FAUbox

„PowerFolder“ by the dal33t company is in its functionality closely related to the now commonly known web space „Dropbox“. All data is stored on the servers of the RRZE, though after authentication over the cloud service, the data can be accessed from various devices all over the world – from computers at the office, smartphones, or laptops – using an encoded connection. Therefore, users always have access to the latest version of the same files.

With a web interface or a web client installed on the device, users can easily log in to FAUbox at https://faubox.rrze.uni-erlangen.de. All students and staff members currently registered on “Identity Management”(IdM) are granted access to this service.

For the sign-in process via Single Sign-on (SSO), the IdM username and password is needed.

On the user side, the FAUbox is accessible via native clients for Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iOS. It also ensures that you have full password-protected access to any device at all times. The automatic synchronization is handled by FAUbox.

National research projects and working groups can now securely upload sensitive research data at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität into FAU’s own cloud under complete access control. FAUbox is a noncommercial cloud storage service for research, study, and teaching.

Unlike other cloud solutions, which are freely available on the web, the FAUbox uniquely holds all systems required to provide the service. These systems are located at the RRZE and are managed and operated exclusively by RRZE employees. Virtualized hardware runs three Apache servers, which are operated as an SSL proxy and load balancer, as well as six service nodes, which attend to basic functions such as managing data, rights, and access. The data management systems, which also hold the database for the metadata and files of the cloud, run on hardware without virtualization. Up to 15 servers are used to seamlessly transfer data. A hardware load balancer helps to ensure reliability and load distribution.

In the meantime, the FAUbox has grown together with the LRZ Sync+share to form Bayernshare. For this purpose, a federation joined these two systems. Invitations of users are now possible without a second account. Existing duplicate accounts have been merged. The data remains at the location where it was first gathered until it is downloaded via the other system.

Members of the following institutions are granted access:

FAUbox:

HS-Ansbach
HS-Coburg
TH Ingolstadt
TH Aschaffenburg
TH Nuremberg
KH Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)

LRZ Sync+Share:
Academy of Fine Arts
Academy for Political Education
BAdW LRZ WMI
Landshut University of Applied Sciences
Munich University of Applied Sciences
Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences
LMU Munich
TU Munich
Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences
Eastern Bavarian Technical University Regensburg
University of Passau
Kempten University of Applied Sciences
Rosenheim Technical University of Applied Sciences

Please note the following when reading the documentation of the FAUbox service: