File Service Comparison


The following chart compares the file service capabilities provided by various UW services. The file services and capabilities listed have been chosen reflecting those for which Managed WorkStation (MWS) customers have expressed interest or needs. Note: OneDrive for Business and Google Drive are not traditional file services. These modern capabilities provide for creation and sharing of files, with a variety of modern collaboration features, but do not necessarily align with traditional expectations.

UW file service option comparison

Capabilities OneDrive for Business Google Drive U Drive MWS Home Dir MWS File Service MWS Windows File Service
FERPA  "Warning" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon.
HIPAA BAA"Warning" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon.
Other UW Confidential"Warning" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Unclear" icon. "Unclear" icon. "Unclear" icon. "Unclear" icon.
Other UW Restricted"Warning" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Unclear" icon. "Unclear" icon. "Unclear" icon. "Unclear" icon.
Cost  None None 30GB "free"  (STF/TRF), $.25/GB/month beyond $.25/GB/month beyond $.25/GB/month beyond $.25/GB/month
Eligibility Faculty, Staff, Students, Shared UW NetIDs Faculty, Staff, Students Faculty, Staff, Students MWS customers MWS customers MWS customers
Activation required None via Manage My UW NetID page via Manage My UW NetID page  none today, in FY16 via Manage My UW NetID page via request via request
Resiliency GR redundant GR redundant Single UW Data Center outage Single UW Data Center outage Single UW Data Center outage Single component outage
Off-campus availability "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. via SFTP or VPN via VPN via VPN via VPN
Offline sync "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "Yes" icon.
Backed up Limited (Trash, versioning if enabled, and non-contractual backup available via support request) Limited (Trash and limited versioning) "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon.
Self-service restore Recycle bin recovery or support request Trash and in limited cases Versions "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon.
Repair Point Objective post virus/deletion/ ransomware "Yes" icon. Immediate, assuming versioning on "Some issues" icon. Limited, possibly never "Yes" icon. Immediate via snapshots "Yes" icon. Immediate via snapshots "Yes" icon. Immediate via snapshots "Yes" icon. Immediate via shadow copy
Versioning "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "Yes" icon.
Email notification "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon.
Self-service access control "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. N/A N/A "No" icon. "Yes" icon.
Groups Service integration "Yes" icon. "Some issues" icon. N/A N/A "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon.
External Identity Sharing "No" icon. "Yes" icon. N/A N/A "No" icon. "No" icon.
Auto-mapping available at logon "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon.
Synchronous editing "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon.
Recommended for Access DBs "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "Yes" icon.
Protocol support HTTPS, MS-FSSHTTP HTTPS CIFS/SMB, SFTP CIFS/SMB CIFS/SMB CIFS/SMB
Client platform support Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, web browser Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, web browser Windows, Mac, Linux Windows, Mac, Linux Windows, Mac, Linux Windows, Mac, Linux
Encryption in-transit "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "Not by default" icon.
Encryption at-rest "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "Not by default" icon.
UI usability "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Great" icon. "Great" icon. "Great" icon. "Great" icon.
Available in 5 years? (speculative) "Great" icon. "Yes" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "No" icon. "Yes" icon.
MWS Recommended "Great" icon. "Yes" icon. "Yes" icon. "Some issues" icon. "Some issues" icon. "Great" icon.

 Symbols reference

Symbol
Meaning
"Great" icon. Great or recommended
"Yes" icon. OK or Yes
"Some issues" icon. Some issues
"No" icon. Not recommended, discouraged, or No
"Unclear" icon. Unclear; may depend on the scenario
"Warning" icon. All classifications depend on entire solution not just storage
"Not by default" icon. Not by default