[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":219},["ShallowReactive",2],{"seo-verification":3,"blog-office-2021-eol-collabora-online-or-onlyoffice-vps-ma-en":6,"promo-bar-likely":20},{"google":4,"bing":5},"EycwPY2XMyTkVzas3n1ygeNJFGAH513qrMjfDljzsMQ","",{"key":7,"data":8},"blog-office-2021-eol-collabora-online-or-onlyoffice-vps-ma-en",{"id":9,"slug":10,"slugs":11,"title":15,"excerpt":16,"readTime":17,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"noindex":20,"publishedAt":21,"updatedAt":22,"category":23,"categories":29,"featuredImage":31,"bgImage":32,"posterImage":33,"relatedSolution":34,"intro":37,"sections":38,"ctaTitle":158,"ctaBody":159,"ctaButton":160,"ctaUrl":161,"relatedPosts":162},441,"office-2021-eol-collabora-online-or-onlyoffice-vps",{"fr":12,"en":10,"ar":13,"es":14},"nextcloud-collabora-onlyoffice-office-2021-eol","office-2021-eol-collabora-online-ou-onlyoffice","office-2021-eol-collabora-online-o-onlyoffice-vps","Office 2021 EOL: Collabora Online or OnlyOffice on VPS","Office 2021 receives no more security patches since October 13, 2026. Deploy Collabora Online or OnlyOffice as a Nextcloud sidecar on your VPS.",10,0,false,true,"2026-10-14T00:00:00+00:00","2026-10-14T23:33:30+00:00",{"id":24,"name":25,"slug":26,"color":27,"icon":28},7,"Self-hosting","self-hosting","bg-indigo-500\u002F10 text-indigo-400","cloud",[30],{"id":24,"name":25,"slug":26,"color":27,"icon":28},null,"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fbg.svg","\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fnextcloud-collabora-onlyoffice-office-2021-eol-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":35,"appSlug":36},"collaboration-productivity","nextcloud","On October 13, 2026, Microsoft ended extended support for Office 2021. From that date, any vulnerability discovered in Word, Excel or PowerPoint remains open — no patches will be released. If you paid for a perpetual licence, that is precisely why no patch will ever arrive. The technical answer is a Docker sidecar: Collabora Online or OnlyOffice, deployed alongside Nextcloud on a root VPS, provides native co-editing of Microsoft formats without a monthly subscription and without data hosted with the vendor.",[39,43,52,55,102,105,130,145,148,152,155],{"type":40,"title":41,"body":42},"h2","Office 2021: what end of support actually means","The date is official: **October 13, 2026** marks the end of extended support for Office 2021 Home and Business, confirmed by Microsoft and tracked at \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fendoflife.date\u002Foffice\">endoflife.date\u002Foffice\u003C\u002Fa> and heise.de. This is not the end of a minor release — it is the end of all security updates for a suite installed on millions of desktops.\n\nThe distinction from Microsoft 365 is fundamental. A Microsoft 365 subscription continues to receive patches. A perpetual Office 2021 licence — paid once — is now frozen at its release-day security level. Every critical vulnerability published after October 13, 2026 remains exploitable on those machines, indefinitely.",{"type":44,"title":45,"items":46},"ul","Concrete risks of running an unpatched office suite",[47,48,49,50,51],"**Unblocked malicious macros**: security updates regularly fixed execution vectors via Word and Excel macros — those vectors remain open.","**Weaponised .docx and .xlsx files**: Office formats are documented attack surfaces (OLE, DDE, merge fields); without patches, parsers remain vulnerable to published exploits.","**Compliance exposure**: NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) require software maintenance at a documented level. A vendor who no longer provides patches transfers liability to the deployer.","**Lateral movement vector**: a document opened from a low-privilege account can, via an unpatched CVE, escalate privileges or pivot to other network resources.","**Cyber insurance exclusion**: several policies explicitly exclude end-of-life software from coverage.",{"type":40,"title":53,"body":54},"Collabora