Forum Discussion
Migrating file shares over 100GB to SharePoint Online
We currently have several file shares on an on-premises Windows server, with some shares exceeding 100GB. We intend to migrate these files to SharePoint Online. However, I have been informed that it ...
The information you received about a 100GB limit for migrating to SharePoint Online is not entirely accurate. There are limitations, but they are on file size per upload and total items in a library, not necessarily the total size of the entire migration.
Here's a breakdown of the relevant SharePoint Online limitations:
- Maximum file upload size: 250 GB per file https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/sharepoint-online-service-description/sharepoint-online-limits
This means you can upload individual files up to 250GB to SharePoint Online. So, a 100GB file share should be migratable as long as no single file exceeds 250GB.
- Number of items in a library: There's no hard limit on the total storage space in a SharePoint library, but Microsoft recommends keeping the number of items below 300,000 for optimal performance while syncing https://www.triofox.com/cloud-file-server-solves-slow-uplink/.
Here's what you can do for migration:
- Migrate directly: If your file shares don't have an excessive number of files (ideally under 300,000), you can migrate them directly to SharePoint using Third-party migration tools like Gs Richcopy 360 , CloudFuze or SharePoint Migration Tool .
- Splitting large shares: If a file share exceeds 300,000 items or contains very large files, consider splitting it logically into smaller chunks based on project, department, or file type. This keeps the number of items in each library manageable and avoids exceeding the 250GB upload limit for individual files.
- OneDrive for Business: For very large individual files (over 250GB), explore using OneDrive for Business. OneDrive supports individual files up to 250GB, which can then be synced with a SharePoint document library for collaboration.
Here's a breakdown of the relevant SharePoint Online limitations:
- Maximum file upload size: 250 GB per file https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/sharepoint-online-service-description/sharepoint-online-limits
This means you can upload individual files up to 250GB to SharePoint Online. So, a 100GB file share should be migratable as long as no single file exceeds 250GB.
- Number of items in a library: There's no hard limit on the total storage space in a SharePoint library, but Microsoft recommends keeping the number of items below 300,000 for optimal performance while syncing https://www.triofox.com/cloud-file-server-solves-slow-uplink/.
Here's what you can do for migration:
- Migrate directly: If your file shares don't have an excessive number of files (ideally under 300,000), you can migrate them directly to SharePoint using Third-party migration tools like Gs Richcopy 360 , CloudFuze or SharePoint Migration Tool .
- Splitting large shares: If a file share exceeds 300,000 items or contains very large files, consider splitting it logically into smaller chunks based on project, department, or file type. This keeps the number of items in each library manageable and avoids exceeding the 250GB upload limit for individual files.
- OneDrive for Business: For very large individual files (over 250GB), explore using OneDrive for Business. OneDrive supports individual files up to 250GB, which can then be synced with a SharePoint document library for collaboration.