Service Description

The bwSync&Share service is an online storage service for employees and students of universities and colleges in Baden-Württemberg. It has been operated at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) since January 1,2014.

The service is also offered to the members of the DFN Association within the service of the DFN Cloud (https://www2.dfn.de/dfn-cloud/syncshare-dienste/bwsyncshare/).

Since 2021, the bwSync&Share service has also been available to members of the Helmholtz Centres as part of the Helmholtz Cloud.

Support is provided by the local helpdesk of the respective home organisation.

Functionality

Synchronize data

bwSync&Share enables users to synchronize or exchange their data between different computers and mobile devices. In addition to the hardware-independent web interface, different clients are available (Windows and Mac desktop, apps for Android and iPhone/iPad).

Share data

bwSync&Share offers the possibility to access data jointly and to exchange it with other users or to edit it together. By inviting to a folder, a personal storage quota is made available to the invited party in accordance with the granted authorization.

You can also send links to download files or folders.

Who can use the service?

Shibboleth Users

Users ofthe participating colleges and universities are referred to in this manual as Shibboleth users. A Shibboleth identity provider is responsible for the transmission of the necessary data for login and authorization queries between local user administration and the bwSync&Share service.

The local user administration determines whether all or only a certain group within a local institution is authorized. If you have any questions, please contact your local service desk/helpdesk.

Shibboleth users must register for the service. The terms and conditions of use of the service must be approved.

Guest Users

In order to facilitate cooperation with partners outside the participating institutions, Shibboleth users can invite them to the service via the e-mail address. In each case, a separate user account is created in bwSync&Share, which is not assigned to a local institution, here called guest. The initial data are the e-mail address to which the invitation is sent and the password set during registration. Guest users must also register and agree to the terms of use.

Guests do not receive their own storage space and are not allowed to perform any administrative actions without explicit authorization (by a Shibboleth user). The locked actions are correspondingly greyed out or are not displayed.