Online vs OnlyOffice: which one for your Nextcloud","Two open source projects allow you to integrate a native document editor into Nextcloud: **Collabora Online** (based on LibreOffice) and **OnlyOffice Docs** (Microsoft-compatible rendering engine). Both deploy as Docker sidecars and integrate via their dedicated Nextcloud application. The choice depends on your priority: Microsoft rendering fidelity or LibreOffice compatibility depth.",{"type":56,"title":57,"headers":58,"rows":62},"comparison","Collabora Online vs OnlyOffice Docs — technical comparison",[59,60,61],"Criterion","Collabora Online","OnlyOffice Docs",[63,67,71,75,79,83,87,91,95,99],[64,65,66],"Rendering engine","LibreOffice (fork)","Proprietary Microsoft-compatible engine",[68,69,70],"Licence","MPL-2.0 \u002F AGPL-3.0","AGPL-3.0 (community edition)",[72,73,74],"RAM at rest (~300\u002F400 MB per active process)","~300 MB\u002Factive process","~400 MB\u002Factive process",[76,77,78],"Native co-editing formats",".docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .odt, .ods, .odp",".docx, .xlsx, .pptx (Microsoft priority)",[80,81,82],".docx rendering fidelity","Good, minor gaps on complex layouts","Excellent on elaborate layouts",[84,85,86],"Official Docker image","`collabora\u002Fcode`","`onlyoffice\u002Fdocumentserver`",[88,89,90],"Nextcloud application","Nextcloud Office (formerly Richdocuments)","ONLYOFFICE integration app",[92,93,94],"Max connections (free edition)","No limit (self-hosted) (self-hosted)","20 concurrent connections (community edition)",[96,97,98],"RTL language support (Arabic, Hebrew)","Yes (LibreOffice heritage)","Yes",[100,101,101],"Data routing","Stays on your VPS",{"type":40,"title":103,"body":104},"VPS prerequisites before installation","Both sidecars are memory-intensive. Before starting:\n\n**Minimum recommended resources**: 4 GB RAM for Nextcloud alone + Collabora Online. Plan for 6 GB if you choose OnlyOffice or expect more than five simultaneous users. NVMe SSD is preferred — format conversions are I\u002FO intensive.\n\n**Docker and Docker Compose**: both sidecars require Docker Engine 24+ and the Compose v2 plugin (`docker compose`, no hyphen). On Debian 12 or Ubuntu 22.04, installation from the official Docker repository is the recommended path.\n\n**Minimum Nextcloud version**: Nextcloud 25 or higher. Nextcloud 28 and 29 images are tested with both sidecars. Versions earlier than 25 no longer support the Nextcloud Office application.\n\n**A domain with a valid TLS certificate**: both editors refuse unencrypted connections. Your Nextcloud and the sidecar must both be reachable over HTTPS.",{"type":106,"title":107,"steps":108},"steps","Installing Nextcloud + Collabora Online via Docker Compose",[109,112,115,118,121,124,127],{"title":110,"body":111},"Create the file structure","On the VPS, create a dedicated directory and place the `docker-compose.yml` file there:\n\n```bash\nmkdir -p \u002Fopt\u002Fnextcloud && cd \u002Fopt\u002Fnextcloud\n```",{"title":113,"body":114},"Write the docker-compose.yml for Nextcloud + Collabora","```bash\nversion: '3.8'\nservices:\n  db:\n    image: mariadb:10.11\n    restart: always\n    environment:\n      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}\n      MYSQL_DATABASE: nextcloud\n      MYSQL_USER: nextcloud\n      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}\n    volumes:\n      - db_data:\u002Fvar\u002Flib\u002Fmysql\n\n  nextcloud:\n    image: nextcloud:29\n    restart: always\n    ports:\n      - \"8080:80\"\n    environment:\n      MYSQL_HOST: db\n      MYSQL_DATABASE: nextcloud\n      MYSQL_USER: nextcloud\n      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}\n      NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_DOMAINS: your-domain.com\n      NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_USER: admin\n      NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD}\n    volumes:\n      - nextcloud_data:\u002Fvar\u002Fwww\u002Fhtml\n    depends_on:\n      - db\n\n  collabora:\n    