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NFC Vault : File Server Offline Access

Do you have field technicians who need to work from trailers where Wi-Fi is sporadic? Do you have employees who need to go to customer facilities without Internet access? And do they need to access documents on the company file server at the same time?

Story 1 - Field Engineers Access Company File Server

Many companies have field employees who work in different cities and at different workstations. To access the company's file servers, they typically resort to either VPN or RDP. However, both VPN and RDP require stable active VPN connections. If worksites do not have good Internet connectivity, on-site employees may not be able to access files and folders over a VPN. In this case, employees will ask their colleagues at headquarters to somehow send them a copy of the file. The ad hoc method of sending files to field workers is likely to be to email attachments to field workers working from workstation attachments. From the CIOs' perspective, this is neither efficient nor productive. A better way is to store an "offline favorites" folder on employees' remote desktops or laptops. The offline folder can retrieve all changed files in advance, then store all changed files locally on the remote device and synchronize the files back to the company's file servers when the Internet connection is good

Remote Access Illustration
Remote Access Illustration

Story 2 - Accessing Company File Servers from the customer's location

You may have employees who need to go to the customer's premises, buildings and work locations to get their work done. There is no guest internet connection at the client's premises for security or other compliance reasons. Often, employees would have to sync files and folders (e.g., building drawings) the night before at the hotel before going to the client's premises the next day. This process is inefficient and could be disrupted if the hotel does not allow VPN tunnels over the hotel's Wi-Fi system.

Other solutions such as Dropbox, OneDrive or even Windows Offline Folder can help, but each has its problems. Solutions like Dropbox and OneDrive require removing files and folders from the company's file servers. This creates duplicate data silos: some data is on the file server, some is in the online services. Windows Offline Folder also has its problems, as it is almost obsolete and has to give way to OneDrive and SharePoint.

You need to keep data on file servers and provide an offline folder for external employees

Requirement - You have to keep data on file servers

The need to store data on current file servers can be due to several reasons. It could be application compatibility, so you have some specific applications that need to run on file servers. It could be data protection and control requirements, or it's simply cheaper to run file servers in an on-premises virtualized environment than in the cloud. So the offline folder features that are introduced need to work directly with the file servers without transferring data to other online storage services.

Unified Data Management

Your file servers are still the best shared playground for your business applications. You have an independent workload that uses different cloud storage solutions, resulting in data being stored in separate silos. It's time to consolidate data onto a single platform.

Eliminate Reliance on VPN and RDP

VPN and RDP are traditional methods for accessing file server data. However, they also require constant and active connections back to the corporate firewall for the access method to work. One of the requirements is to be able to remove these dependencies. Offline folders provide the ability to access network shares from file servers via a web protocol (e.g., HTTPS) without requiring concurrent active connections to a corporate firewall.

Centralized Mobility

Employees demand mobility when working from home or remote locations. At first glance, cloud-based solutions for synchronizing and sharing files look promising. However, over time, some business applications have been left behind on the company's file servers. The company faces the situation that mobility means different tools for different workloads. It is better to consolidate mobility into a centralized data platform.

NFC Vault Solution

Mapped Drive

A mapped drive over the HTTPS channel to the corporate file server is an important feature. Employees are familiar with a mapped drive and no additional training is required.

File Locking

Most file sharing solutions provide manual file locking in the form of "check in" and "check out". NFC Vault provides automatic file locking by detecting requests to open files. When Microsoft Word opens a file, file locking is automatically initiated and automatically terminated when file processing is complete.

Active Directory

Enterprise users already have enterprise identities in Active Directory and the associated Active Directory federated service and SAML single sign-on. They do not need additional credentials to access a file sharing solution.

File Permissions

Finally, integration with Active Directory and NTFS permissions makes it easier for system administrators to set up permission control. The permissions features set Gladinet's solution apart from the competition.

Key Benefits of Our Solution

1. Usability
Usability Benefits

Easy Deployment: NFC Vault is easy to install on a clean Windows Server. You can enable remote file server access without VPN in an hour without data migration.

Familiar User Experience: SharePoint is challenging as a file server migration destination. NFC Vault provides a mapped drive over HTTPS for simplified access from anywhere.

No Additional Training Required: NFC Vault's drive-based access requires no training. Right-click to share or request file transfers.

Simplify Management: NFC Vault is much simpler to manage with auditing, reporting and policy-based administration.

2. Security
3. Control
4. Efficiency
5. Reduce Cost

Cloud Power + Web Simplicity + File Server Security

NFC Vault is a web server that accepts file requests from client agents over the HTTPS/SSL protocol. These requests are then translated into Active Directory and File Server network share access protected by NTFS permissions. When all permission checks have passed, the file is sent back via HTTPS/SSL to the client agents. NFC Vault uses this approach to combine the power of a mapped drive with the simplicity of web browsing and the security of a VPN!

NFC Vault Web Server

NFC Vault creates a web server front end accepting client agent requests from remote Windows, Mac, web browser, iOS and Android devices. Client agents provide drive mapping functionality.

Agents Send File Request

Client agents send HTTPS/SSL requests to the NFC Vault server. NFC Vault server can log the requests for auditing purposes and also coordinate the file access and sharing demands.

Active Directory Integration

Active Directory and NTFS permissions are used to check whether the file requests are allowed. After that, file requests are satisfied and returned via HTTPS/SSL to client agents.

Benefits

Mobile File Share Access

Easily collaborate with business partners by providing them with mobile access to a limited set of internal files or folders. Share files with non-AD users while maintaining administrative controls.

Mobile Access to File Servers

Simplify mobile access to file shares via mapped drives or browser interfaces across all platforms, including iOS, Android, and desktop OS.

Reduce Costs with a simple VPN Alternative

Eliminate the cost and complexity of VPNs using existing users and permissions. Supports Always On VPN, Direct Access, etc.

Enhance Data Security

Military-grade encryption, secure HTTPS access, and user permission reuse enhance file security and reduce risk.

Centrally Manage Granular Folder Permissions

Manage folder permissions natively from the source file server or redefine them centrally without complexity.

On-Demand Synchronization

Download files only when needed. Display full directory structure while conserving bandwidth and storage.

Guarantee Data Privacy

Use internal file servers for mobile access without exposing them publicly. Ensures compliance and lowers cloud risks.

Centralized Mobility

Avoid switching to different cloud file platforms. Consolidate mobility and access into your existing file server structure.

Increase Productivity

Use always-on mapped drives and mobile apps to access internal file shares anywhere, anytime, on any device.

On-Premises Alternative to Dropbox and SharePoint

Leverage your existing infrastructure to replicate Dropbox and SharePoint functionality without external dependency.

Simplify Management

Centrally manage access, users, and storage. Keep track of who accesses what and how data flows within your organization.

Maintain Compliance

Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA by tracking access logs, changes, and applying proper access controls.