Multi-Office Document Sharing Across Protocols

The Problem

Law Firms Need Flexible, Secure Document Access

A law firm with three offices needs a shared document repository. Lawyers, paralegals, and IT staff all access files differently — but they all need to see the same data.

Different Roles, Different Tools

Lawyers live in their SFTP clients — WinSCP, FileZilla, or scripted transfers from case management systems. They need command-line efficiency and secure batch transfers.

Paralegals prefer a browser interface. They need drag-and-drop upload, folder navigation, and the ability to copy documents between case folders without downloading and re-uploading.

IT mounts shared drives via WebDAV on workstations in common areas. Applications open files directly from mapped drives — no manual transfer step.

The challenge

✗ 3 offices, different access needs

✗ Duplicating a 2 GB contract = 2 GB copy

✗ File sync conflicts across locations

✗ Separate auth for each tool

✗ No folder tree in browser portals

✗ Backup complexity (files on disk)

The Solution

One Database, Every Protocol, Instant Copy

Stylus SFTP Server stores all files in a SQL Server database. Three offices access the same data via three protocols. Copy-on-write means duplicating a 2 GB contract is instant — no data is physically copied until one version is modified.

All three offices see the same files in the SQL Server database. Active Directory authenticates every user regardless of their access protocol.

Step-by-Step Setup

Database Backend + LDAP + Multi-Protocol

Configure SQL Server storage, enable the browser portal and WebDAV, and connect Active Directory — all from XML configuration files.

filesystem-config.xml — SQL Server database backend


<filesystem

  xmlns="http://www.xmlpipelineserver.com/sftp/">

  <storage-backend>database</storage-backend>

  <home-root>/${username}</home-root>

  <default-access>read-write</default-access>

</filesystem>

sftp-server.xml — LDAP auth with AD groups


<user-manager>

  <provider>ldap</provider>

  <ldap>

    <url>ldaps://dc.lawfirm.local:636</url>

    <search-base>DC=lawfirm,DC=local</search-base>

    <bind-dn>CN=svc-sftp,OU=ServiceAccounts,DC=lawfirm,DC=local</bind-dn>



    <!-- Lawyers and paralegals: full read-write -->

    <access-groups>

      <group>CN=Lawyers</group>

      <group>CN=Paralegals</group>

    </access-groups>



    <!-- Interns: download only -->

    <read-only-groups>

      <group>CN=Interns</group>

    </read-only-groups>

  </ldap>

</user-manager>



<!-- SQL Server connection -->

<jdbc>

  <url>jdbc:sqlserver://sql.lawfirm.local:1433;databaseName=sftpdb;encrypt=true</url>

</jdbc>



<!-- Enable browser portal and WebDAV -->

<portal enabled="true"/>

<webdav enabled="true"/>

IT workstation — Map WebDAV drive (Windows)


REM Map as network drive W: on shared workstations

net use W: https://sss.lawfirm.local:9980/webdav /user:jdoe

The command completed successfully.



REM Files open directly in Word, Excel, Acrobat

start W:\cases\smith-v-jones\contract-draft.docx

Key Benefits

Why Law Firms Choose Stylus SFTP Server

Instant Copy-on-Write

Duplicating a 2 GB contract for review takes milliseconds. The database increments a reference counter — no data is physically copied until one version is modified.

Familiar Folder Tree

The browser portal provides an Explorer-like sidebar with collapsible folders. Paralegals navigate case directories without learning new tools.

Database-Level Backup

All files live in SQL Server. Your existing database backup and replication strategy covers file data automatically — no separate file-level backup needed.

Single Sign-On via AD

Active Directory groups map directly to access levels. When a paralegal joins the firm, adding them to the AD group grants immediate SFTP, Portal, and WebDAV access.