image: collabora\u002Fcode:latest\n    restart: always\n    environment:\n      aliasgroup1: https:\u002F\u002Fyour-domain.com:443\n      DONT_GEN_SSL_CERT: \"YES\"\n      extra_params: --o:ssl.enable=false --o:ssl.termination=true\n    ports:\n      - \"9980:9980\"\n    cap_add:\n      - MKNOD\n\nvolumes:\n  db_data:\n  nextcloud_data:\n```\n\nAlso create a `.env` file containing `DB_ROOT_PASSWORD`, `DB_PASSWORD` and `NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD` with long random values.",{"title":116,"body":117},"Configure the nginx reverse proxy","Nextcloud and Collabora each expose on a separate port. Create two nginx server blocks — one for `your-domain.com` (port 443, proxy to 8080) and one for `collabora.your-domain.com` (port 443, proxy to 9980).\n\nFor Collabora, add the directive `proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;` and WebSocket headers (`Upgrade`, `Connection`). The Collabora sidecar uses WebSocket for real-time co-editing.",{"title":119,"body":120},"Obtain TLS certificates","```bash\ncertbot --nginx -d your-domain.com -d collabora.your-domain.com\n```\n\nLet's Encrypt generates certificates for both domains in one pass. Automatic renewal is configured by certbot's systemd timer.",{"title":122,"body":123},"Start the stack and verify","```bash\ncd \u002Fopt\u002Fnextcloud\ndocker compose up -d\ndocker compose logs -f nextcloud\n```\n\nWait for Nextcloud to initialise (around 90 seconds on first start). Access `https:\u002F\u002Fyour-domain.com` and log in with the `admin` credentials.",{"title":125,"body":126},"Enable Nextcloud Office and connect Collabora","In the Nextcloud admin panel: **Apps → Office & text → Nextcloud Office** → enable.\n\nThen: **Settings → Administration → Office** → select 'Use your own server' → enter `https:\u002F\u002Fcollabora.your-domain.com` → click 'Save'.\n\nOpen a `.docx` file from Nextcloud: the Collabora editor should appear inline. Invite a second user to the same file to validate simultaneous co-editing.",{"title":128,"body":129},"Check memory consumption","```bash\ndocker stats --no-stream\n```\n\nThe Collabora process consumes around **300 MB** at rest and increases with the number of open documents. Watch the `MEM USAGE` column — if it exceeds 80% of available RAM, consider vertical scaling of the VPS.",{"type":106,"title":131,"steps":132},"Variant: Nextcloud + OnlyOffice Docs",[133,136,139,142],{"title":134,"body":135},"Replace the collabora block with onlyoffice in the Compose file","In your `docker-compose.yml`, substitute the `collabora` service with:\n\n```bash\n  onlyoffice:\n    image: onlyoffice\u002Fdocumentserver:latest\n    restart: always\n    ports:\n      - \"8088:80\"\n    environment:\n      JWT_ENABLED: \"true\"\n      JWT_SECRET: ${ONLYOFFICE_JWT_SECRET}\n    volumes:\n      - onlyoffice_data:\u002Fvar\u002Fwww\u002Fonlyoffice\u002FData\n      - onlyoffice_logs:\u002Fvar\u002Flog\u002Fonlyoffice\n```\n\nAdd `ONLYOFFICE_JWT_SECRET` to your `.env` file. The JWT secret is mandatory since OnlyOffice 7.2 to prevent unauthorised access to the document server.",{"title":137,"body":138},"Configure the reverse proxy for OnlyOffice","OnlyOffice listens on HTTP port 8088. Create an nginx vhost for `onlyoffice.your-domain.com` → proxy to `127.0.0.1:8088`. Add WebSocket directives and the `X-Forwarded-Proto https` header.",{"title":140,"body":141},"Enable the ONLYOFFICE integration in Nextcloud","In Nextcloud: **Apps → Office & text → ONLYOFFICE** → enable.\n\nThen: **Settings → Administration → ONLYOFFICE** → enter the URL `https:\u002F\u002Fonlyoffice.your-domain.com` and the JWT key defined in `.env` → save.