Forum Discussion
Sharepoint synchronization issues
Hello all,
for a project we chose Sharepoint 365 as data storage and created a link from the Documents library to OneDrive, so all data stored in Documents is synchronized with the users device (about 30 users are working in this project and are synchronizing this data).
In the Documents library currently there are about 11000 folders (in the root) with subfolders and files each folder.
The problem is, that changes are synchronized veeeeeery slowly.
When a user creates a file/folder oder changes a file/folder locally it takes hours to days(!) until the change is synchronized to Sharepoint (online).
We see, that the OneDrive app is searching and detecting changes, synchronizing changes and finishes synchronization, but the change is not synchronized, also the file/folder is still tagged with the "pending synchronization" icon.
OneDrive restart, Windows reboot, nothing helps.. Sometime later (hours to days) the change is synchronized, but now other users have the problem, that this change needs to be synchronized with them and this process also can take hours to days.
The problem concerns all users that are working in this project.
So, all users are cery frustrated and we have no idea, what we can do.
We hope there is someone who knows possible solutions.
We use Win11, OneDrive 24.091.0505.0003, Sharepoint 365, 1Gb Internet connection
Regards
Florian
2 Replies
- It's not clear why you are linking the Documents library through OneDrive instead of simply syncing necessary SharePoint folders directly. Working via OneDrive can subtract from the working filepath length available, and is fragile to the extent that a SharePoint folder name change can break your OneDrive.
Secondly, it reads as if you're trying to sync a very large number of files: 11000 folders suggest you're working to the very limits of SharePoint sync in optimal device, network and sharing configuration. This indicates that your group is trying to work with SharePoint as if it were a network drive* which it is not. I've written in a recent post about the problems caused about from "lift and shift" without altering your data architecture.
If your file architecture requires frequent shared changes or reads of thousands of files, then SharePoint is not the solution. You should be working with a database that can handle the transactions or stay on a network drive. (Scientific data sets are a good example of this.)
*Mapping a network drive to Sharepoint/OneDrive is a dangerous short-term solution due to the file-locking and namespace issues. FlorianIT Have you tried mapping a network drive instead? You should find that changes will be applied to SharePoint, and vice versa, faster than the syncing approach. There are several apps available for https://www.thinkscape.com/Map-Network-Drives-To-Office-365-OneDrive/.
