy, security, and open-source standards, offering solutions that empower organizations to maintain control over their data while leveraging the benefits of cloud technology.

At last year’s Enterprise Day 2023, OVHcloud’s CEO, Michel Paulin, underlined this ambition in his virtual speech:

About OVHcloud

OVHcloud, a global cloud computing service provider, offers scalable and flexible web hosting, server, private and public cloud solutions for businesses, developers and individuals. With a commitment to data autonomy and transparency, OVHcloud enables efficient IT infrastructure management while advocating for privacy and innovation.

A powerful partnership

Grounded by a strong and solid technology partnership, Nextcloud and OVHcloud work on interesting joint cooperations. Nextcloud users can easily integrate dedicated AI services from OVHcloud in Hub 6 and 7 and OVHcloud clients have very simple access to install cloud services from Nextcloud on their OVHcloud infrastructure.

Since their founding, Nextcloud and OVHcloud share a plethora of shared values and the following aligned principles:

Open-source philosophy

Nextcloud is built on open-source software, allowing for transparency, flexibility, and community collaboration. Similarly, OVHcloud supports open-source initiatives, as seen in the five core values of their SMART cloud, and contributes to various open-source projects. This shared commitment to open-source values fosters innovation and empowers users and developers alike.

Data sovereignty pioneers

Both Nextcloud and OVHcloud are at the forefront of the data sovereignty vision, advocating for a world where the public sector, businesses and individuals alike have access to all their data with a high level of data security. While Nextcloud emphasizes self-hosting options, giving users more control over their data and enabling them to comply with regulations like GDPR, OVHcloud implements robust security measures across its infrastructure and data centers, ensuring the safety and privacy of customer data. We envision a world where users won’t have to worry about the interference of any extraterritorial laws like the U.S. Cloud Act that pose substantial risks to European’s personal data.

Further demonstrating our dedication to this vision, in 2021 Nextcloud filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission about Microsoft’s anti-competitive, bundling behavior. Later that year, together with a coalition of some 30 NGOs and other European tech companies, we publicly called on the EU to take action and we haven’t stopped there.

OVHcloud also takes a firm stance on data rights, with their CEO Michel Paulin stating, “EU policymakers should have the courage and intellectual honesty to establish a sovereign cloud as well as to regulate American cloud service providers under the EU’s antitrust Digital Markets Act regulation.”

Our powerful partnership has the potential to enact change in establishing a level playing field for cloud service providers and a data-sovereign cloud for all.

GDPR compliancy

Ensuring GDPR compliance is paramount for both Nextcloud and OVHcloud as we both prioritize data security and privacy in the EU. With a strong commitment to adhering to local laws and regulations, both of our companies go the extra mile to safeguard user data within the EU.

OVHcloud’s local data centers are a testament to their dedication to compliance with GDPR requirements.

Scalability and Flexibility

Nextcloud and OVHcloud both offer scalable solutions tailored to the needs of businesses and individuals. Nextcloud can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, accommodating various use cases and organizational sizes. OVHcloud provides scalable cloud infrastructure with options for custom configurations, enabling users to adapt their resources as their requirements evolve.

A history of alliance

While Nextcloud and OVHcloud operate in different niches within the cloud computing landscape, our shared values of data security, privacy, openness, scalability, customer focus, and innovation unite us in our mission to provide reliable and user-centric cloud solutions.

Accordingly, we partner at major events and tech conferences together like at the leading IT security event, it-sa in Nuremberg, Germany. It-sa provided us the platform to talk about our secure and sovereign cloud collaboration in a large audience of IT leaders and participants from around the world.

The Open Trusted Cloud (OTC) initiative

The Open Trusted Cloud, or OTC, program aims to build vibrant ecosystems of software publishers – SaaS and PaaS companies around an open, reversible, secure, transparent and trusted cloud. Started by OVHcloud and joined by Nextcloud in 2022, we share common values about compliance with local data regulations and data sovereignty.