\n\nTest with a `.xlsx` file: OnlyOffice should open it in-browser, with co-editing available as soon as a second user joins the document.",{"title":143,"body":144},"Community edition limits","The free `onlyoffice\u002Fdocumentserver` image is limited to **20 concurrent connections**. For an SMB fleet of fewer than 15 active users, the limit is rarely reached. Beyond that, the Enterprise edition removes this cap.",{"type":40,"title":146,"body":147},"Advanced configuration: formats, languages and file size limits","**Natively co-edited formats**: both editors handle `.docx`, `.xlsx` and `.pptx` in simultaneous co-editing. ODF formats (`.odt`, `.ods`, `.odp`) are supported by Collabora (LibreOffice engine) and accessible in read-only mode from OnlyOffice without additional plugins.\n\n**Maximum file size**: by default, Nextcloud limits uploads to 512 MB (`upload_max_filesize` in `php.ini`). For large presentations, increase this in the Nextcloud container's PHP configuration file:\n```bash\ndocker exec -it nextcloud_nextcloud_1 bash -c \\\n  'echo \"upload_max_filesize = 2G\" >> \u002Fusr\u002Flocal\u002Fetc\u002Fphp\u002Fconf.d\u002Fnextcloud.ini'\n```\n\n**Languages and RTL**: Collabora supports RTL languages (Arabic, Hebrew) via its LibreOffice engine. OnlyOffice also supports Arabic. Both editors detect the document language and apply RTL layout automatically.\n\n**Collabora connection limits**: the free `collabora\u002Fcode` image is designed for self-hosted use without a documented connection cap, unlike OnlyOffice. On a 6 GB RAM VPS, plan for a maximum of 10 to 15 documents open simultaneously.",{"type":149,"title":150,"body":151},"tip","Hardening: strict HTTPS and network restriction","**Collabora must never be exposed directly to the internet.** Port 9980 (or 8088 for OnlyOffice) must only be accessible from localhost, via the nginx reverse proxy. Verify with `ss -tlnp | grep -E '9980|8088'` that these ports are not listening on `0.0.0.0`.\n\n**Force HTTPS on the nginx side**: both sidecars validate the request origin. An HTTP connection to the sidecar from Nextcloud will produce an `SSL handshake` or `mixed content` error.\n\n**Isolate containers on a dedicated Docker network**: add a `networks:` block to your Compose file and remove publicly-exposed port mappings — only nginx accesses the internal services.\n\n**Update images regularly**: `docker compose pull && docker compose up -d`. Collabora and OnlyOffice publish active security patches — that is precisely their advantage over a frozen Office 2021. The AGPL licence guarantees source code auditability.",{"type":40,"title":153,"body":154},"Troubleshooting: connection refused, certificates and memory","**Collabora refuses the connection from Nextcloud**: verify that the Nextcloud domain exactly matches the `aliasgroup1` variable of the Collabora container. A single difference (subdomain, port) blocks the connection. Check `docker compose logs collabora` for the rejection reason.\n\n**TLS certificate error**: Nextcloud must be able to reach `https:\u002F\u002Fcollabora.your-domain.com` from within the container. If your VPS uses a Docker network with NAT, `collabora.your-domain.com` must resolve via public DNS, not a local hosts entry. Test from the container:\n```bash\ndocker exec nextcloud_nextcloud_1 curl -I https:\u002F\u002Fcollabora.your-domain.com\n```\n\n**The sidecar keeps restarting (OOM)**: Collabora and OnlyOffice allocate memory per open document. A 2 GB RAM VPS will saturate quickly. Check with `docker stats` and scale vertically if needed.\n\n**Nextcloud displays 'Unable to reach document server'**: after each sidecar restart, Nextcloud must re-validate the connection. Go to **Settings → Administration → Office** and click 'Save' again to force re-validation.",{"type":40,"title":156,"body":157},"Further reading","This article covers deploying an open source document editor as a Nextcloud sidecar. If you are migrating from a Microsoft 365 SaaS or Google Workspace fleet, the articles \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fquitter-microsoft-365-nextcloud-vps\">Quitting Microsoft 365: migrating to Nextcloud on a VPS\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fmigrer-google-workspace-nextcloud-vps\">Migrating from Google Workspace to Nextcloud on a VPS\u003C\u002Fa> cover data migration and account transition.