Congratulations BayernShare:10 years of FAUbox and LRZ Sync+Share
Technologie:Network
Some ideas for services are just in the air: In 2013/2014, the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) and the Regionale Rechenzentrum Erlangen were looking into cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft's OneDrive at almost the same time. The goal: to find a data protection-compliant alternative that stores data in Bavaria or Germany, thereby strengthening digital sovereignty in academia – and at the same time enabling mobile working. After market analyses and evaluations of various products, the computer centers opted for the PowerFolder software from the Monheim-based start-up dal33t GmbH, as the software was convincing. After internal test runs and adjustments, students and researchers in Munich, Nuremberg, and Erlangen have been able to use LRZ Sync+Share or FAUbox since fall 2015 to exchange files worldwide that are too large and sensitive for email and therefore need to be distributed or edited collaboratively in a secure manner.
Secure storage & encrypted transmission
To this end, all data is stored on certified servers in data centers and encrypted before transmission. In 2022, the two services were technically connected. FAUbox and LRZ Sync+Share became BayernShare. Although organised and hosted from different locations and servers, participants can now share files with users of the other system via their account. This simplifies exchange and collaboration in Bavaria, which was previously only possible by sharing folders and files via links.
BayernShare has long since evolved from a mere file-sharing service into a comprehensive, useful cloud platform for collaboration in Bavaria: every account, which can be requested by researchers and students at Bavarian universities, chairs, or research institutes, includes 50 gigabytes of storage space, which can be increased if necessary. Integrated OnlyOffice tools simplify the joint editing of documents, presentations, or spreadsheets online. The system automatically synchronises changes. Users can grant their partners different access rights for files or folders.
BayernShare and GCS
The Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS) is an association of Germany's three supercomputing centres. Its approximately 60 employees are based in Garching, Jülich, and Stuttgart and rely on BayernShare as a repository for documents and files. Various folders contain information on the financing and management of the GCS, as well as documents for public relations work. Videos for joint trade fair appearances or press releases are not only reviewed, but also created, edited and reviewed. “This runs smoothly and invisibly for all of us,” says GCS employee Dr. Ferdinand Jamitzky. In addition, with the help of BayernShare, the GCS exchanges applications for purchases and joint projects with the VDI The Association of German Engineers, which controls expenditure on behalf of the federal government.
Tip: BayernShare stores five versions of a file—this number can be configured by the user. To reactivate a previous version, the owners click on “restore” in the three-dot menu on the right of the file list and then select the previous file. Incidentally, this also allows deleted files to be recovered, even if they were deleted some time ago.
A popular and useful service
Digital sovereignty, data protection, security, and the ability to collaborate from different locations are compelling arguments in favour of BayernShare: Around 120,000 students, lecturers, and researchers at 24 Bavarian universities and institutes use BayernShare, and currently around 500 million files of varying sizes with a total volume of around 600 terabytes are stored on the servers.
Students use it to store files that they want to share, edit, and synchronise with fellow students anywhere; research groups use BayernShare as a shared repository and to exchange documents or jointly prepare patent applications and studies. Lecturers and professors use it to make reading lists and other information accessible for lectures and seminars. Since the coronavirus pandemic, BayernShare has also been supporting online exams: the service allows everyone to access questions at the same time and upload or submit exam documents on time. Organisations involved in high-performance computing (HPC) and universities have described further usage scenarios to us: let yourself be inspired.
BayernShare is organised by three IT specialists at the LRZ and one at the RRZE. They are already planning additional features for the future: BayernShare's security is to be enhanced with multi-factor authentication before the end of this year. Many users will be looking forward to new folder structures, as they will then be able to organise exchanges with various partners via subfolders. Last but not least, BayernShare is offered via Digitalverbund Bayern: we bet that this will lead to even wider use of the service.
File sharing at HITS
In 2023, BayernShare was introduced as a project for Digitalverbund Bayern. The cloud platform is in active use there. The HITS Information Security (HITS IS) team is spread across four locations and coordinates collaboration with the help of BayernShare. This also gives all members flexibility and allows them to plan and make decisions independently of their location. “We work with many shared folders,” explains Thomas Schkoda, head of HITS IS. The group uses them to edit presentations about their services, store service and process descriptions, collect letters and other templates, and develop images and texts to educate people about information security. “Synchronising files doesn't always work when several people are working on them at the same time,” reports Schkoda. This applies when working with local versions and not using the integrated OnlyOffice programs.
Tip: When collaborating online, it is important that everyone uses OnlyOffice and no one works with local versions.
Cloudy Future
BayernShare is organised by three IT specialists at the LRZ and one at the RRZE. They are already planning additional features for the future. BayernShare's security is set to be enhanced with multi-factor authentication before the end of the anniversary year. Users will also be looking forward to new folder structures, which will enable them to organise exchanges with various partners via subfolders. Last but not least, BayernShare is now also being offered and developed further by Digitalverbund Bayern, a collaboration between all Bavarian universities. We predict that this will lead to the service being used even more widely. (vs | LRZ)
BayernShare at KONWIHR
The Competence Network for Scientific Computing (KONWIHR) is a unique institution for supercomputing: it supports the development and optimisation of scientific codes financially and through active support from HPC specialists. Twice a year, researchers and working groups can submit applications for funding, which are collected on the BayernShare platform and reviewed by various institutions and individuals. On behalf of KONWIHR, the RRZE and the LRZ also organise a joint online workshop on code programming and optimisation. By registering for the course, participants gain access to a BayernShare folder and can download the training materials.
Tip: Research and working groups should pay attention to who is responsible for a shared folder (ownership) and make arrangements for handover in advance: If members leave and LRZ Sync+Share or FAUbox accounts are not used for a longer period of time, the owners are automatically contacted twice and asked to reactivate their accounts. If there is no response, the account and folders are deleted after more than a year.
