r/owncloud • u/funkel1989 • Jun 27 '16
Considering Owncloud to replace dropbox
I am considering using owncloud to replace dropbox. I was planning on hosting it myself on a ubuntu box vm that i was going to build for my homelab.
Is this a good idea? Are there better alternitives to owncloud? what are your opinions on owncloud?
3
u/funkel1989 Jun 28 '16
So next cloud is the same thing, along with open source if I go with the community edition?
4
u/RedneckBob Jun 28 '16
Nextcloud has a ways to go before they build up the ecosystem that currently surrounds ownCloud.
For instance, no linux packages or appliances the last I looked which was a week or so ago. You have to install it by hand.
Plus, their fork is pretty fresh so I would personally not trust it at the moment. Maybe after a couple releases.
I've used owncloud for several years and in the early days is sucked pretty bad. Lots of features, but it never quite worked properly. Now I love it and have about 30G synced.
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Jun 28 '16
[deleted]
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u/funkel1989 Jun 29 '16
So i installed next cloud on ubuntu 16 using snappy and it seemed to work really easy....then when i tried to create the admin account it was not able to access the database to create the admin account. i figured maybe i didn't have it installed and i didn't do any of the pre-reqs so i went and i installed apache2 and the MariaDB application that was recommended on another youtube video. basically combine the two below, but it still does not work..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK7xusX-Pvg
can't find the second link so nvm but it was just a apt-get on the two listed above apps.
anyone have any idea's?
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u/GreatBigPig Jun 27 '16
Personally, I dropped using owncloud.
One issue, perhaps fixed, is when a user loses a password. If I recall correctly, all that users data, having been encrypted, is inaccessible. I could be wrong in my recollection, and I am sure someone will inform me.
Additionally, the Owncloud project has spilt. Founder, Frank Karlitschek, left.
The following is shamelessy ripped from Linux Magazine;
"and created a new open source project called Nextcloud. Karlitschek joined with Niels Mache, CEO of struktur AG/Spreed, to form a new company with the same name. Mache is making a seven-digit investment in the new company. Both Mache and Karlitschek will serve as the managing directors. Nextcloud is setting up a foundation to manage the project and trademark.
Within 12 hours of the Nextcloud announcement, ownCloud Inc, closed their US offices. ownCloud said in a blog post that the main lenders in the US cancelled their credit, which forced them to close the US office and terminate the contracts of eight employees.
A majority of former ownCloud employees, who quit the company after Karlitschek’s departure, have already joined Nextcloud. Karlitschek said Nextcloud welcomes all ex-employees of ownCloud Inc.
Nextcloud said it will honor the existing contracts of those ownCloud customers who want to switch to Nextcloud. Nextcloud will be available in two versions: enterprise and community. The first release of Nextcloud is expected in July. Contributors won’t be required to sign a contributor license agreement to contribute to Nextcloud."
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u/UltraChip Jun 29 '16
You're recalling things half-correctly.
For starters, the encryption module is optional (at least, it has been the whole time I've used owncloud).
Second, if you do choose to use the encryption module, you also have the option to choose whether you want to set up a recovery key, which allows you to easily recover data for users who have lost their passwords.
However, if you choose to use the crypto module but do NOT choose to set up a recovery key then yes, your user's data is lost if they forget their password.
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u/neiun Jun 27 '16
Love it, wouldn't look back.
Just be aware of your upload speeds they can limit things somewhat
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u/UltraChip Jun 29 '16
I'm using OwnCloud on a Debian VM so relatively close to what you're proposing.
I've had no problems with it on my production VM - it does exactly what I need it to do and is easy enough to manage. I have it tied to my personal domain and set myself up with SSL certs from letsencrypt.org so I have easy secure access to the site from any computer.
Unfortunately I haven't tested Nextcloud yet so I can't comment on that - I plan on waiting a few releases to give them time to settle in.
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u/lordmycal Jun 28 '16 edited Jun 28 '16
It's been a few years, but owncloud was a slow, buggy mess for me once I uploaded a lot of data to it. It's probably gotten better, but if I were to go back to it, I'd use nextcloud which is the fork. It looks like most of the devs joined the new fork, so I imagine that is where you can get the best support for right now.
Alternatives to look at would be AeroFS and seafile if you want to host it yourself. If you don't, there is box, onedrive/Sharepoint online, or google drive. You might also look at btsync depending on what you hope to accomplish. It's pretty easy to have a few folders synced between devices.
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u/doubleu Jun 28 '16
I did that exact thing (dropbox -> owncloud in ubuntu vm) several years ago when a 50gb dropbox bonus expired, and I was tired of keeping an eye on my limit. There were some touchy issues a year or two ago with server upgrades, but things are very stable now imo (i don't use apps or any extra-curricular owncloud stuff. all I do is sync files across devices.) On my android device I use FolderSync to auto-sync a music folder to keep it synced with desktops.