Dropbox Migration Tips

Recently, we undertook a project where we needed to migrate a million documents to Dropbox. We learned a few valuable insights that can be useful for anyone planning a similar migration. Here are some tips based on our experience.

To handle the bulk upload, we wrote a quick application that interfaced with the Dropbox API, allowing us to add files and track the progress in real time.

One of the challenges we encountered was Dropbox’s rate limiting. Using a single thread, we estimated the process to take over 2 weeks. To alleviate this, we connected multiple apps to Dropbox and ran the migrations simultaneously. This approach will reduce the migration time by as many threads as you run.

Dropbox doesn't support name/value pairs for advanced metadata sets. If your migration involves documents that require metadata, you must either use tags or develop your own UI on top of Dropbox that takes advantage of file properties and templates.

To keep the migration running smoothly, make sure to take advantage of refresh tokens. This ensures that your application stays authenticated and can continue working uninterrupted, even if the process takes longer than anticipated.

Despite a few small challenges, the migration went incredibly well. The Dropbox API performed admirably, and all the content was moved without issue. With careful planning and a few strategic adjustments, migrating massive volume of data to Dropbox can be a quick and straightforward process.

Click here for a more in-depth view of the project, and as always, contact TEAM IM for your enterprise content management needs.