Egnyte to Egnyte Connector

Overview

Egnyte to Egnyte Connector enables customers to connect separate Egnyte tenants via a one-way sync. The one-way sync will copy content only (all versions of files and folders) and will not include other file information such as metadata or permissions. By using this connector, both parties can retain a copy of the data in their own tenant, without the need to download from one tenant only to reupload in another.

The article describes the step to establish an Egnyte to Egnyte connection and its best practices.

Creating a Connection

Egnyte to Egnyte connection requests can be made from both Egnyte Collaborate as well as Egnyte Secure & Govern. Review the steps outlined in each section below to understand the connection creation process.

From Secure & Govern (S&G)

Users with the Initiate Connections permission in S&G will be able to create a connection from S&G via the following steps:

1. Select Settings
2. Select Egnyte to Egnyte Connector.
   
   
   
   

3. To create a new connection, select the Add new option.
   
   
   
   

4. This will open a page where the user can specify the parameters of the connection. Each parameter is detailed below:
   
   
   
   

   • Job Name: This is a string used to identify your Egnyte to Egnyte connection. The job name will be copied from the source domain and will be identical in the destination domain. Duplicate job names cannot be used.
   • Source Domain: This is the Egnyte Collaborate instance from which the user wants to copy data. Only linked Egnyte domains will be available from this dropdown. To add or remove an Egnyte domain to this list, add or remove an Egnyte source from “Settings -> >Content Sources” in S&G.
   • Destination Domain: This is the Egnyte tenant to which the users want to copy the data. If accepted, data will flow from the source domain into the destination domain. Only 1 destination domain can be applied per connection at this time.
   • Parent Folder: This is where the user will select the folder(s) that they want to share with the destination domain. After selecting the folder(s), folder paths to the selected folder(s) will be displayed.
   • Optional message:  Once the user creates the request, all admins of the destination domain will receive an email notification that contains this optional message.
     
     While browsing the folders to share, some folders may be unavailable for selection. Top level folders such as "/Shared" or "/All Private Folders" are restricted, while others may be unavailable due to conflicts with other ongoing Egnyte processes.  Hover over the disabled folder to view a tooltip that will provide additional information.
     
     
     
     
5. Once all connection details are entered, select the Create request button in the top right corner of the screen.
   
   

After creating a connection request directly from S&G, the connection request will immediately be sent to the destination domain and the status will be Pending.

Admins as well as power users with the Accept & Reject Connections permission (see Permissions section below) within the destination domain will receive notification that there is a pending Egnyte to Egnyte connection request.

From Collaborate:

Any admin or power user with full permission on a folder and its subfolders will be able to create an Egnyte to Egnyte connection request from Collaborate via the following steps:

1. From within a folder, select Share > Egnyte to Egnyte Connector > Create
   
   
   
   
2. The Egnyte to Egnyte Connection Request screen will open with the pre-selected source domain and the corresponding folder from which the Create action was initiated.
   • Users can populate the remaining fields on the connection request form as outlined in Step 4 of the Creating a Connection From S&G section above.
   • Once all connection details are entered, click Create request.
     
     

Depending on the creator’s permissions in Secure & Govern, the connection request will follow one of two paths:

• If the connection request is created by an Admin or a Power User with the Accept & Reject Connections permissions, it will promptly be sent to the destination domain, and its status will be set to Pending.
  Admins and designated Power Users in the destination domain will receive a notification that a pending Egnyte to Egnyte connection request has been received.

If the connection request is created by a Power User without the Accept & Reject Connections permissions, it will be placed in Internal Review status. A user with the Accept & Reject Connections permission must approve it before it can be sent to the destination domain.
When a connection request is in Internal Review status, Admins and Power Users with the Accept & Reject Connections permission in the source domain will be notified there is a request that requires their review.

Internal Review

Once a request has been created from Egnyte Collaborate and been placed in Internal Review status, an approval workflow is initiated.

1. Users with the Accept & Reject Connections permission can select Review Request from the Egnyte to Egnyte Connector dashboard.
   
   
   
   
2. This will open the review screen where users can Approve or Reject the request. Rejecting the request will also remove it from the Egnyte to Egnyte Connector dashboard.
   
   
   
   

3. If approved, the connection status will change from Internal Review to Pending and will now be sent to the destination domain for their review.

4. If the request is rejected, the user who rejected it can provide a reason for rejection, which will be sent back to the request's creator.
   
   

Accepting or Rejecting a Connection

When a user receives an Egnyte to Egnyte connection request at as the destination domain, admins as well as Power Users with the Accept & Reject Connections permission will receive email notifications and in-app notifications informing them of the request. Selecting the link provided in either the email or in-app notification will navigate them to the Egnyte to Egnyte Connector dashboard. Additionally, they can navigate directly to the Egnyte to Egnyte Connector module in S&G.

