Nextcloud

Nextcloud is a suite of client-server software for creating and using file hosting services. Nextcloud provides functionality similar to Dropbox, Office 365 or Google Drive when used with integrated office suites Collabora Online or OnlyOffice. It can be hosted in the cloud or on-premises. It is scalable, from home office software based on the low cost Raspberry Pi, all the way through to full sized data centers that support millions of users.[8][9][10] Translations in 60 languages exist for web interface and client applications.[11]

Nextcloud
Developer(s)Nextcloud GmbH.,[1] Community
Stable release
Server27.1.2 / October 5, 2023 (2023-10-05)[2]
Android3.25.0 / June 12, 2023 (2023-06-12)[3][4]
iOS4.8.6 / July 19, 2023 (2023-07-19)[5][6]
Desktop3.9.3 / August 21, 2023 (2023-08-21)[7]
Repository
Written inPHP, JavaScript
Operating systemServer: Linux
Clients: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android, iOS
Available in60 languages
TypeOnline storage, data synchronization, Collaboration, video conferencing, Groupware
LicenceAGPL-3.0-only
Websitenextcloud.com

Features

Nextcloud files are stored in conventional directory structures, accessible via WebDAV if necessary. A SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL database is required to provide additional functionality like permissions, shares, and comments.

Nextcloud can synchronize with local clients running Windows (Windows 8.1 and above),[12] macOS (10.14 or later), Linux and FreeBSD. Nextcloud permits user and group administration locally or via different Backends like OpenID[13][14] or LDAP.[15] Content can be shared inside the system by defining granular read/write permissions between users and groups. Nextcloud users can create public URLs when sharing files.[16]

Logging of file-related actions, as well as disallowing access based on file access rules is also available.[17]

Security options like Multi-factor authentication using TOTP, WebAuthn, Oauth2,[18] OpenID Connect,[13][19] Brute-force protection[20] exist.

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.[21]

Integrations and devices

Multiple vendors and independent projects develop integrations and devices with Nextcloud focusing on different aspects like improved security or simplified administration.

NextcloudPi

Initially started to run Nextcloud on a RaspberryPi, NextcloudPi turned into a ready to use image for Virtual Machines, Raspberry Pi, Odroid HC1, Rock64 and other boards. [22]

Nextcloud Box (discontinued)
Nextcloud Box package

In September 2016, Nextcloud, in cooperation with Western Digital Labs and Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu), released the Nextcloud Box.[23] 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.[24] In June 2017, Western Digital shut down Western Digital Labs,[25] which caused the production of the box to end.[26]

History

In April 2016 Frank Karlitschek and most core contributors [27] left ownCloud Inc.[28] These included some of ownCloud's staff according to sources near to the ownCloud community.[29]

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?"[28] 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 and in two appearances on the FLOSS Weekly podcast,[30][31] emphasizing cultural mismatch between open source developers and business oriented people not used to the open source community.[32]

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".[33] ownCloud GmbH continued operations, secured financing from new investors and took over the business of ownCloud Inc.[34]

In April 2018 Informationstechnikzentrum Bund (ITZBund) reported Nextcloud wins the tender for "Bundescloud" (Germany government cloud) project.[35][36]

In August 2019 was released to the public government of France, Sweden and Netherlands will use Nextcloud for file transfer.[37]

In January 2020 Nextcloud 18 "Nextcloud Hub" was released. The major change was direct integration of an Office suite (OnlyOffice) and Nextcloud claimed the goal to compete with Office 365 and Google Docs.[38] Partnership with Ionos was revealed - its hosting location in Germany and compliance with GDPR should support the goal of data sovereignty.[39]

In spring 2020 remote work and web conferencing usage raised due to COVID-19 pandemic and Nextcloud released version 19 with chat and videoconferencing Talk app integrated into the application core. Talk with an optional "high performance back-end" [40] allows self-hosting of web conferences with more than 10 participants. Collabora Online was introduced as another integrated office suite.

In August 2021 Nextcloud was chosen as collaboration platform for European cloud software GAIA-X.[41][42][43][44]

In Sep 2021 Nextcloud is mentioned as "success case" and "most widely deployed Open Source content collaboration platform" in an "Open Source Study"[45] of European Commission.

