In Q2 and Q3 of 2025 we will migrate the Research Drive software backend from ownCloud to Nextcloud. These changes are necessary to improve the scalability and security of the system and to continue to provide a good experience using Research Drive in the future. While we are trying to make this transition as transparent and smooth as possible, it is unfortunately inevitable that you may need to take some actions as well.
In this page and it's child pages we would like to explain what you can expect.
What will change
During this migration, the underlying engine of Research Drive will be replaced by a new engine. Research Drive is currently using the ownCloud software as a software backend and we will replace this with Nextcloud. This will not have any impact on your data within Research Drive, but it may have an impact on the way you can access your data. For example, the layout of Research Drive will look slightly different, certain features will have to be accessed in a different way and you may have to setup a new connection via the Desktop Client or WebDAV.
See our migration wiki for the full overview of these changes: RD: Nextcloud migration - User instructions
During the time of maintenance
During the maintenance, Research Drive will be completely inaccessible. Please note that the environment will not be accessible for several hours that day. If you need data on the day of the maintenance, please make this data available elsewhere prior to the date of the migration (for example, by storing a local copy of this data on your laptop or on an external hard drive).
After the maintenance
The environment is expected to be fully available again by the end of the day. Your files are still in the same place as you are used to. However, a number of things have changed compared to before the migration to Nextcloud. For example, the user interface has changed slightly, custom groups have been renamed to "Teams" and there are more options and permissions available when you want to share with another user or a team of users. In addition, you may need to re-establish an external connection. This is especially the case if you previously used the ownCloud Desktop Client or a WebDAV connection on your own system.
These changes, and steps you may need to take to set up a new remote connection have been summarized by us and can be found on this page: RD: Nextcloud migration - User instructions