“The Open Trusted Cloud is an ecosystem of European software manufacturers and puts the European offer effectively in the spotlight – a structure with a common voice that conveys our messages clearly. To strengthen their position, software manufacturers should work with other European players together. By acting together, we can increase the impact and share costs.”

– Khaled Allab, director of the Open Trusted Cloud

We’re also both members of the CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe) association, with OVHcloud being a founding member, that aims to standardize the rules for personal data protection throughout Europe. In addition, we’re both members of the German GAIA-X project, a European initiative for developing an efficient, competitive, secure and trusted data infrastructure for the European Union.

OVHcloud representing our shared vision at Enterprise Day 2024

This year, OVHcloud’s Vincent Le Fort, Sales Director Tech DACH Market, will be giving a short talk about our common vision and commitment to our customers at Nextcloud Enterprise Day.

This is a unique opportunity to learn more about our collaboration at our upcoming event and meet the OVHcloud team.

We are looking forward to sharing this day with you and celebrate our shared values.

The post OVHcloud and Nextcloud’s commitment to customers: data that stays your data appeared first on Nextcloud.

Ongoing public concerns over real-time video scams has been the spur to gain global attention as we witness new major incidents taking place increasingly more. Take a Hong Kong MNC recently falling prey to a scammer in a colossal $25.6 million heist — the deepfake technology has already evolved enough to bring on a whole new brand of fraud.

What remains is a call to action. Are there ways to protect yourself and your organization against con men posing as your boss, your business partner, or even your own mother? Let’s find out!

First things first, let us start with the definition.

What is a deepfake?

In case the definition of a deepfake is still unclear to some, a deepfake is content generated using deep learning techniques that is intended to look real, but is in fact fabricated. Artificial intelligence (AI) used to generate deepfakes typically employs generative models, for example, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) or auto-encoders.

Deepfakes are used not only in video content, but also in audio recordings and images. The purpose of a deepfake is often to depict an individual or a group saying or doing something that they never did in reality. To produce content that appears convincing, the AI must use large datasets in its training. It allows the model to recognize and reproduce natural patterns present in content it is designed to mimic.

While deepfake technology is a breakthrough with great potential in the film industry and game development, as well as a rising social media trend, it also opens dangerous opportunities for illegal use. The examples are numerous and include identity theft, evidence forging, disinformation, slander and biometric security bypass. In all cases, fraudsters typically leverage the depicted person’s authority over the targeted individuals or personal connection to them, depending on the setting.

Where can you encounter a deepfake?

Deepfakes are used to produce video, audio or image content, as a recorded media or a real-time stream. It can be a YouTube video, a ‘leaked’ recording in a social post, a phone call or a video conference – the opportunities are practically unlimited.

Depending on the purpose, the format is picked accordingly. For example, political disinformation works best where mass engagement is possible, meaning that spreading it publicly via social media is the best tactic. Whereas seeking a private gain from a company or or individual requires a more intimate setting and often a personal conversation.

When it comes to threats to your personal life, finance or security, we can narrow down the most dangerous deepfake scenarios to encounters with people you care about, trust , or report to. This can be a family member, a friend, or an authority figure at work such as your boss or a company executive.

The setting will most likely be private: whether over a phone call or a video meeting. Personal meetings are much easier to execute and give the faker much more control over the situation. The conversation, whatever the background is, will lead you to an action under a sense of urgency or fear – most likely to transfer a sum of money. The tactic is to deceive your logic and common sense using fear, compassion or even ambition.

As generative AI development drives a huge interest and investment, we are entering a dangerous zone: real-time video, the most sophisticated and convincing deepfake use case yet, still has a very little awareness.

Deepfakes in real-time video

Real-time video deepfakes generate manipulated video content in real-time for immediate application during live streams and video calls. Voice cloning and face swapping are the most frequently used techniques to compose a complete faked environment.