\n\nFor the initial Nextcloud deployment without a document editor, \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fheberger-nextcloud\">Hosting Nextcloud on your own VPS\u003C\u002Fa> is the starting point. And if you are comparing Nextcloud to ownCloud, \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fnextcloud-vs-owncloud\">our comparison\u003C\u002Fa> details governance and feature differences.\n\nAn agency that standardises its fleet on Nextcloud and an open source editor manages a single environment for all its clients — at a fixed cost, without dependency on a frozen perpetual licence.","Standardise your open source office fleet","An agency deploying Nextcloud + Collabora or OnlyOffice on a VPS controls a single environment for all its clients. Fixed cost, continuous security updates, data hosted on your own infrastructure.","Host my office suite","\u002Fsolutions\u002Fagences",[163,181,202],{"id":164,"slug":165,"slugs":166,"title":170,"excerpt":171,"readTime":172,"views":173,"isPinned":19,"noindex":19,"publishedAt":174,"updatedAt":175,"category":176,"categories":177,"featuredImage":31,"bgImage":32,"posterImage":179,"relatedSolution":180},71,"hosting-nextcloud-on-your-own-vps",{"fr":167,"en":165,"ar":168,"es":169},"heberger-nextcloud","استضافة-nextcloud-على-خادمك-الـvps-الخاص","alojar-nextcloud-en-su-propio-vps","Self-Host Nextcloud on VPS: NC 35, PHP 8.3 and MariaDB 11 Guide","Host Nextcloud on a VPS: Docker Compose, Redis, MariaDB backup, uploads over 40 GB behind Cloudflare and an alternative to Office 2021.",20,1,"2026-04-10T00:00:00+00:00","2026-11-08T16:32:50+00:00",{"id":24,"name":25,"slug":26,"color":27,"icon":28},[178],{"id":24,"name":25,"slug":26,"color":27,"icon":28},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fheberger-nextcloud-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":26,"appSlug":36},{"id":182,"slug":183,"slugs":184,"title":188,"excerpt":189,"readTime":190,"views":173,"isPinned":19,"noindex":19,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":192,"category":193,"categories":198,"featuredImage":31,"bgImage":32,"posterImage":200,"relatedSolution":201},321,"leaving-microsoft-365-migrate-to-nextcloud-on-a-vps",{"fr":185,"en":183,"ar":186,"es":187},"quitter-microsoft-365-nextcloud-vps","الانتقال-من-microsoft-365-إلى-nextcloud-على-vps","abandonar-microsoft-365-migrar-a-nextcloud-en-vps","Leaving Microsoft 365: migrate to Nextcloud on a VPS","Microsoft 365 raised prices in July 2026. Migrate OneDrive and SharePoint to Nextcloud AIO on a VPS in under a day, at a fixed monthly cost.",11,"2026-09-02T00:00:00+00:00","2026-11-04T16:30:27+00:00",{"id":194,"name":195,"slug":196,"color":197,"icon":196},5,"Comparison","comparatif","bg-info\u002F10 text-info",[199],{"id":194,"name":195,"slug":196,"color":197,"icon":196},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fquitter-microsoft-365-nextcloud-vps-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":35,"appSlug":36},{"id":203,"slug":204,"slugs":205,"title":209,"excerpt":210,"readTime":211,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"noindex":20,"publishedAt":212,"updatedAt":213,"category":214,"categories":215,"featuredImage":31,"bgImage":32,"posterImage":217,"relatedSolution":218},412,"migrate-google-workspace-nextcloud-vps",{"fr":206,"en":204,"ar":207,"es":208},"migrer-google-workspace-nextcloud-vps","الانتقال-من-google-workspace-إلى-nextcloud-vps","migrar-google-workspace-nextcloud-vps","Migrate from Google Workspace to Nextcloud on a VPS","Google Workspace raised prices in 2025. Export Drive, Gmail, Contacts and Calendar with Google Takeout, then import everything to self-hosted Nextcloud on your VPS.",13,"2026-10-03T00:00:00+00:00","2026-11-04T16:30:28+00:00",{"id":194,"name":195,"slug":196,"color":197,"icon":196},[216],{"id":194,"name":195,"slug":196,"color":197,"icon":196},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fmigrer-google-workspace-nextcloud-vps-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":35,"appSlug":36},1794270460761]