Enhance File Server Mobility

Are you looking for a solution that speeds up file server access for remote workers?
Do you want to know the challenges, limitations, and pitfalls other companies have seen?

Here are 7 use cases that help you map to a solution that works best for you!

The Problems

  1. Lots of Files on a File Server? - Do you have lots of files on a file server? Was it slow accessing the files over a VPN? Do you want to enhance the speed of accessing the files from remote locations?
  2. Lots of Locations? - Do you have lots of locations or franchised stores that have lots of teams that need to share information from a centralized data center? Was the performance terrible? Users had awful experiences with VPN connections?
  3. Lots of Big Files? - Do you have lots of big files? Photoshop files, or AutoCAD files, or media files. Big files have slow performance over VPN access, and you are looking for a solution.

Mobilize Your File Servers

If any of the above questions got your attention, you would likely find one of the following use cases fit your situation. You will need to mobilize your file servers.

Case 1 - Photoshop Files

You have lots of files on a file server. Some of the files are graphics files like Photoshop files. Different departments have to access these files, and now everybody is working remotely. You had looked at moving to the cloud, but it's not going to happen because of the file size on the file server and the time it would take to do the file migration. Your pain point is that VPN is very slow because of the type of files.

Case 2 - Distributed Teams

You have many different branch offices, including corporate and franchised stores. Employees had terrible experiences with VPN connections (high latency, ping the server it takes 90ms to 100ms to respond). File copying is not working well between endpoints. Users authenticate through Active Directory to get to file servers and other servers. Lots of teams need to share information through the corporate infrastructure. The average size of files is relatively big, from 10 MB to 400 MB. The franchise locations also need to have access to the corporate file servers and see the higher latency.

Case 3 - Slow Uplink

Your 5~10 TB office share drive has been limiting the remote accessibility due to the limited upload speeds (50MB) provided by the only ISP available in your area. You are thinking about putting the file server into Azure or AWS and at the same time looking for a better mobile access solution while maintaining file security/governance and user management. Security is critical too, and you do not want employees to have the ability to copy the files from the cloud drive to their local machines at home.

Centralized File Server Mobility is the Solution

If any of the above questions got your attention, you would likely find lift-and-shift a good strategy to move file servers into a centralized cloud location such as those from Azure and AWS and offer cloud mobility features on top of your file servers.

Case 4 - Large Files

You are a printing and marketing company with several sites now looking to modernize users' access files in the field and remote locations. There are times where you or your customers have to transfer large files and also receive large files. Currently, you are using FTP but looking to replace FTP with a better solution. Ideally, a solution can replace FTP to send and receive large files and support employees working from home. Instead of having two solutions, you prefer one solution for both purposes.

Case 5 - Cloud Migration

You have data on local NAS devices and would like to move it into Azure/AWS and then provide users access. The problem with OneDrive is that it is a good solution for individual use but not for the entire organization. You are looking for cloud-based solutions that provide the current NAS/File Server type of user experiences and provide mobile, macOS, Windows, Web Browser agents for all-in-one access user experiences.

Case 6 - Hybrid Cloud

You can not move on-premise file servers into the cloud yet because you have already standardized with Microsoft DFS, and the migration project will be very complex. However, you already moved the Active Directory into Azure AD to have a cloud/local hybrid setup. Now you are looking for a solution that can provide seamless remote access to on-premise file servers with DFS to remote Windows, macOS, mobile clients, and web browser clients.

Case 7 - High Cloud Cost

You are a media company and used Citrix ShareFile for remote workers to deposit media files and share media files. However, these files are primarily large and come with runaway cloud service costs. You also have reporters in the field. They are capturing videos and pictures and send them back. You are now looking for something that is one size fits all for the entire organization, remote access to internal file servers.

What is Centralized File Server Mobility?

Centralized File Server Mobility is a strategy to lift-and-shift file servers and its related Active Directory servers to the cloud and front the file servers with a web layer to empower the file servers with mobile productivity features such as web file manager, mobile app and always on desktop agents.

centralized file server mobility

Triofox Solution

Triofox adds secure remote access and file sharing, disaster prevention, and recovery to file servers on-premises with easy cloud migration to private cloud storage. It is the real cloud file server solution you have been looking for!

Remote Access

Triofox bridges file servers and cloud storage for secure remote access without the need for a VPN.

Web Access

Accessing files and folders directly from within a web browser is as interactive as from a desktop drive.

Mobile Access

Triofox leverages cloud storage for secure mobile file sharing from a web browser or a mobile application.

No VPN Required

Access files and folders from your Windows or Mac devices without the need of using a VPN!

Add Cloud Mobility Features to File Servers

  1. SPEED - There is no need for lengthy nor complex cloud migration. The secure remote access and mobile file sharing features are added directly on top of existing file servers.
  2. SEAMLESS - The solution preserves the same user experience such as drive mapping and file locking. End-users don't need to be re-trained, and they understand how to use the new solution because it enables them to use it as if nothing had changed.
  3. SECURE - VPN tunnels remote worker's device through a private virtual network connection to the corporate network and essentially expose the whole network to the edge devices. Triofox setup an HTTPS channel and lock down the network protocols to reduce the threat surface.

Mobility

Once Triofox adds the HTTPS access layer on top of file servers, it is much easier for employees to access file servers from remote locations.

Productivity

It is much easier to send and receive files from business partners when they are converted into web links with extra protection from group policies.

Continuity

Triofox's private cloud backup serves as the second copy of the primary file server content, so in case of a disaster, there is a backup solution.

File Servers continues to provide core functions.

Corporate file servers are still the best platform for application compatibility. Adobe, QuickBooks, AutoCAD, or other media applications can work nicely with the current file server and protected by existing Windows infrastructure. With Triofox, you gain file server mobility without losing existing file server functions.

Windows File Server Features

Here are some of the Windows file server features we like and don't want to lose when moving to the cloud

Active Directory

With Active Directory, employees can log in to corporate machines with one single set of credentials.

Drive Mapping

Drive mapping is probably the most frequently used feature from end-users when then login to their Windows workstation.

Storage Space Direct

With Windows storage space direct, Windows file servers can be pooled together to increase the storage capacity and grow on demand.

NTFS Permission

The NTFS file system brings the permission structure to folders and files with well-understood security control.

File Locking

File locking is another frequently used feature from NTFS and the CIFS/SMB protocol to lock files while they are being edited.

Virtual Machine

With the virtual machine technology, Windows file servers can be available from AWS, Windows Azure and various other data center locations.

Increase the productivity of your mobile workforce!