Face swapping

Face swapping is a common application of deepfakes, allowing the software to replace facial features of a target person with fake features, most often those of another person. With facial landmark detection and manipulation techniques, the blending appears seamless and hard to spot when caught unaware.

Voice cloning

In addition to looking convincing, a faker also needs to sound convincing. For this part, voice cloning is used. In voice cloning, the AI replicates the voice of the individual. A significant amount of high-quality audio data is required to train a voice cloning model, usually obtained from recordings of the target person speaking in various contexts and using different intonations.

Curiosity time: how does a deepfake setup actually work?

Deepfake technology is capable of impersonating real-life individuals and doing it in a real-time setting, making the result even more convincing (and terrifying!). But how does the software work in a way that we encounter deepfakes using familiar meeting platforms?

Deepfake generation software can be integrated with streaming platforms and video conferencing tools in many ways:

• It could function as a separate application that captures the video feed, processes it in real-time, and then sends the manipulated feed to the video conferencing software.
• Alternatively, it might be integrated directly into the video conferencing software as an optional feature or plugin.
• Another way, even more sophisticated and hard to detect is camera input, namely a virtual camera. Virtual camera intercepts the video feed from the physical camera of the faker. It then outputs the manipulated feed to the video conferencing software. The faker just picks the virtual camera as their camera input and voilà! (not funny, we know).

How to protect yourself against deepfakes?

Finally, to the most important part. How do you protect yourself against a deepfake, or at least get prepared to spot a fake boss making a sketchy request over video?

Privacy-first videoconferencing software is a key to safe meetings. Meet Nextcloud Talk, a powerful chatting and meeting platform that lets you regain control.

Learn more

Watch out for red flags

AI face swapping technology maybe advanced, but it’s not perfect. There are red flags you can spot, or at least learn to look out for when something seems off or unnatural:

• Unrealistic facial expressions or movements, including unnatural eye movements, inappropriate blinking, and/or weird lip sync.
• Inconsistencies in lighting and shadows that don’t match the surroundings.
• Unnatural head or body movements, as well as visible blurring or pixelation around the face or neck.
• Inconsistent quality in audio and video and mismatch between the picture and the sound.

Suspicious? Be proactive

There are methods to help you fish out the red flags that generally won’t make the conversation awkward if the person is in fact real.

First, there’s nothing more natural than a casual conversation. Engage in small talk: ask about their day, routine, questions about people you both know, etc. A complete stranger will struggle to be spontaneous and maintain the same personal connection. It’s also easier to catch one off guard when they lose a sense of control.

You can also use other video conferencing features: ask the person to share their screen and show you something related to your common tasks. This will be very difficult to replicate without access.

Finally, once they make a suspicious request, you have more freedom to be alert openly — politely ask them to confirm their identity by providing some exclusive information or send you a confirmation message via a different channel.

Set up a passphrase

One more way to ensure confidence when it comes to sensitive topics is setting up a password or passphrase. This is an easy way to confirm the identity of the people you know, both at work and between family members, and it is equally effective via voice, video and text communication.

Verify identity outside of the meeting

If a faker poses as a person you know well, chances are you have more than one communication channel to reach out with. Use email, a messenger or a personal phone number to contact them and raise a question — the reason is valid.

Don’t let them harvest your data

To replicate and manipulate a person’s voice or image, AI needs a massive amount of data. This data is often gathered beforehand, during online calls and meetings. Features like Recording Consent in Nextcloud Talk may help you protect yourself and others from such a data haul.

Use company software

It’s unlikely for your real boss to set up a meeting via a platform you never use for work. And if they do, they must have a good reason! Don’t be afraid to stand up to suspicious activity.

Using company software means better control over the data and compliance with privacy regulations. Even better — if you run it on-premises! Should an incident happen, the company IT team can run an audit to retrieve the relevant data and investigate.

