Use Zotero on a local Server

HannesK
Dear evryone!
I have the following problem:
I would like to use Zotero standalone on a local server. 15 People have there own acounts on this server and all of them want to use the same Zotero library. If one person is adding a document everyone else should be able to see and use this document.
As far as I understand the only possibilty to do this is to create an account where everyone logs in, stores the data at zotero and than syncs the data. But is there also a possibility to store the data locally and sync it from there?

Thanks very much and all the best!

Hannes
  • mronkko
    edited December 12, 2011
    It would not work like that. The SQLite database used by Zotero does not support multiple users using the same database file. The way to have a shared Zotero DB is that each user has their own copy of the database and then Zotero server is used for synchronization. You can install a local copy of the server, but it can be tricky and it might not be the right solution for your problem.

    If you explain what you want to accomplish, people here at the forums can point out the best way. EDIT: Specifically, is there a reason not to use the Zotero server hosted at Zotero.org?
  • dragonfly
    EDIT: Specifically, is there a reason not to use the Zotero server hosted at Zotero.org?

    ===============================================

    In my case where I have a similar multi-user application in mind .. I can think of one good reason .. data privacy. What measures protect confidential data held on zotero server (wherever that is in the cloud)?
  • mronkko
    You can install a local copy of the server, and confidentiality is a good reason for doing so.

    There is some discussion on how to do this on the Zotero-dev mailing list, so this is probably the best starting point.

    http://groups.google.com/group/zotero-dev
  • HannesK
    Hi everyone!
    Thank you for the answers!
    Yes, data privacy is exactly the reason.
    @mronnko: Whaht do you mean by installing a local copy of the server?Conserning the google group I couldn´t find anything...

    All the best,

    Hannes
  • ajlyon
    The option of running a local server is only for people with significant technical skill. Details here: http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/dataserver_setup

    People using a local server should not expect technical support from the Zotero team, although questions to the community are welcome on zotero-dev.
  • HannesK
    I am deffenitly not skilled enough to do an installation and I will ask someone else. But before I ask I would like to know if I can use Zotero the same as with the Zotero Server. If I have different users can they sync with the data on the server?
  • adamsmith
    yes, this would work exactly as it does now - but you should take the warnings about it being difficult seriously. Unless you have a dedicated web/tech support person for your working group this is most likely not the way to go.
    What measures protect confidential data held on zotero server (wherever that is in the cloud)?
    data and passwords are send via ssl, i.e. secure by industry standards. The data is stored on Amazons S3 cloud storage systems, which are likely more secure than anything a private working group can set up. There may still be legal reasons to not sync with Zotero (US law can create issues, as can data security regulations/protocols that ban any cloud storage of data) and for those cases a local installation is the only way to go.
  • dragonfly
    Would it be feasible at some stage for client side encryption to be added as a zotero plugin?

    http://aws.amazon.com/articles/2850096021478074

    Bouncy castle could be the crypto provider.
  • adamsmith
    doubt it - how are you going to do database syncing with client side encryption?
    Look - if you have super-sensitive data, just don't sync. You can carry your library on an encrypted USB stick.
  • ajlyon
    Well, you could still encrypt the contents of the records client-side. But anyone with that serious of security concerns should be looking into a local Zotero dataserver as well.
  • InnoZ
    It is possible to use a local server. just install the standalone in each account or on each computer and then chose the same directory for the database in each account.

    But there is a big problem: only one person at a time is able to connect to the database
  • adamsmith
    no, don't do that. You'll corrupt your database. If you need to sync locally, installing a local server as discussed above really is the only way to go.
  • Ulrich Windl
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/dataserver_setup gives just "This topic does not exist yet", because it was deleted. A poor choice IMHO.
  • noksagt
    Note those directions were very out-of-date and were "unofficial" in that they were not maintained by the Zotero developers (nor is there any official support for the server).

    There are threads on the topic of running a local server on the developer forums, e.g. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/zotero-dev/MEwLaptJIzI

    But note carefully again: this is not supported.
  • adamsmith
    I think deleting was the right thing to do, given the instructions were useless by that time and better alternatives existed as you point to, but doing so w/o a placeholder message (saying essentially that) was probably not ideal.
  • dragonfly
    Can a local WebDAV server be used?
  • adamsmith
    For files -- obviously, yes, and many people do. Setting that up is fairly trivial. But that will still sync metadata (including notes) with the Zotero server. For that, you need a much more elaborate server structure.
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