Microsoft OneDrive

General Information OneDrive with your ETH-Account

Microsoft OneDrive is a personal cloud storage solution from Microsoft that is available to all ETH Zurich employees via the Microsoft 365 subscription. This cloud-based solution makes it possible to access data on clients and mobile devices from anywhere - without the need for a VPN connection to ETH Zurich. The modern sync client runs in the background, backs up and always keeps your files up to date. 

OneDrive with ETH account is referred to by Microsoft as "OneDrive for work or school" (formerly also "OneDrive for Business") and is released for confidential data. 

However, it should not be confused with "OneDrive for home" (formerly also "OneDrive Personal"). With OneDrive for home, login is via a private Microsoft account and the service is not approved for the storage of ETH Zurich data classified as confidential.

Data Location

The data location of Microsoft OneDrive is in Switzerland.

Access

By default, only the data owner has access to the data on a personal OneDrive. They can make their data available to other users within the organization. Web-based access is via the URL: https://ethz-my.sharepoint.com.

Encryption

Encryption in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn

Storage space

Due to the introduction of "PoolStorage", quotas for personal OneDrives have been introduced and adjusted as follows:

For the personal OneDrive, employees have 100 GB and students 20 GB free of charge.
A fee-based extension is not possible.

Further information on storage space can be found in the Sharepoint Online SLA:  Sharepoint Online SLA

As soon as 90% of the available memory has been reached, the user is notified by e-mail. If more storage space is used than the quota allows, the user still has read access to their files, but cannot add any new files.

In the following example, the user's quota has been set to 100 GB. However, the storage space used to date is 743.45 GB. In this case, the user can only read their files and only edit them again when the storage space used is less than the quota.

Maximum number of files

To ensure good performance, Microsoft recommends storing / synchronizing no more than 300,000 files in OneDrive. From 300,000 files in OneDrive, problems can occur during the synchronization process, this also applies if not all files are synchronized. 

Further information and restrictions: Restrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint - Microsoft Support

Restore Data

If data is accidentally deleted, it is available for recovery in Recycle Bin (first and second stage) for 93 days. Once the 93 days have expired, the data is permanently deleted and cannot be restored. Documents are also saved in versions by default.

The procedure for restoring data via versioning or the recycle bin is described in the following Microsoft article. In addition, Microsoft offers the functionality to restore the entire OneDrive to an earlier point in time within the last 30 days, this is described in the following Microsoft article: Restore your OneDrive files.

Data Lifecycle (deletion and restore)

When understanding the lifecycle of OneDrive, it is important to know the following prerequisites:

• OneDrive is based on SharePoint technology.
• OneDrive offers a "FileManager" like view of an underlying SharePoint site. However, the handling of files and folders is identical to SharePoint.
• OneDrive (unlike SharePoint) is linked to the lifecycle of a cloud account

OneDrive file deletion and restore:

• When a file is deleted in OneDrive, it is placed in the so-called 1st stage recycle bin (= site recycle bin) for 30 days
• After 30 days or when the 1st stage recycle bin is emptied, the files are "moved" to the 2nd stage recycle bin (= site collection recycle bin )
• 93 days after the initial deletion, the file is permanently deleted. (Regardless of how long the file was in the 1st stage recycle bin

OneDrive Lifecycle is linked to the Microsoft Work/School account:

• OneDrive is created when an account with an A1 or A5 license opens the OneDrive app for the first time.
• One Drive “lives” until an account is deleted.
  • Account deletion is managed by IAM:
    • For administrative and technical employees, the account is deleted immediately after the departure date and OneDrive is no longer available!
    • For scientific employees and students, the account is deleted after a 180-day grace period and OneDrive is no longer available.
• OneDrive data from deleted accounts cannot be restored.
• Before deletion of the account, the user should back up his data or transfer into to a different location.

Background information

• When an account is deleted, it is moved to the EntraID “Deleted user” recycle bin for 30 days. This sets the account's OneDrive to “marked for deletion” for 30 days. The “owner” of the OneDrive can no longer log in and has therefore lost access to OneDrive. Deleted accounts are not restored. Active users who have a share on the OneDrive can still access it for 30 days.
• After 30 days, OneDrive is moved to the so-called Site collection recycle bin. From this point on, the OneDrive is no longer available to any accounts.
• The OneDrive now remains in the Site collection recycle bin for 93 days and could be restored by court order and with the necessary approvals from an administrator.
• Considering that an identity in IAM is subject to a 180-day grace period after departure, a OneDrive account at ETH Zurich will be permanently deleted after 180 + 30 + 93 = 303 days!

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