Can Windows 10 be used as a file server?

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Work Folders overview

• Article
• 08/29/2022
• 10 minutes to read

In this article

Applies to: Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7

This topic discusses Work Folders, a role service for file servers running Windows Server that provides a consistent way for users to access their work files from their PCs and devices.

If you're looking to download or use Work Folders on Windows 10, Windows 7, or an Android or iOS device, see the following:

• Work Folders for Windows 10
• Work Folders for Windows 7 (64 bit download)
• Work Folders for Windows 7 (32 bit download)
• Work Folders for iOS
• Work Folders for Android

Note

The Work Folders application for Android and iOS is no longer being actively developed and will remain on the respective app stores if the application is functioning properly.

Role description

With Work Folders users can store and access work files on personal computers and devices, often referred to as bring-your-own device (BYOD), in addition to corporate PCs. Users gain a convenient location to store work files, and they can access them from anywhere. Organizations maintain control over corporate data by storing the files on centrally managed file servers, and optionally specifying user device policies such as encryption and lock-screen passwords.

Work Folders can be deployed with existing deployments of Folder Redirection, Offline Files, and home folders. Work Folders stores user files in a folder on the server called a sync share. You can specify a folder that already contains user data, which enables you to adopt Work Folders without migrating servers and data or immediately phasing out your existing solution.

Practical applications

Administrators can use Work Folders to provide users with access to their work files while keeping centralized storage and control over the organization's data. Some specific applications for Work Folders include:

• Provide a single point of access to work files from a user's work and personal computers and devices

• Access work files while offline, and then sync with the central file server when the PC or device next has Internet or intranet connectivity

• Deploy with existing deployments of Folder Redirection, Offline Files, and home folders

• Use existing file server management technologies, such as file classification and folder quotas, to manage user data

• Specify security policies to instruct user's PCs and devices to encrypt Work Folders and use a lock screen password

• Use Failover Clustering with Work Folders to provide a high-availability solution

Important functionality

Work Folders includes the following functionality.

New and changed functionality

The following table describes some of the major changes in Work Folders.

Software requirements

Work Folders has the following software requirements for file servers and your network infrastructure:

• A server running Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2012 R2 for hosting sync shares with user files

• A volume formatted with the NTFS file system for storing user files

• To enforce password policies on Windows 7 PCs, you must use Group Policy password policies. You also have to exclude the Windows 7 PCs from Work Folders password policies (if you use them).

• A server certificate for each file server that will host Work Folders. These certificates should be from a certification authority (CA) that is trusted by your users—ideally a public CA.

• (Optional) An Active Directory Domain Services forest with the schema extensions in Windows Server 2012 R2 to support automatically referring PCs and devices to the correct file server when using multiple file servers.

To enable users to sync across the Internet, there are additional requirements:

• The ability to make a server accessible from the Internet by creating publishing rules in your organization's reverse proxy or network gateway

• (Optional) A publicly registered domain name and the ability to create additional public DNS records for the domain

• (Optional) Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) infrastructure when using AD FS authentication

Work Folders has the following software requirements for client computers:

• PCs and devices must be running one of the following operating systems:

  • Windows 10

  • Windows 8.1

  • Windows RT 8.1

  • Windows 7

  • Android 4.4 KitKat and later

  • iOS 10.2 and later

Note

The Work Folders application for Android and iOS is no longer being actively developed and will remain on the respective app stores if the application is functioning properly.

• Windows 7 PCs must be running one of the following editions of Windows:

  • Windows 7 Professional

  • Windows 7 Ultimate

  • Windows 7 Enterprise

• Windows 7 PCs must be joined to your organization's domain (they can't be joined to a workgroup).

• Enough free space on a local, NTFS-formatted drive to store all the user's files in Work Folders, plus an additional 6 GB of free space if Work Folders is located on the system drive, as it is by default. Work Folders uses the following location by default: %USERPROFILE%\Work Folders

  However, users can change the location during setup (microSD cards and USB drives formatted with the NTFS file system are supported locations, though sync will stop if the drives are removed).

  The maximum size for individual files is 10 GB by default. There is no per-user storage limit, although administrators can use the quotas functionality of File Server Resource Manager to implement quotas.

• Work Folders doesn't support rolling back the virtual machine state of client virtual machines. Instead perform backup and restore operations from inside the client virtual machine by using System Image Backup or another backup app.

Work Folders compared to other sync technologies

The following table discusses how various Microsoft sync technologies are positioned and when to use each.

Note

In addition to the sync technologies listed in the previous table, Microsoft offers other replication technologies, including DFS Replication, which is designed for server-to-server replication, and BranchCache, which is designed as a branch office WAN acceleration technology. For more information, see DFS Namespaces and DFS Replication and BranchCache Overview

Server Manager information

Work Folders is part of the File and Storage Services role. You can install Work Folders by using the Add Roles and Features Wizard or the Install-WindowsFeature cmdlet. Both methods accomplish the following:

• Adds the Work Folders page to File and Storage Services in Server Manager

• Installs the Windows Sync Shares service, which is used by Windows Server to host sync shares

• Installs the SyncShare Windows PowerShell module to manage Work Folders on the server

Interoperability with Windows Azure virtual machines

You can run this Windows Server role service on a virtual machine in Windows Azure. This scenario has been tested with Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019.

To learn how to get started, see Virtual machines in Azure.

See also

Can you use Windows 10 as a file server?

Can Windows 10 be a domain controller?

Is Windows Server a file server?