The iFolder enterprise server is a central repository for storing iFolders and synchronizing files for enterprise users.
The Novell iFolder 3.6 Web Admin is an administrative tool used to manage the iFolder system, user accounts, and user iFolders and data.
The iFolder 3.6 Web Access console provides the users an interface for remote access to iFolders on iFolder enterprise server.
The iFolder client integrates with the user’s operating system to provide iFolder services in a native desktop environment. It supports the following client operating systems:
SLED 10 SP1
openSUSE
Windows XP SP2/2000 Professional SP4
An iFolder session begins when the user logs in to an iFolder services account and ends when the user logs out of the account or exits the iFolder client. The iFolders synchronize files with the enterprise server only when a session is active and the computer has an active connection to the network or Internet. Users can access data in their local iFolders at any time; it does not matter if they are logged in to their server accounts or if they are connected to the network or Internet.
The iFolder client allows users to create and manage their iFolders. For information, see the OES 2: Novell iFolder 3.6 Cross-Platform User Guide.
Hosting huge amount of data as well as provisioning higher number of users is highly demanded in any Enterprise environment. iFolder domain was dedicated to a single server and this limits the number of users and the hosting bandwidth. With multi-server support, iFolder 3.6 overcame these major setbacks of single server per domain limitations.
Multi-server support expands iFolder domain across servers so that Enterprise level user provisioning can be effectively managed and Enterprise level data can be scaled up accordingly.
Encryption support offers full security to iFolder 3.6 users for their sensitive iFolder documents. Users can back up their confidential files encrypted on the server without fear of it losing or exposing or falling into the wrong hands.
An iFolder is a local directory that the user selectively shares with other users in a collaboration environment. The iFolder files are accessible to all members of the iFolder and can be changed by those with the rights to do so. Users can share iFolders across multiple workstations and with others.
Because the iFolder client is integrated into the operating environment, users can work with iFolders directly in a file manager or in the My iFolders window. Within the iFolder, users can set up any subdirectory structure that suits their personal or corporate work habits. The subdirectory structure is constant across all member iFolders. Each workstation can specify a different parent directory for the shared iFolder.
The iFolder client provides four levels of access for members of an iFolder:
Owner: Only one user serves as the owner. This is typically the user who created the iFolder. The owner or an iFolder Administrator can transfer ownership status from the owner to another user.
The owner of an iFolder has the Full Control right. This user has read/write access to the iFolder, manages membership and access rights for member users, and can remove the Full Control right for any member. With an enterprise server, the disk space used by the owner’s iFolders count against the owner’s user disk quotas on the enterprise server.
If a user is deleted as a user for the iFolder system, the iFolders owned by the user are orphaned. Orphaned iFolders are assigned temporarily to the iFolder Admin user, who becomes the owner of the iFolder. Membership and synchronization continues while the iFolder Admin user determines whether an orphaned iFolder should be deleted or assigned to a new owner.
Full Control: A member of the shared iFolder, with the Full Control access right. The user with the Full Control right has read/write access to the iFolder and manages membership and access rights for all users except the owner.
Read/Write: A member of the shared iFolder, with the Read/Write access right to directories and files in the iFolder.
Read Only: A member of the shared iFolder, with the Read Only access right to directories and files in the iFolder. This member can copy an iFolder file to another location and modify it outside the iFolder.
When used with an enterprise server account, the server hosts every iFolder created for that account. Users create an iFolder and the enterprise server makes it available to the specified list of users. A user can have a separate account on each enterprise server. A user’s level of membership in each shared iFolder can differ.
The iFolder client allows you to set up multiple accounts, with one each allowed per enterprise server. Users specify the server address, username, and password to uniquely identify an account. On his or her computer, a user sets up accounts while logged in as the local identity he or she plans to use to access that account and its iFolders. Under the local login, the user can set up multiple iFolder accounts, but each account must belong to a different iFolder enterprise server.
Whenever iFolder connects to an enterprise server to synchronize files, it connects with HTTP BASIC and SSL connections to the server, and the server authenticates the user against the LDAP directory service.
When you set up an iFolder account, you can enable Remember Password so that iFolder can synchronize iFolder invitations and files in the background as you work. The iFolder client runs automatically each time you log in to your computer’s desktop environment. The session runs in the background as you work with files in your local iFolders, tracking and logging any changes you make. With an enterprise server, you can synchronize the files at specified intervals or on demand.
The log displays a log of your iFolder background activity.
As part of the iFolder project, APIs are available for the client. For iFolder Client developer documentation, see the iFolder Software Developers Kit.