Ensure secure access to your videoconferencing platform with settings like 2FA, strong passwords, data encryption, activity monitoring, and login restrictions. This applies to your personal settings and administrative controls.

Nextcloud Talk: video and chat with privacy in mind

Using a privacy-oriented, unified workspace with admin control in all apps makes sure your security protocols are in place to detect and prevent breaches. Nextcloud Hub provides a user friendly videoconferencing platform that keeps users happy to stay within company IT.

How Nextcloud Talk protects your data:

• AI-powered suspicious login detection
• Multi-layered encryption with end-to-end encrypted communication
• Brute-force protection
• Fully on-premises, 100% open source

Nextcloud is an open-source project backed by a strong community with proactive approach to vulnerability research and patching. It is designed to let you stay compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and the upcoming EU ePrivacy Regulation.

Get Nextcloud Hub

Download and install Nextcloud Hub here!

Get Hub

The post How to protect yourself against deepfake scams in video calls appeared first on Nextcloud.

In our final round of sponsor announcements for the Nextcloud Enterprise Day, we are delighted to highlight plusserver as one of our sponsors!

plusserver stands as a prime example of cloud innovation “Made in Germany.” In partnership with Nextcloud and HKN, they provide open-source workplace solutions that align with the strictest data protection standards, ensuring data security and autonomy.

Their most recent innovation, plusAI, is a dedicated platform for sovereign and secure AI, highlighting the importance of data sovereignty across their solutions. In cooperation with HKN, plusserver will be showcasing the advantages of their data sovereign cloud platform pluscloud open as a base for your Nextcloud installation and dive into the possibilities that future integrations and add ons will provide.

Circle April 24 in your calendar and register today to learn more about the innovation developed by plusserver and HKN at Nextcloud Enterprise Day.

About plusserver

plusserver is recognized for its commitment to data sovereignty and digital autonomy, establishing itself as a cornerstone in the German cloud services market. With a history rich in innovation and security, plusserver offers GDPR-compliant cloud solutions, offering customers complete control and security of their data. As a founding member of Gaia-X, which aims to create a secure and reliable data infrastructure for Europe, plusserver champions open-source technologies and digital sovereignty.

Their sponsorship of Nextcloud Enterprise Day reflects their dedication to fostering a secure, open, and self-reliant digital ecosystem, alongside sovereign workplace solutions.

About Nextcloud Enterprise Day

Nextcloud Enterprise Day brings together the leaders and decision makers in the enterprise IT landscape. For one day, it provides a platform to foster innovation, exchange experience, and present unique stories behind Nextcloud implementation in various industries.

The agenda encompasses exclusive talks and workshops. Topics include digital sovereignty, the future of AI in business, building a secure and resilient cloud infrastructure, and more.

The April 2024 edition comes to Munich, a city in the heart of Bavaria famous for it’s unique mix of urban ambition, modernity and historical legacy.

The post Enterprise Day 2024 sponsor announcement: plusserver appeared first on Nextcloud.

Nextcloud calls upon the regulators to look through this charade and not be deterred in their efforts to reign in the anti-competitive behavior of Microsoft.

Antitrust cases against Microsoft

There is a series of antitrust cases against Microsoft. The case by Slack resulted, 3 years after filing, in an investigation and is behind Microsoft making a minor concession here, following similar approaches by Apple as it tries to comply in the most minimal way with new EU regulations.

Early 2021, Nextcloud filed an antitrust complaint and, later that year, together with a coalition of some 30 NGO’s and other European tech companies, called publicly on the EU to take action. But, while it also has been well over 3 years, unfortunately there has not been any progress. It is unclear whether that is because the complaint came from a number of smaller companies, due to delay tactics by Microsoft or simply slow bureaucracy.

What it is definitely clear is that the regulators are not able to keep up with the pace at which technology moves and big tech firms abuse their power.

The post Microsoft slows antitrust case by unbundling Teams appeared first on Nextcloud.

From a wide variety of industries and backgrounds, our speakers will provide insightful talks on their experiences with Nextcloud. Read below to discover the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau and discover the unique use case Lars is bringing to the stage.

About the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN)

The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) is a member church of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) with around 1.2 million members and around 1,000 parishes. With around 19,000 full-time employees and 57,000 volunteers, the EKHN is also a large employer in the Hesse and Nassau region.

Lars’ topic: How EKHN uses Nextcloud as a centralized service

EKHN chose Nextcloud so they could have one place that enables everyone to use all of their distributed services. Nextcloud’s all-in-one platform combines file storage, sharing capabilities, office, calendar and so much more making it simple to collaborate and condense work flow.

Currently, around 10,000 users are on their Nextcloud instance working with Files and other apps efficiently.

In Lars’s upcoming talk at Nextcloud Enterprise Day, he will talk about how a heterogeneous organization can provide different services in one place that is both easy to access and use.

About Nextcloud Enterprise Day

Nextcloud Enterprise Day is our top event of the year for business leaders, decision-makers, and project managers to achieve their goals with Nextcloud.

From customer presentations and success stories to networking opportunities and access to management, sales, marketing, and engineering teams, you’re bound to walk away with new information, techniques, and inspiration.

The April 24th edition takes place at the fabulous Marriott hotel in Munich, Germany. Early Bird tickets are available until March 23rd.

The post Enterprise Day speaker: Lars Karrock on connecting 10K users at EKHN in Hesse and Nassau appeared first on Nextcloud.

We are excited to announce SpaceNet as a new sponsor of the Nextcloud Enterprise Day!

With a track record extending over three decades, SpaceNet is now a leading provider in Germany for today’s demand for private, sovereign infrastructure solutions. As a Nextcloud Gold Partner, SpaceNet delivers a comprehensive range of Nextcloud hosting solutions. These services meet many business demands, from highly standardized cloud services ready for immediate use, to customized installations uniquely tailored to individual client requirements.

Positioned in the heart of Munich, Germany, SpaceNet’s data centers are at the forefront of managed Nextcloud offerings. This strategic location not only aligns with the stringent European data protection standards but also reinforces the commitment to providing robust security, supreme efficiency, and complete control over your data.

The event is taking place in Munich, Germany, on April 24. Register for the Nextcloud Enterprise Day today to secure your spot!

About SpaceNet

SpaceNet is a Munich-based provider of managed services and data center solutions that prioritizes security and performance while strongly aligning with GDPR standards and principles. In acknowledgment of the distinct challenges each business faces, SpaceNet offers customized solutions tailored to the unique needs of their clients. SpaceNet has earned the trust of industry leaders such as MVV, Utopia.de, and Antenne Bayern, a testament to the commitment to excellence and innovation in IT solutions.

Providing secure hosting in Germany, SpaceNet contributes to the initiative to build a digitally sovereign European IT. A Gold Partner of Nextcloud, SpaceNet expands its offering with powerful capabilities of Nextcloud. Nextcloud is also a part of Zamadama, the self-service collaboration platform by SpaceNet. Managed Nextcloud is offered both as an immediately available standardised cloud solution and as a customised installation to fit individual requirements. 

About Nextcloud Enterprise Day

Nextcloud Enterprise Day brings together the leaders and decision makers in the enterprise IT landscape. For one day, it provides a platform to foster innovation, exchange experience, and present unique stories behind Nextcloud implementation in various industries.

The agenda encompasses exclusive talks and workshops. Topics include digital sovereignty, the future of AI in business, building a secure and resilient cloud infrastructure, and more.

The April 2024 edition comes to Munich, a city in the heart of Bavaria famous for it’s unique mix of urban ambition, modernity and historical legacy.

The post Enterprise Day 2024 sponsor announcement: SpaceNet  appeared first on Nextcloud.

You ask yourself, what features do I need?

