File Sync Recommendations?

[bevhoward]

I have heard file sync software discussed in the past on sn and wondered if anyone had suggestions on file sync solutions?

I've been using FreeFileSync for about a decade, and while it is technically excellent software, it's money schema (it's NOT free) has bitten me in the ass one two many times, this time when I am in the middle of recovering and replacing one of my two primary computers after a severe Texas spring storm blew out that computer and a big segment of our network between house and studio.

(I posted to their forum asking for help after I got a "too many computers" message when I installed the paid "donation" version on a temporary replacement laptop and found that I can't get there from here without paying another subscription fee.)

After a quick look, Allway Sync looks promising... anyone use or know it?

Thanks in advance for any tips.
Beverly Howard

 

[bevhoward]

Just looked at the Allway Sync user agreement... based on that info, it will be necessary to purchase a separate license for every computer you work on... i.e. if you sync to a remote connection, no additional license is required, but, if you sit and work at a different computer, a $26 license is needed for each one.

Beverly Howard

 

[bevhoward]

Now looking at SyncThing

 

[rfrazier]

@bevhoward I know this has been discussed in some other threads but cannot place my mouse on them at the moment. This one has some info on the topic:

https://forums.grc.com/threads/my-favorite-utilities-gadgets-services.163/

Also, try searching for sync or syncthing or remote in the forum search box. That may turn up some results.

Sincerely,

Ron

 

[Lob]

I use SyncThing on two Synology NAS devices in two countries that works pretty well. It is open source and free plus uses TLS 1.3 for the transport encryption.

Consider that a recommendation

 

[doopy]

Now looking at SyncThing

It depends what your needs are.

I've been using syncthing a long time and I've been very happy with it. It's best at mirroring two directories and is almost completely automatic, so it's not a good choice if you want to manually merge directories or resolve conflicts.

If you want precise control over the merging/syncing process, I really like Unison. It's free and its UI looks a lot like FreeFileSync's, and I think it supports many of the same features.

 

[bevhoward]

Thanks for the responses... appreciated.

I did a forum search for "sync" but nothing showed up, so, I was surprised when I spotted "syncthing" in a thread title ...so, now I know that the forum doesn't match partial strings.

Looking at syncthing, in addition to it probably overloading my old greycells trying to understand it's software philosophy and interface, Its on my radar, but I am still searching.

I'll take a look at Unison

>> https://forums.grc.com/threads/my-favorite-utilities-gadgets-services.163/ <<

Oops... the forum doesn't like at least one of my AutoHotKey macros... it prematurely posted this incomplete message.

That section had sync.com which I will look at... as well as several other (unrelated) valuable tips.

Thanks again,
Beverly Howard

 

[bevhoward]

Hmm... just retried searching for "sync software" with success. I had not dismissed the large box forum messages that filled the entire screen, so I thought that the search had failed.

 

[saguaro]

I’ve been using sync.com for sharing some gigantic files. I’m happy with syncing and sharing.

 

[ScruffyDan]

why not keep it simple. rsync or robocopy work very well for manually syncing two folders.

 

[Topographic0cean]

I use SyncThing on two Synology NAS devices in two countries that works pretty well. It is open source and free plus uses TLS 1.3 for the transport encryption.

Consider that a recommendation

Are you using the community relays or do you sync directly from one to the other?

 

[bevhoward]

Thanks again for all of the responses and suggestions. As usual, with something you have been using for decades and familiar with, deciding on an alternative is complex and difficult.

The differences in capabilities and limits, especially those you have come to rely on, make this a difficult decision. As a programmer for forty years, I pay for software I use, but, I really don't like the subscription model which FreeFileSync uses and I got bitten by it when I was away from home for over a month... and, when that happens, it's the principal of the thing, especially in this case when the situation exposed additional limits and restrictions.

Not taking that into consideration, FreeFileSync has a lot of features and discoveries that I have come to rely on, most recently, the ability to sync to drives and sd cards using volume names rather than drive letters. That also includes Android devices connected via USB so I can sync directly to an sd card mounted in my phone. It would be interesting to know if any other sync software has this option (I have not seen it in my searches)

I am currently reviewing FreeFileSync's model to see if that is at least acceptable for the near future and will continue to review all of the suggestions that have been posted in this thread and elsewhere here.

One thing that I am NOT doing is syncing via the internet (thanks to what I have learned from Steve) Since the size of my sync data needs are low and I don't do remote computing, syncing via removable media covers my current travel needs.

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!
Beverly Howard

 

[Dave]

I'm kinda surprised noone suggested https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resilio_Sync (https://www.resilio.com/individuals/). Or maybe they did and I missed it.

Granted, I don't use it for anything critical but I have used it to share files between my desktop, my phone, my kindle fire, and a friend's Linux box.

 

[bevhoward]

Looking at Resilio Sync with my current case in mind, one of the key questions that I now have is if there are any restrictions when working on multiple computers... i.e. Resilio Sync shows "Individual" but does that mean that a single user is restricted to installing it on a single computer?

Beverly Howard

 

[Dave]

Looking at Resilio Sync with my current case in mind, one of the key questions that I now have is if there are any restrictions when working on multiple computers... i.e. Resilio Sync shows "Individual" but does that mean that a single user is restricted to installing it on a single computer?

Beverly Howard

My interpretation is that an individual is a person, not an instance. Otherwise it is like owning one walkie-talkie. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Lob]

Are you using the community relays or do you sync directly from one to the other?

Relays. Saves some NAT forwarding......from what I see, the two devices cross-trust each other in some mutual authentication so having a connection broker relay doing some TURN/STUN-like function is OK from my point of view.....

 

[doopy]

One thing that I am NOT doing is syncing via the internet (thanks to what I have learned from Steve) Since the size of my sync data needs are low and I don't do remote computing, syncing via removable media covers my current travel needs.

To be clear, are you syncing cross-machine, via a LAN, or did you mean you're only syncing directories within a single machine? Syncthing doesn't really support syncing directories on the same machine, so if that's what you're doing, it's not the right tool for the job. I assume that also means cloud products like Sync.com are out, as well.

Unison (and many other sync tools) supports same-device and cross-device syncing all the same. The target directory can be on the local machine or a remote machine, and Unison doesn't care.