25 April to 10 May 2022 "Open Source Programme Office" at the European Commission organizes NextGov Hackathon and awards up to 5000 EUR for improvements to Nextcloud apps and security.[46][47][48]

See also

References
  1. "Official Company Website".
  2. "Nextcloud Server Changelog". Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  3. "Changelog of Android-App at Github". GitHub. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  4. "Play store site for Android". Google Play. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  5. "iOS app Github Releases". GitHub. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  6. "App Store site for iOS". App Store (iOS). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  7. "Changelog of Nextcloud desktop client". GitHub. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  8. "System requirements — Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation". docs.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  9. 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
  10. Nextcloud Global Scale explained, retrieved 2022-12-03
  11. "The Nextcloud translation project on Transifex". explore.transifex.com. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  12. "Desktop Client System Requirements".
  13. Schießle, Björn. "Nextcloud and OpenID-Connect". www.schiessle.org. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  14. "Social Login - Apps - App Store - Nextcloud". apps.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  15. "User authentication with LDAP — Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation". docs.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  16. "File Sharing — Nextcloud latest User Manual latest documentation". docs.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  17. "File Access Control – A firewall for your private files in Nextcloud". 25 August 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  18. "OAuth2 — Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation". docs.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  19. user_oidc, Nextcloud, 2022-11-30, retrieved 2022-12-03
  20. "Brute force protection — Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation". docs.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  21. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (14 December 2016). "Nextcloud adds security and scalability to its private cloud offering". ZDNet. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  22. Jurzik, Heike. "Own your cloud with NextcloudPi on the Raspberry Pi | Opensource.com". opensource.com. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  23. "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.
  24. 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.
  25. Kevin Parrish (22 June 2017). "Source confirms Western Digital is closing WDLabs and canceling projects". Digital Trends. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  26. "Nextcloud box updates: Raspberry Pi 3, Nextcloud 12 and looking for a new provider". Nextcloud. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  27. Github (1 June 2016). "Contribution overview to Nextcloud Server". Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  28. Frank Karlitschek (27 April 2016). "big changes: I am leaving ownCloud, Inc. today". blog. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  29. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (2 June 2016). "OwnCloud founder forks popular open-source cloud". ZDNET. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  30. "TWiT - FLOSS Weekly 755 - Nextcloud".
  31. "TWiT - FLOSS Weekly Episode 513 - Nextcloud Update".
  32. Frank Karlitschek (4 February 2018). "Why I forked my own project and my own company".
  33. 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.
  34. "ownCloud Secures Financing and Expands its Management Team - ownCloud". 14 July 2016.
  35. online, heise (17 April 2018). "Bundescloud: Open-Source mit Nextcloud statt Dropbox oder Google Drive". iX Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  36. Beuth, Patrick (2018-04-17). "Open-Source-Software: Nextcloud baut die Bundescloud". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  37. "Cloud-Dienste: EU-Staaten setzen auf deutsches Start-up Nextcloud". www.handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  38. Poortvliet, Jos (2020-01-17). "The new standard in on-premises team collaboration: Nextcloud Hub". Nextcloud. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  39. Poortvliet, Jos (2020-01-17). "IONOS and Nextcloud together for more data sovereignty". Nextcloud. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  40. Poortvliet, Jos (2020-05-19). "Talk 9 brings grid view, file editing, open sources Talk back-end". Nextcloud. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  41. "Gaia-X setzt auf Nextcloud". GNU/Linux.ch (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  42. Puselja, Marija (2021-08-26). "Nextcloud beat US hyperscalers as collaboration platform for EU digital sovereignty project Gaia-X". Nextcloud. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  43. S, Jan (2022-07-13). "Gaia-X: Europas Kampf um digitale Souveränität". OPTIMAL SYSTEMS (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  44. "Gaia-X beweist Unabhängigkeit von großen US-Tech-Anbietern und entscheidet sich für EU-basierte Kollaborationsplattform". OSBA – Open Source Business Alliance (in German). 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  45. "Study about the impact of open source software and hardware on technological independence, competitiveness and innovation in the EU economy | Shaping Europe's digital future". digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  46. "The Commission invites ethical hackers to the NextGov Hackathon with Nextcloud from 25 April to 10 May 2022!". commission.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  47. "Nextgov Hackathon". Nextgov. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  48. HILLENIUS, Gijs (2022-06-13). "Successful NextGov hackathon | Joinup". joinup.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
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