Can it scale up and still be reliable for my whole company?

In today’s world, we demand only the highest caliber online communication tools to meet our needs.

They need to bring you to the next level and break barriers.

That’s why in this blog, you’ll discover why individuals and businesses alike are turning to Nextcloud Talk for its unmatched features, security and seamless collaboration.

A collaborative video conferencing tool

Nextcloud Talk is an open-source video conferencing and chat application. Designed to keep all your online conversations private, whether by video or chat, all data is kept on your own servers and no data – not even metadata – can be leaked.

The features you need for your meetings:

Video conferencing in Nextcloud offers essential and purposeful features to make video calls optimal.

Screen sharing with profile view

Let others in the call see you while you share your screen to foster a more personal encounter.

Easy recording

Record your video conferences for record keeping or later use. Before anyone joins the call, a popup to consent for recording is delivered to ensure full transparency to participants. Download and save your recording in your Nextcloud.

Support for large group conferencing

Lots of participants? No problem. Large groups are well-managed and you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Reactions in calls

Express your feelings in a call to acknowledge someone’s statement, but not go as far as disrupting.

Track call duration and speaker talking times

After one hour, you’ll get a notification that you’ve hit the hour mark so you can stay aware of your time and others’. You’ll also never have to guess how long you’ve been talking, as speaker talking times will be tracked and noted at the end of the call.

Available on web and mobile devices

Take video conferencing from your office, home or on mobile with iOS and Android like never before.

Why it works: Integrated with your Nextcloud

Nextcloud is unique in the sense that everything is connected. You can explore incredible integration capabilities with the rest of your Content Collaboration Platform.

Not sure what that entails?

Nextcloud operates as a one-stop-shop platform integrating its own file storage, email, chat/video platforms and more so you can work efficiently and flexibly.

For example, if you’re in the middle of a call in Nextcloud Talk with a colleague and want to share a proposal your team has been working on, you can open the document directly from the chat sidebar. This is due to Files and Talk being integrated which saves you a lot of time and effort.

The astonishing advantages of Nextcloud operating as a single platform doesn’t stop here – enable hundreds, even thousands, of integration possibilities across all apps with Nextcloud as a Single Platform.

High Performance Backend

Take it a step further with Nextcloud Talk’s High Performance Backend (HPB).

Designed for larger organizations, Nextcloud Talk’s High Performance Backend offers the capacity, reliability and features enterprises need to conduct their business privately, securely and efficiently.

Unbeatable convenience

• Dial-in by a phone line to join a call with SIP bridge
• Conduct large scale webinars, public broadcasting or video conferencing with lobby

As a HPB customer, you will notice improved connection speed and network efficiency after the implementation due to lowering the load from calls on the Nextcloud server.

Why open-source video conferencing

With open-source technology, you have the opportunity to have full reign over your data. Whether you self-host on your own server or use a trusted hosting provider, your communications data happens and remains on your server, unlike popular alternatives like Microsoft Teams or Slack.

This unique protection extends further with our encrypted technologies by even keeping metadata at bay.

The post Nextcloud Talk: Open-source online video conferencing software appeared first on Nextcloud.

Our commitment to democratic values

Nextcloud is committed to democracy, pluralism, and a humane society, actively supporting public sector stakeholders to strengthen democratic institutions. We believe that addressing the underlying issues inherent in fascist ideologies requires meaningful engagement and constructive dialogue. We champion the cause of peaceful, respectful coexistence, and oppose any form of exclusion or racism.

The significance of diversity and inclusion

At Nextcloud, diversity is not just a reality but a valued asset. Our commitment to inclusivity is in line with the values championed by the demonstrators. Our diverse team, representing over 22 countries, collaborates as a community that embodies a global perspective reinforcing our support for the demonstrations against exclusionary and undemocratic ideologies. We stand in solidarity with those opposing the AfD, sharing their dedication to protecting democracy and combating hatred.

