Overview
Are you in the process of data migration planning? Would you like to move your contents to Box? Read below!
The following article content was adapted from HumTech Server Migration Notes. Please contact the HumTech team for questions on their document or the OCISO UISL team for more information on the content below.
Step 1: is box ftp a good option for me?
Box supports File Transfer Protocol (FTP) as an add-in to your Box account, and it is supported for all known FTP clients. We recommend FTP as an easy way to upload or download large files and folders, or migrate files off legacy storage into your Box account.
FTP is a great option if you need to do a one-time migration of data into Box. Here is an article from Box on this process.
As you prepare to begin migration planning, start with researching if this is a good option for you, your data, and your organization.
Step 2 : How much content are you migrating?
This article from Box support outlines essential preparation steps for using Box Shuttle (in the Admin Console) to migrate content into Box. It emphasizes the following:
- Inventory your Content: Identify all systems containing your content, measure total file volume and count, and categorize items by factors such as active vs archival or personal vs departmental. Use this information to prioritize what to migrate first.
- Define the Objectives: Do you have a deadline? Is the deadline realistic based on the content? What does a successful migration look like to you or your organization?
- Phase your Migration: Break the migration into smaller projects (such as active vs archival or personal vs departmental) to make the process more manageable.
- Know what Box is and is not for: Box is ideal for collaborative content, but it is not designed for backing up large structured data like PST files or databases. Those types should use traditional backup tools (guidelines for backup in IS-3 pg 28 and IS-12).
Step 3 : how do i use FTP for migration to Box?
- Box Admin Console, Box Shuttle
- Using Box with FTPS
- Having trouble with FTPS for Box? Try this Box support article.
- Drag and Drop (for migrating only a few files or less content overall)
HumTech Migration Tips (From Adrian, chris, and daniel)
- "Amongst the different FTP or SFTP or S3 clients out there (having used AWS CLI, Linux clients, and Windows clients to upload files), I've found that a Windows OS (with 16GB+ RAM more the better) using a GUI client like CyberDuck or WinSCP works fastest for big and complex folder/file structures. I'm talking about Terabytes of data in folders (1500 plus folders) plus several levels down with just as a many files/folders (150K plus)."
- "Try optimizing uploads/downloads by adjusting the download/upload options and also the synchronize options. This will transfer only the updated/changed/missing files. Note - the client will error out sometimes (during large/complex transfers) so check the client every few hours and restart the process via synchronize. Again, transfer only missing files and save yourself hours of work. Hope this helps and happy migrations to you!"
