Ecm sharepoint

Asistencia técnica en español
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What are the limits and practical obstacles when using SharePoint for ECM: e.g., URL/path length, library/list thresholds, number of documents in a library, performance impact?
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@asna208,

SharePoint, while a powerful platform for Enterprise Content Management (ECM), presents certain limits and practical obstacles that organizations should be aware of:

  1. URL/Path Length:
    Limit: The total URL path length for files and folders in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business is 400 characters. This includes the protocol, server name, site, library, folders, and file name.
    Practical Obstacle: When syncing libraries to a local machine via OneDrive, the Windows file path limit (historically 260 characters, though it can be extended) can be a significant constraint. This means files accessible through the browser might not sync locally if their path exceeds the Windows limit.
  2. Library/List Thresholds:
    Limit: SharePoint lists and libraries can technically store up to 30 million items. However, a crucial “List View Threshold” of 5,000 items exists.
    Practical Obstacle: Exceeding the 5,000-item threshold in a single view or query can lead to performance degradation, throttling, or query failures. Certain content management features, like displaying more than 5,000 items in a single view or retrieving large sets of items in a single request, become restricted.
  3. Number of Documents in a Library:
    Limit: While a library can store millions of documents, the 5,000-item List View Threshold still applies, impacting how users interact with large libraries.
    Practical Obstacle: Managing and navigating libraries with a very high number of documents can be challenging. Search and filter performance can suffer, especially if relying on unindexed columns. Metadata operations across thousands of files can also be slow.
  4. Performance Impact:
    Large Libraries: Libraries with millions of items, especially if not well-structured and indexed, can experience performance issues during browsing, searching, and metadata operations.
    Versioning: Libraries with extensive versioning can accumulate significant storage and impact performance when accessing or managing older versions.
    Syncing: Syncing large libraries or a high total number of files across multiple libraries with OneDrive can strain local system resources and network bandwidth, potentially leading to sync errors or delays. Microsoft recommends syncing no more than 300,000 files in a single library or across all synced libraries for optimal performance.
  5. Other Practical Obstacles:
    Unique Permissions: While SharePoint supports unique permissions, managing a large number of items with broken inheritance can become complex and impact performance.
    Bulk Operations: SharePoint Online is not designed for efficient bulk operations across extremely large numbers of files, often requiring scripting or third-party tools for automation.
    Integration with Older Applications: Lack of direct support for certain older applications (like specific database types or design software) can necessitate workarounds or alternative solutions.