Looking forward

We urge other major players in the tech industry to break their silence and join us in taking a clear stance against exclusionary ideologies. Such a stand is not only vital for the health of German and European economies but also for our society as a whole. Let´s stand together for a brighter tomorrow: Nextcloud calls on you – our partners, customers, and the tech community at large! Together, we can build a society that values openness, respect, and diversity. Every action, no matter its size, plays a crucial role in this journey. Let’s make a lasting difference in the world.

The post Statement: Nextcloud stands for an open and free society appeared first on Nextcloud.

Scaling file sync and share architectures from thousands to tens of thousands all the way to millions of users is a difficult task. Along the way, the dynamics of cost and performance change. Storage systems, database performance and data locality drain budget in different ways and at different scales.

Nextcloud Global Scale offers an architecture that lets you host a 9-figure number of users with minimal latency, locality of data and dramatically reduced costs. Working on independent yet interconnected nodes, it is designed to provide a seamless federated user experience.

Limitations of standard architecture

Nextcloud is easily scalable with standard LAMP stack horizontal scaling technologies. However, on installations that service between tens and hundreds of thousands of users, some components eventually become bottlenecks that limit further scalability. In particular, large storage and database systems become exponentially expensive.

Moreover, for compliance or performance reasons, there might be a desire to keep data in specific locations or closer to users.

Scale more, pay less

Nextcloud Global Scale is aimed at tackling the limitations posed by the standard architecture. There are no central database, storage or caching instances, while the nodes are located independently and don’t require fast connection between one another.

Free from the bottlenecks of the database and the file system, Global Scale delivers ultimately scalable and cost-efficient architecture:

• Housing hundreds of millions of users and their files
• Commodity hardware instead of expensive petabyte servers
• Low maintenance costs
• No significant license costs besides Nextcloud Enterprise
• Local data under local jurisdiction
• Ability to isolate assets between locations within a single instance
• Easy further scalability

How it works

Achieving these goals is possible through reducing complexity and enabling administrators to fully control data location. Global Scale relies on a lightweight, stable architecture governed by Global Site Selector, Lookup Server and Balancer.

Independent, resilient nodes

Nodes consist of two or more machines and act as independent logical Nextcloud instances. The machines share a cluster file system, a database and a common cache guarantee availability of the node should the downtime occur on one of the machines.

Single login point

Global Site Selector serves as a primary login instance for all global users. It redirects login to the node in the shortest proximity to user’s physical location, and all the following calls are performed within this node.

Automated user migration

Lookup Server keeps track of user’s physical location and stores additional policy data such as storage/quota settings, speed class, reliability class, etc. It also fetches and keeps track of Federated Sharing IDs.

High stability

Balancer operates as a dedicated machine, overseeing the storage usage, CPU and RAM loads, network usage, and uptime of every node. It has the capability to designate nodes as either online or offline and can trigger the relocation of user accounts to alternative nodes.

Global Scale in use

Global Scale is ready to host vast user infrastructures working with petabytes of data across continents. Leading telecom companies like AMX Contenido (Claro) and large research networks like RENATER deploy and test Global Scale to provide users with limitless federated collaboration.

Our mission at RENATER is enabling seamless collaboration between over a thousand research and education institutions in France in order to protect the security and confidentiality of data. We study and experiment deeply Nextcloud Global Scale for its highly scalability capacities and its reliability that fit the needs of our project.

Alexandre Salvat

Drive Project Manager – Pôle Projets Transverses et Innovation (P2TI)Read the story

Global Scale delivers autonomy with a single point of login that doesn’t require central user management. This lifts a major workload for the decentralized providers – clients stay in control of their users and data independently from the service administration.

For continuously growing setups scalability is not limited: you can double, triple, and indefinitely scale the instance with more servers while delivering the same performance and connectivity in every location.

The post Nextcloud Global Scale: local data and limitless scalability at commodity cost appeared first on Nextcloud.