WebDAV is also known as the Web-Based Distributed Authoring and Versioning is the latest extension of the protocol that will treat the management of the web content over the system of the server.

Understand What is WebDAV entails learning how WebDAV is being enforced with the utilization of tools and materials including the Microsoft IIS WebDAV and Apache WebDAV HTTP server.

WebDAV was ruled by the IEFT o the Internet Engineering Task Force. With the help of the protocol of WebDAV, you will be able to edit and make any Office document in many platforms from your utilized desktops.

This will be much easier for you since you will not be required to use your preferred browser application.

WebDAV – What is The WebDAV Protocol ?

To do this, you aren’t required to fix a configuration or extension of your used platform. The only thing that you need to do is to add your used platform with your desired network drive.

The formal mission, as dictated by the working group is:

define the HTTP extensions necessary to enable distributed web authoring tools to be broadly interoperable, while supporting user needs

Diagram of WebDAV Processes

webdav server how it works

WebDAV Server Diagram

After that, you are now allowed to perform some works with your documents directly from your used desktop.

  • Make folders and documents.
  • Edit your created documents.
  • Move folders and documents.

There are some of the most known limits with the utilization of the protocol of Web-Based Distributed Authoring and Versioning on Windows machines for you to connect with a platform that you want to use.

This can be the scientific names that were being shown rather than the document’s title and the temporary files that have been saved in your used platform.

what is webdav

We will recommend you to fix WebDAV drives on your Windows machines, but you can also use drives in any types of devices, varying upon your situation.

The user can also be different, which will always depend upon the Windows version, the service pack version, and many more.

WebDAV Commands and Implementations

  • COPY
  • LOCK
  • MKCOL
  • MOVE
  • PROPFIND
  • PROPPATCH
  • UNLOCK

What are the main Features of WebDAV ?

The features of the protocols that you can get will include the frameworks that will allow you to manage documents in a particular server, tools for managing namespace and other types o resources for you to edit the file contents or properties.

DAV Locking – locks in WebDAV are a form of concurrency control that prevent files from being written by more than one author.

Properties – WebDAV properties are XML-formatted metadata that contain arbitrary information. One example of this property may be the authors of a resource.

Namespace manipulation – DAV supports copying and moving of resources.

Other features that are the result of being an extension of HTTP are encryption, authentication, proxying, and caching.

In different ways, the Web-Based Distributing Authoring and Versioning features also deal with other forms of metadata, including the file services, authorship information, and more.

You can also find some security materials.

How Does WebDAV Work ?

WebDAV Server Class 2

Origin of WebDAV

The origin of this protocol started way back in the middle 1990s.

Persons who work with the W3C or the World Wide Web Consortium research about the various factors of Web authoring and publishing.

After that, the W3C accumulated the IETF working groups, which begin its work from the WebDAV.

Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning has also its step in changing the properties of a particular file that was saved in the server system.

It can also provide you with the substitute techniques, such as the FTP or the File Transfer Protocol and other types of distributed files.

We hope you get a better understanding and get your question answered: “What is WebDAV?”

Since the WebDAV protocol is present for about a decade or two, it was being used as a helpful tool for most hackers out there.

It can be exploited easily, but WebDAV is more efficient and versatile compared to FTP and SFTP.

Many of our customers come to our site looking for methods to easily connect their devices, apps, and company computers to Box, Dropbox.

We built a service that allows users to continually connect their webdav devices to those providers even as they begin removing formal support.

This allows businesses to continually use secure connections for their legacy accounts and leverage the new cloud storage platforms. Try it out for free on our site.

Who are the Founders of WebDAV?

Jim Whitehead (E. James Whitehead) , UC Irvine

The webdav.org website was created in 1999 by Greg Stein, and is still available for review today. It remains a historical repository of protocol related information, but the site is admittedly dated.

Is WebDAV Usage Growing or Declining

According to Google Trends, WebDAV is on a huge decline from the start of their tracking in 2004

WebDAV growth and decline

As you can see, searches for the term have dramatically declined over the past 15 years.

Is WebDAV dead?

WebDAV is far from dead. As an open source distributed versioning protocol, WebDAV sees a lot of activity in private cloud solutions, on-premise hosting, GDPR-compliant data storage & transfer, and academic utilization.

Why Has WebDAV declined in usage and searches?

The rise of cloud storage solutions has led to significant competition in the world of file transfer and versioning.

 

Even companies like DropBox and Box are advertising their own proprietary file transfer and versioning protocols.

Security concerns with SSO also keep the protocol on the sidelines when it comes to Single Sign On implementations.

What Projects Currently Use WebDAV?

Some common projects that were developed and active are mod_dav, sitecopy, cadaver, Goliath

We’ve listed some more commercial projects and open source projects.

Like any other open source protocol, there are thousands of piecemeal projects, student projects, and amateur implementations available if you search Google or Github.

What does the future of WebDAV look Like?

Coming Soon

Current WebDAV leadership

Coming Soon

WebDAV Server Support

The following servers boast support of the protocol in some capacity

  • Apache HTTP Server
  • Microsoft IIS
  • Nginx
  • SabreDav
  • OwnCloud
  • NextCloud
  • lighttpd
  • Caddy

WebDAV Servers

WebDAV Server

There are many servers that are compatible with WebDAV, so please view our WebDAV servers page for more detailed information. We even have another resource for free webdav server implementations.

You may be looking to spin up your own hosted on-prem servers. Or looking for managed or hosted solutions. Either way, we have the information you may need to make that business decision.

WebDAV Clients

WebDAV Clients

A few of the clients for this protocol are listed below.

  • Git
  • Linux
    • GVfs
    • GNOME files
    • KIO (Konquerer, Dolphin)
  • Mac OS
    • Native support for CalDAV
    • Native Support for CardDAV
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Office

WebDAV and Cloud Storage

Since the protocol is not natively supported by many cloud storage providers, 3rd party tools are required to connect to cloud storage.

Some integrations include

  • Amazon S3
  • NextCloud
  • Google Drive
  • OneDrive
  • Box.com
  • DropBox

WebDAV Whitepapers and Research Articles

The following documents, articles, and papers were produced by the working group

  • coming soon
  • coming soon

WebDAV Derivatives and Extension Projects

Coming Soon

Common WebDAV Questions and Answers

Coming Soon

What is WebDAV Used For?

Coming Soon

What is WebDAV on iPhone?

Coming Soon

How do I connect to WebDAV?

Coming Soon

Is WebDAV Safe?

Coming Soon

Is WebDAV Secure?

Coming Soon

How do I enable WebDAV?

Coming Soon

How do I disable WebDAV?

Coming Soon

 

Resources and References

https://webdav.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebDAV

 

Read One of These WebDAV Resources Next