Internet Bandwidth Requirement for larger groups of users and large amounts of data

Hi @Tim Smitley, 

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum, it’s great to have you here. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to share the details of your environment. I really appreciate the clarity you've provided, and I’d like to offer some insights and suggestions that may help address the OneDrive sync issues your users are facing. 

From what you've described, this kind of behavior happens when there are too many files, large amounts of data, or complex folder structures, all of which can slow down or disrupt OneDrive syncing. 

Here are my proposed solutions and techniques that may help improve the current situation:  

1/ Reorganize and split large libraries 

• Partition content by department, project, timeframe, or archive status. Move historical or infrequently accessed data into separate libraries that users don’t sync by default. 
• Avoid folders with extreme item counts; break large flat folders into smaller, logical subfolders. 

2/ Use selective sync and files on-demand 

• Ensure Files On-Demand is enabled and enforced via Group Policy or Intune. Encourage users to sync only the folders they actively use. 
• Replace global “Add shortcut to OneDrive” links with targeted shortcuts to specific working areas. Remind users they can access the full library via SharePoint or Teams web without syncing everything locally. 

3/ Optimize network and system configuration 

• Confirm sufficient bandwidth and consider staggered rollouts for large sync operations. Prefer direct connectivity to Microsoft endpoints; avoid proxy authentication on OneDrive URLs. 
• Ensure all users are running the latest OneDrive sync client. Review endpoint protection settings exclude OneDrive processes and cache paths from real-time scanning (if permitted by your security policy). 
• Avoid syncing PST files or other database-type files that are frequently locked. 

4/ Consider alternatives for extremely large datasets 

• Use multiple libraries/sites aligned to Teams or departments (e.g., marketing syncs marketing, finance syncs finance). Explore on-demand network drive solutions that present SharePoint in File Explorer without local sync. 
• Offload specific data types to Azure Files or NAS if SharePoint sync isn’t suitable. Encourage web access and search for infrequently used content. 

5/ Additional best practices 

• Monitor library growth and plan partitions before reaching critical thresholds. 
• Use the Microsoft 365 admin center to track OneDrive health and sync errors. 
• Pilot changes with a small group of users, validate improvements, then roll out broadly. 

You can refer to the following Microsoft article to help optimize data management for your tenant: 

Restrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint - Microsoft Support 

Network utilization planning for the OneDrive sync app - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Le… 

If this behavior is urgent and is impacting the performance of your tenant, I recommend contacting the higher-level support team who can access backend details and investigate further. Once you reach out, a live agent will contact you through your preferred method and assist you step by step until your issue is fully resolved.  

• You can open a support request through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.    

We kindly ask for your understanding that, as moderators, we do not have access to the administrative tools or permissions required to investigate or modify these configurations. We also do not have the capability to initiate remote sessions for direct assistance. Our role is to guide users to the appropriate resources and support channels.     

I hope this helps resolve the SharePoint sync performance issues your organization is experiencing. I'm glad to assist and truly hope the information provided has been useful. Please feel free to reach out anytime if you need further assistance. 

Wishing you a great day. 

If you find my post helpful, kindly consider marking it as the accepted answer. Doing so can assist others in the community who may have similar questions in finding solutions more quickly.   
Thank you for your kindness and contributions to the forum.  

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