365 Sharepoint - Mapping + Caching

[PowerShellWolf]

Looking for a way to map a 365 SharePoint to a network drive, that is cached some where onsite.

I was thinking of maybe setting up a fileserver, logged into OneDrive with that SharePoint synced to a purpose specific OneDrive account with always available offline enabled.

Then mapping my site machines to that synced folder on that server.

 

Has anybody else tried this solution?

Is there a better way anybody can suggest?

I just need SharePoint in file explorer for none MS programs like 2D design tool and Photoshop.

[psydii]

Based on your last sentence: OneDrive on each device? It syncs document library to the local machine. Files On Demand (on by default) means that only files that have been accessed on that machine take up space.

 

I wouldn't try to have a "server" running OneDrive and sharing out that folder over SMB, I imagine the reliability would be inconsistent at best.

[Dom_]

You can deploy a Sharepoint site - the only issue I've found is that it can take up to 2 hours to kick in on a new login... So fine for staff, less so for pupils using a different device each time.

 

User Config > Policies > Administrative Templates > Onedrive > Configure team site libraries to sync automatically

 

Stick the library ID in there and away you go.

 

(full guide here: https://www.blackforce.co.uk/2019/06/07/automatically-sync-microsoft-sharepoint-team-site-libraries-now-live)

 

 

As psydii said, I'd definitely avoid running onedrive on a machine and allowing others to map to that instance - if it signs out for any reason (updates etc), you're going to have issues!

[PowerShellWolf]

The thing is devices onsite are used by 25+ different users a week each, they are currently all trying to use Sync and this is filling up hard drives and killing computers.

I get users complaining about having to download files in Edge from SharePoint to open then is specific programs. I am just looking at a solution that can help please my users.

On top of that, users are getting used to Cloud Speeds and when your dealing with huge files, I get a lot of complaints because the file either takes too long to open, or they have not waited long enough for the file to save and now its gone.

An op-prem cache of some form would be extremely beneficial, in the past I have tried a solution like this and yes its reliability was questionable at best.

[Dom_]

Does that whole folder *need* to be accessible online? Could you have a large on prem file store that's only accessible on prem via the mapped drive, and a smaller online sync'd folder for things they need to collaborate on remotely?

[PowerShellWolf]

Sadly not, everything must be accessible via cloud.

Some staff use none windows devices like Apple and Android and a lot of staff work from home in the evenings.

[psydii]

What's your internet line speed?

 

If you enforce a seating plan, enable Storage Sense, and don't run apps that install per user (Teams, I'm looking at you), and disable Volume Shadow Copy we've found onedrive works well.

 

We have a 1Gbit/s line and 256Gb storage on the desktops.

[DWilson1997]

Sounds like you need a product like Cloud Driver Mapper or Cloud Connect? Just maps SharePoint sites to a drive and is pretty reliable. We are planning to use a mapped SharePoint site to host the license file for our 2D design software.

 

Cloud Drive Mapper | Map Drives to Office 365 — IAM Cloud

CloudConnect - Seamless OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams Cloud Storage (burconix.com)