Egnyte File Server - 5 types of access

Egnyte’s online file server is a winner for many clients. It epitomizes the type of powerful but simple service that InterConnected Technologies believes allow small businesses to maintain a simple, manageable I/T environment without the burden of “big business” overhead.

Egnyte offers users 4 ways to access files, which I’ll describe here.

Access Type	Description / Use	Advantages	Disadvantages
Power user – Personal Local Cloud	This method mirrors to the local hard drive some or all of the files to which the user has permissions, and keeps them in sync: files changed on the file server are mirrored to the local disk, and changes to files on the local disk are mirrored to the server.	Fast, local access to files. Access to files when the computer is not online.	Files accessible if computer is lost or stolen. Increased likelihood of parallel changes to a single file.
Power user – Network Drive	This method creates a network drive that operates in a manner similar to a typical drive on a network server.	Users can manipulate files in largely the same way they manipulate files on the local computer. Files are not on the local disk in case of loss or theft of the machine.	Access to files only when the computer is online. Performance inferior to accessing local files. User may be prompted for file access credentials.
Power user – Manually Mapped Network Drive	This method is largely similar to the Network Drive option.	Similar to those of Network Drive. Specific Windows drive letter can be chosen and adjusted.	Similar to those of Network Drive. Awkward implementation of file access controls.
Power / Standard user – Web Access	This method uses a well-designed web-based interface to provide upload/download access to files.	Simple access to files from any internet-connected computer. Plentiful Standard User accounts are provided at each plan level to allow more limited team members to participate.	No ability to open/change/save files direction – files must be downloaded for editing and then uploaded manually afterward.
File / Folder sharing link	Power or Standard users can be allowed to create and send links to files and folders via email.	Allows users to send links to files too large to email.	Could expose sensitive files to inappropriate access if not used properly.