UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

Range of functions of the SoFS online storage space

Benefit from the many advantages of SoFS:

• Online storage:
  • You can access your data online anywhere and at any time.
• Restore your data:
  • You have the option of restoring accidentally deleted files.
• Shared documents:
  • Work on a document with several people directly in SoFS.
• Security against failure and data loss:
  • The RRZK secures and maintains the SoFS infrastructure, which is designed for maximum availability.
• Data protection:
  • Data requiring special protection (including personal data) should not be stored in SoFS. If such data must nevertheless be stored in SoFS, the data must be suitably encrypted beforehand. In this case, encryption, including key management, is the responsibility of the person storing the data.
• Data stored in SoFS is stored at the University of Cologne. The data is stored unencrypted and the data is also transferred unencrypted (except when accessed via WebDAV).

Types of storage areas

You have three different types of areas in SoFS. In the private area, only you can access the data. Files in the"Public" area can also be shared with other people at the university.

Institutions can also request storage space for projects or working groups.

Data backup

SoFS also automatically saves older file versions. There are three different backup intervals: hourly, daily and weekly.

Please note that access to these backed up file versions is only possible with Windows.

• Hourly backup
  • The data is automatically backed up during the day at 8.00, 12.00, 16.00 and 20.00 and overwritten the next day.
  • Example: A file cannot be restored in its original version if it was created in the evening after 8.00 p.m. and accidentally deleted or changed at 11.30 p.m. on the same day.
  • A file that is changed today at 7.30 am is saved at 8.00 am. If further changes are made during the course of the day that subsequently turn out to be undesirable, the status from 8.00 a.m. today can only be restored until 7.59 a.m. tomorrow.
• Daily backup
  • A backup is also made every day at midnight. These daily backups are kept for one week.
• Weekly backup
  • Backups created on the night from Sunday to Monday are also kept for longer. A total of 30 backups are kept, so that you can access the older versions for up to 29 weeks. Backed up file versions are staggered by week.
  • Example: 5.5. 2014 was a Monday. In October 2014, you can still restore old versions of a file that was changed in May, corresponding to the status of 5.5., 12.5., 19.5., 26.5.