Organizing Secure Document Collaboration: How to Install ONLYOFFICE DocSpace Server on Linux

Introduction

Nowadays, online document collaboration is a must for everyone. You definitely need to co-edit numerous docs with your teammates as well as work on office files with various external users, almost everyday.

Keeping this in mind, the open-source project ONLYOFFICE released the DocSpace solution which allows connecting people and files and levels up document collaboration. Let’s discover its features and installation options.

Key features

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is intended to improve collaboration on documents with various  people you need to interact, for example, your colleagues, teammates, customers, partners, contractors, sponsors, etc.

The platform comes with integrated online viewers and editors allowing you to work with files of multiple formats, including text docs, digital forms, sheets, presentations, PDFs, e-books, and multimedia.

Rooms

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace provides a room-based environment which allows organizing a clear file structure depending on your needs or project goals. DocSpace rooms are group spaces with the pre-set access level to ensure quick file sharing and avoid unnecessary repeated actions.

Currently, two types of rooms are available:

• Collaboration rooms to co-author docs, track changes and communicate in real time.
• Custom rooms for any custom purpose, for example, to request document review or comments, or share any content for viewing only.

In the future releases, the ONLYOFFICE developers are going to add further room types such as form filling rooms and private rooms for end-to-end encrypted collaboration.

User roles

Flexible access permissions allow you to fine-tune the access to the whole space or separate rooms. Available actions with files in a room depend on the given role.

• Owner (creates and manages DocSpace)
• DocSpace admin (manages DocSpace)
• Room admin (manages rooms)
• Power user (can create and store their own files)
• User (only has access to the rooms they are invited to, can’t create or store files)
• Editor (can edit docs)
• Viewer (can view docs)
• Reviewer (can suggest changes)
• Commenter (can leave comments)
• Form filler (can fill out forms)

Security

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is a secure way to work with docs. HTTPS protocol encrypts traffic in transit, JWT protects files from unauthorized access. It’s possible to enable password protection and watermarking.

Along with various access levels, space admins are also able to adjust the security settings to control the login procedure and prevent data leaks, including such options as 2FA and Single Sign-On, trusted mail domains and session lifetime, IP restriction, etc. To monitor user activities, Login History and Audit Trail are available.
Automatic and manual data backups ensure your data remain safe in case of any infrastructure failures.

Customization

With the customization settings, you can tailor ONLYOFFICE DocSpace to your liking. Set the language and the timezone, change the space name, its URL, and a description for the Welcome page. Upload you own logo and select the color scheme.

Installation

Installation of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace on Linux servers is available using an automatic script with Docker installed.

System and OS requirements

• At least 4-core CPU (6-core recommended)
• At least 8 GB RAM (12 GB recommended)
• At least 40 GB of free HDD storage space
• At least 6 GB of swap
• amd64 Linux distribution with kernel version 3.10 or later

Installation steps

Download the Docker script file:

wget http://download.onlyoffice.com/docspace/docspace-install.sh

Once ready, make sure you have the root rights and move ahead.

You are able to install ONLYOFFICE DocSpace from the DEB/RPM package:

bash docspace-install.sh package

Or using script for Docker:

bash docspace-install.sh docker

Once finished, launch your browser and type the local network computer IP address in the browser address bar.

On the DocSpace setup page, enter your email, set up password, and accept the License agreement terms. At this step, it’s also possible to select the necessary language and time zone choosing the needed option in the corresponding drop-down list.

When all the parameters are set, click the Continue button.

Conclusion

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is an up-to-date solution for organizing effective and protected collaboration with all types of users. You can install it easily on your own Linux server to get a complete control over your data and its location. Give it a try and share your impressions in the comment section.