Sync Files Between Windows Machines

Question

I'm looking for a solution to sync files automatically across a number of windows operating systems, including Windows Server 2003, 2008 and Windows 7.

One of the use cases would be keeping Nagios config files in sync across a number of (identical) machines. I would only need to make the change on one master machine and then push it out to the clients. Clients would only need read access to the share which removes the need for locking or versioning.

I have had a look at DFS, WebDAV, NFS, etc. One option might be puppet or cfengine (correct me if I'm wrong), but I'd prefer to use something custom built for the task rather than a whole configuration management suite. I would also prefer something that looks like just another folder to Windows (rather than a network drive), and we don't want to use a third party service like Dropbox. Finally, I would like to be able to push it from one location rather than writing a script to pull the files down, etc.

Is there anything out there which matches this description?

Answer 1

Mapped drive with Offline Files enabled?

Answer 2

I would try Unison, that can run without Administrator privileges.

Answer 3

AllwaySync - Syncs across local lan and internet

SyncBack Utility (http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/perform-scenario-based-data-sync-backup-on-large-scale-with-syncback/)

AddictiveTips : Synkron AddictiveTips : QuickSync

I have personally used AllwaySync and never looked back, used to sync almost 50GB data (images) off an ftp server.

Hope that helps

Answer 4

Thanks for the suggestions. In the end I had a bit more of a look around Serverfault and found this question What is the most efficient way to push out/publish large sets files over a network? which suggests using SVN and a local script to push file changes out.

This sits on top of the filesystem and lets me manually push changes through a Nagios plugin which calls the script. The versioning and ability to test in a development branch are just bonuses here. It also lets me avoid using third party programs which I'm not familiar with in favour of something we already have deployed and have proficiency in.

Thanks for the answers anyway!