Question

How to best sync files between two sites

Asked by: menreeq

We have users at 3 separate sites that are connected via VPN that need to collaborate on large files 50+ in near real time.  I'm looking for an enterprise level file sync solution that will allow me to sync about 10 GB of data on 3 Windows 2008 Server - each server is located at one of the three sites.  We already have DFS implemented but it will not be adequate because it doesn't lock files when they're in use by users and can occasionally cause the "last saver" to overwrite changes made by a previous user.  We are considering using Peer Software's DFS File Locking in conjunction w/ DFS http://www.peersoftware.com/solutions/high_availability/dfs_file_locking.aspx

What other options are there that we should consider?  Any feedback on Peer Software's solution?  

THanks

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Asked On
2009-03-11 at 09:09:50ID24220412
Tags

DFS File Locking file sync Peer Software

Topics

File Servers

,

Windows Server 2008

,

Miscellaneous Networking

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
6

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Answers

 

by: tkalchevPosted on 2009-03-11 at 09:12:55ID: 23859010

Look at the windows clone of rsync

http://www.aboutmyip.com/AboutMyXApp/DeltaCopy.jsp

 

by: menreeqPosted on 2009-03-11 at 09:15:49ID: 23859044

Thanks but this doesn't look like an enterprise level solution.  For example it does not do any bandwidth throttling....

 

by: dstewartjrPosted on 2009-03-11 at 09:33:40ID: 23859231

Microsoft recommendation

Overview of the Distributed File System Solution in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2

Collaboration scenarios using DFS Replication are recommended only if users can tolerate some inconsistency of the files as the changes are replicated to other branch servers. In addition, because DFS Replication uses a heuristic of last writer wins for changes made to the same file on multiple servers, this scenario works best when a file is updated from a single server or by a single user. Setting shared folder permissions can help ensure that conflicting changes dont occur. For collaboration scenarios that require file locking, we recommend using Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services.

 

by: menreeqPosted on 2009-03-11 at 09:35:49ID: 23859257

Thanks - Sharepoint would be great but I'm dealing with large files so users at the remote sites would have to wait a long time to download a 50MB file, update it and then reupload it...  that is why I'm considering the peer software locking solution.

 

by: dstewartjrPosted on 2009-03-11 at 09:47:07ID: 23859382

Sounds like that would be your only solution, even if you use Robocopy it would also be a last writer wins. Also how often are the same files opened at the same time?

 

by: dstewartjrPosted on 2009-03-11 at 09:49:28ID: 23859412

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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