Upon receipt of the connection request, the connection will be in Pending status. Users with the Accept & Reject permissions will be able to select the Review request option where they will be presented with some basic information about the connection including who initiated it, from which domain, which folder they are sharing, and approximate folder size.

Users can review this information and choose any of the following options:

• Cancel
• Accept
• Reject

By selecting Cancel, a user can defer their decision to a later time.

If the user chooses to reject a connection, they can optionally add a reason for rejection. This text will be included in an email that is sent back to the admins of the initiating domain.

After selecting Accept -> Next, the user will be prompted to choose the folder location in which they want to save the incoming data.

 

Egnyte will intelligently check before a connection is accepted if there are account level conflicts that prevent files from syncing. These include file size limit differences, file version count differences, if the connection will cause a domain to exceed their allotted storage, and more. This process will run in the background and users will only see these notifications if there are conflicts.

Once a connection is established, Egnyte will automatically set the Who can delete or move this folder option to Admins and Owners. This is intended to reduce the likelihood that a connection is broken from deleting or relocating the syncing folder.

 

Connection Statuses

There are several statuses that are used to inform users of the status of their connections.

• Internal Review: The connection request has been created by an internal employee but has not yet been sent to the destination domain. Connection requests in Internal review require approval from an internal employee with the Accept & Reject Connections permission in S&G before they can be sent externally. Once approved, Internal Review requests will be sent to the destination domain and will transition to Pending status.
•  Pending: The connection request has been sent to the destination domain but it is yet to be accepted or rejected.
• Connected: The connection status is healthy with all folders/files syncing properly.
• # Files Skipped: The connection status is healthy, but # files have been skipped due to some limitationslimitation. These limitations can include things like unsupported characters in the file name, locked files, or files that exceed the max file size in the destination domain.
• Expired: The pending request was not accepted or rejected by the destination domain after 7 days. The source domain will have the option to resend an expired connection which will extend the invite for another 7 days.
• Error: There is an issue and files are no longer syncing. Most commonly this will be because the connected folder was deleted, moved, or renamed.

Connection Types

There are 3 types of connections that are supported by Egnyte to Egnyte Connector.

• Outgoing - Data is flowing 1-way out of the Egnyte source that is linked to the current S&G tenant.
• Incoming - Data is flowing 1-way into the Egnyte source that is linked to the current S&G tenant.
• Internal - Data is flowing between two Egnyte sources both linked to the current S&G tenant. Users can select the info icon adjacent to See details in the Connected To column to view which domains are connected and which way data is flowing.

Connection Details or Removing a Connection

When the user clicks the More [...] button on an Egnyte-to-Egnyte folder connection in the Egnyte-to-Egnyte Connector dashboard, there will be up to three options. The number of options available may vary depending on the connection status or user permissions.

• View details – Selecting this option will show the details of the connection including which domains are connected, as well as which folders are included in the connection. From this page the source domain can also optionally edit the job name.
  
  
  
  
• Stop and remove – Upon confirming this selection, the Egnyte to Egnyte connection will be severed and data will no longer sync from the source domain into the destination domain. Any data that has already synced into the destination domain will be maintained in that domain.
  
  
  
  
• View folder – This will open a pop-up allowing the user to select a folder from this connection to be viewed in Egnyte Collaborate.
  
  

Permissions

From Settings -> User Management -> Roles in S&G, an admin can create a custom role that includes or excludes access to the Egnyte to Egnyte Connector module. By default, all admins will have access to the Egnyte to Egnyte Connector module.

To create a custom role, select the Add role option. After providing a Role name and Description, the Egnyte to Egnyte Connector Folder permissions can optionally be toggled on. Furthermore, an admin can elect for granular permissions including the ability to initiate, accept & reject, or remove connections.

Upon saving this role, any users that are assigned this role will inherit the selected permissions.

Visual Indicators

Once an Egnyte to Egnyte connection is created on a folder, the folder will have a unique, blue appearance in the WebUI folder hierarchy.

This will serve as a means of notifying end users that data may be flowing into their Egnyte to Egnyte folder or being shared externally.

In addition to the blue folder color, a Egnyte to Egnyte connection folder status will be available from the Status column in the folder listing.

By hovering over the status icon, a user can quickly understand the health of the connection via a tooltip. Clicking on the status icon will allow a user with the appropriate permissions to view the domains that the folder is shared to or from.

Limitations and Clarifications

• Egnyte to Egnyte connections are limited to commercial domains and are not supported on FedRamp or Archival domains.
• Egnyte to Egnyte connections are not supported across international data centers (for example, US to EU or EU to US).
• Most file actions will sync in near real-time except for Rename File. Folder actions are performed on an hourly basis.
• Connections are limited to 5TB, and 5 million files.
• Up to 5 connections can perform their initial sync simultaneously.
• Incoming and outgoing connections are restricted to the same folder.
• Private folders cannot be shared via Egnyte to Egnyte Connector.
• Procore Sync is not supported on an Egnyte to Egnyte connected folder.