Access via CIFS

With this type of access, also known as “SMB” or “Windows network drive”, the full functionality of the storage solution can be used. This applies without restrictions- but only if Windows is used on the PC as well. Although the basic functions (read,- and write access of files) can be used under Mac OS X, special functions, such as assigning access rights to third persons, are only possible under Windows. Access from Linux via the CIFS protocol is not recommended by the manufacturer of the system.

For security reasons, the access via CIFS is only  possible within the network of the University of Cologne ( UKLAN ). To gain access from outside (for example from home ), it is additionally necessary to establish a VPN connection to the university network.

Access via WebDAV

With the open protocol WebDAV, files can be read and stored in SoFS from many different systems. A direct editing of files is not recommended. Instead: download the files, edit them and afterwards, uploaded them again.

The transmission is encoded and the access is possible at a worldwide level. Special functions such as the allocation of access rights or access to deleted files are not possible via WebDAV. Under Windows XP, the use of WebDAV is not very comfortable. But under Windows 7, as well as current versions of Mac OS X and Linux, you can work very well with WebDAV. You can use SoFS also on your Android Tablet.

In addition, you can also use a web browser to access on files in SoFS. In this case, access is via WebDAV and therefore it is not a separate access route actually. With a browser, files can only be downloaded ; upload a new file is not possible.

Advantages and disadvantages of access paths

	Advantages	Disadvantages
CIFS	Easy to handle	Access from outside the campus only via VPN
	Full functionality and performance	Access is uncoded
	No access to older versions of files (Windows only)
	Assignment of permissions is possible (Windows only)
WebDAV	Encoded Access	Direct editing of files is not recommended (instead: download/edit/upload)
	Usable on many computer systems	Lower performance as CIFS
	Usage is possible everywhere	No access to older versions of files
		Assignment of permissions is not possible