Do you need a two way flood ip or one way to upload to onedrive M

1. What "one way" vs "two way" means for OneDrive and why it matters

OneDrive is designed as a two‑way synchronization client: files placed in the local OneDrive folder are uploaded to the cloud, and changes in the cloud are pulled down to the device so both sides reflect the same state ^{[1] [2]}. One‑way sync — where data only moves in a single direction, such as upload‑only or download‑only — is not the default behavior of the official OneDrive desktop app on Windows, though workarounds exist such as using the Linux onedrive package’s --download-only flag or third‑party cloud managers to force directional sync ^{[5] [6]}. This distinction matters operationally because two‑way sync will generate both upload and download traffic and creates expectations about file parity and potential conflicts; one‑way flows reduce outbound or inbound traffic depending on direction but may require extra tooling or permissions changes ^{[1] [6]}.

2. Network planning: don’t treat OneDrive as a unilateral flow

Microsoft’s network utilization guidance for the OneDrive sync app instructs administrators to configure QoS and firewall rules without restricting to a single source or destination IP — specifically to select “Any source IP address” and “Any destination IP address” — so that packets are managed regardless of which computer sent or received them ^[4]. That guidance implies network engineers should plan for bidirectional traffic patterns: uploads, downloads, retransmissions and control traffic, because OneDrive’s behavior (including differential sync and concurrent transfers) results in both directions consuming bandwidth ^{[4] [7]}.

3. Controlling throughput and user experience

If the concern behind the question is limiting upload load, OneDrive offers client settings to cap or let the client “Adjust automatically,” which lets OneDrive use unused bandwidth in the background rather than saturating uplink ^[3]. Administrators and users can also pause syncing or set fixed upload/download limits in the client; when many large files are being transferred, concurrency and client algorithms can create contention that affects perceived upload speed ^{[3] [7]}. For granular traffic shaping at the network edge, Microsoft’s docs encourage general QoS rules that apply to both source and destination addresses rather than narrow IP pairs ^[4].

4. When one‑way sync is practical and the tradeoffs

One‑way sync is achievable through alternate approaches: the Linux onedrive package supports a download‑only mode, and third‑party cloud managers can implement upload‑only or mirror flows between accounts or between local devices and cloud storage ^{[5] [6]}. Those methods are useful when the objective is archival or staged backup where accidental cloud changes shouldn’t propagate back, but they introduce complexity and possible gaps in support, permissions management or official Microsoft behavior guarantees ^{[5] [6]}.

5. Practical recommendation distilled from the sources

For general upload to OneDrive from desktop clients, plan and enforce bidirectional handling in network rules because the official client is two‑way and Microsoft’s guidance uses Any source / Any destination in QoS examples; meanwhile, use client‑side upload limits or “Adjust automatically” if the goal is to avoid saturating the uplink ^{[4] [3]}. If a true upload‑only or download‑only workflow is required, accept that it will likely require third‑party tools or platform‑specific flags rather than a simple OneDrive client toggle ^{[1] [5] [6]}.