Nextcloud

Nextcloud#

Nextcloud provides universal access to your files via the web, your computer or your mobile devices wherever you are. It also provides a platform to easily view and synchronize your contacts, calendars and bookmarks across all your devices and enables basic editing right on the web.

Key features:

  • configure Nextcloud with MariaDB and Redis cache

  • integration with NethServer 8 User domains

  • automatic backup

You can install multiple Nextcloud instances on the same node from the Software center.

Configuration#

Nextcloud needs a dedicated virtual host, an FQDN like nextcloud.nethserver.org.

Before proceeding with the configuration, make sure to create the corresponding name record inside your DNS server. If you are planning to use a Let’s Encrypt certificate as default, make also sure to have a corresponding public DNS record.

After the installation:

  1. access the Settings page of the newly installed instance

  2. enter a valid FQDN inside the Host name field

  3. enable Let's Encrypt option accordingly to your needs

  4. setup a Password for user 'admin', or leave the default one

  5. click the Save button

As default, Nextcloud has its own user database. You can also connect the instance to an existing user domain: all users from the domain will be able to login with their own credentials. The built-in admin user is always enabled.

If you want to integrate with Collabora (CODE) online see below, The option will be available after Nextcloud has been initialized on first start-up: it usually takes less then a minute.

Note

Nextcloud update/upgrade procedure may disable the apps to avoid incompatibility problems. Server logs keep track of which apps were disabled. After a successful update/upgrade procedure you can use the Applications page to update and re-enable the apps.

User list#

All users are listed inside the administrator panel of Nextcloud using a unique identifier containing letters and numbers. This is because the system ensures that there are no duplicate internal user names as reported in section Internal Username of Official Nextcloud documentation.

Alternative LDAP mail field (Samba AD)#

When the account provider is an Active Directory, you can change the mail field used by Nextcloud with an environment variable. The default LDAP mail field is userPrincipalName, which corresponds to the AD domain name and not the user’s email address (e.g. user@ad.example.org vs user@example.org). This can be confusing for users, as they will have to use the userPrincipalName to login instead of their email address. The Email address field can be set in the User and groups page if the Samba AD is configured as the local account provider.

By adding LDAP_MAIL_ATTRIBUTE your users will be able to login with:

  • sAMAccountName: eg john

  • userPrincipalName: eg john@ad.domain.com

  • mail: eg john@domain.com

Note

The runagent command is available only on the NethServer 8 node where the application is installed.

Type in a root shell the following command

runagent -m nextcloud1 python3 -c 'import agent ; agent.set_env("LDAP_MAIL_ATTRIBUTE", "mail")'
runagent -m nextcloud1 systemctl --user restart nextcloud

Collabora Online#

First, install and configure a Collabora Online instance.

Then, access the Settings page of Nextcloud module.

You will find an option named CODE server host name. Select one of the existing Collabora instances or enter a domain of another Collabora installation.

The Collabora instance will be accessed using HTTPS protocol, so remember to disable the Verify TLS certification option if the Collabora does not have a valid TLS certificate.

Finally, click the Save button. You will now be able to edit documents directly inside Nextcloud.

Data retention policy#

When it comes to account deletion in Nextcloud, a specific data retention policy is employed based on the user’s account origin:

  • if the account originates from the LDAP account provider, its data isn’t subject to automatic removal. You can find detailed information about this policy in the documentation: LDAP Cleanup.

  • in the case of accounts stored within the internal Nextcloud database, their associated data is immediately and automatically removed upon deletion. Further insights can be accessed here: Deleting Users.

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