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FTP sync directories


CaptainDoogles

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Hi all.

I have a dumb question. Does anyone use an go ftp program that does fire synchronization? I have FlashFXP but it does not have that option. Just sync browsing just like filezilla. I have been using winscp but would like something with better graphs of how much is being downloaded and how fast download is. But I am also a little skeptical about it still that is actual will sync all data. I have looked at always sync but it would like me to pay because I have to much to data to keep updated and wanted to verify there was nothing better out that I could buy.

Hes is what I have going on. I have 2 laptops my work and personal. I want to back up all data to my brand new and shine WD EX2. I am a little upset that sftp does not work right but thats just and issue I have to deal with. I didnt have the money to buy a synology system and drives. But next time I will. Any who.... I want to backup basicly one big directory on each machine. These directories are up to 200 GBs. I have my VMs my music movies pic etc. but want to Sync them with the WD. I may update some of the files with the other laptop but I will up date from either the main machine or the WD so need it to sync.

Next project will be to find a good backup solution for the WD like cobain or something. I seen that the Hostage file virus is a pain and dont want to lose that data.

Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

I have been googling my butt off for the last few weeks and would like to hear what any real people have to say.

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The problem is that FTP is a crap protocol for synchronization. You're required to download the full thing before you can compare, and all you know is that something is _different_ as opposed to which version is the one you need. The logical approach is to download to a separate folder, run some tool to see what the difference is between your local copy and the remote one, then overwrite the files the remote side has 'newer' and upload to the FTP the local files you have which are 'newer'.

What you actually want is a revision control system that keeps track of these sorts of things. Programs like git, svn or even cvs do this quite nicely.

If you're not particularly interested in retaining history, but want an efficient way to distribute files out from a server, rsync does that quite nicely. It works by your machine sending checksums of chunks of a file to the server and the server responding with only the chunk content for those parts where the checksum was incorrect.

If the files you want to retain on the various systems don't change much, you could consider making a torrent from them which would ease the downloading aspect and even speed things up a bit.

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Ok, so it sounds like rsync my be my best option. Is there an easy app I can install to push out these changes? I have tried cygwin in the past but every time I set it up I end up having to redo the computer for one reason or another.

My Idea was on my work computer to do initial upload of my files and directories and then every day do an update so that I have the same docs at home to work with instead of actual taking my laptop home. Then Update in the morning if i did changes that night. Why I was thinking of ftp.

Is WinSCP maybe my good choice?

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Did a quick check and it seems the program you want is DeltaCopy. It's built on top of rsync, free-as-in-beer due to being Open Source, runs on Windows, allows the client to selectively upload files and downloading grabs the full set from the server.

Description of functions by comparing it against something else.

Download page

Note that you should install the program on all clients as well as the server. It's described on the download page, but seems like something that's easy to miss.

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