Automatic Media Server Mirror

1

I have a large (400GB) photo library and I've just built a media server (Win 2012) that I use for local redundant storage and to backup to a cloud (CrashPlan).

Since work is primarily done on a PC or laptop I would like to mirror the photo directory on the server and the PC devices and keep all synchronized. It should always be a one way sync (from PC to server). I don't see any changes being made on the server directly. I'd like the server to manage the synchronization and be entirely automatic if possible so it's wife-friendly.

If the PC or laptop added a new folder within the monitored parent I'd like the server to copy the new folder in its local copy. CrashPlan will already back up the new folder automatically.

Sync could occur only on the LAN. I'd be interested in the ability to sync remotely, but not enough to complicate the process atm.

rsync sounds like it would be great if I wasn't on windows. I've found a few imaging tools that sound like they would do the job, but I'm interested to hear what people familiar with this kind of use case would recommend (a lot of the search results lead to sketchy looking promos).

Update

So after endless digging I eliminated a few (thought I'd save folks some energy):

X DFS: Only syncs servers

X Live Sync: This sounded great, but was removed in 2012. It was replaced with Skydrive...only syncs to the cloud :(. Searching for something similar led to:

X Cubby: It's direct sync feature is exactly what I want, except it requires you paying for a monthly cloud service you don't intend to use...

I'm currently taking a look at the options here and I'll update again:

Unison (thanks Lawrence)

http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/is-there-a-free-alternative-to-cubbys-direct-sync-feature/

Anthony

Posted 2014-01-13T06:01:38.283

Reputation: 111

Tried unison ? I'm pretty sure there's a client for that on Windows. – Lawrence – 2014-01-15T15:09:05.050

You know that you can sync from the cloud back to your computer with SkyDrive, right? (Though it could be an issue if you have very limited bandwidth) It's also not one way, but if you are not changing the other end, that doesn't really matter. – David – 2014-01-15T16:35:52.433

@David SkyDrive doesn't remotely cover my needs since I'm around 400G of images. – Anthony – 2014-01-15T16:38:06.750

Fair enough. Just so you know though, they do make a Windows version of rsync http://www.rsync.net/resources/howto/windows_rsync.html Never actually tried it though.

– David – 2014-01-15T16:49:24.610

@David I did see that and ran away as soon as I saw "pricing" – Anthony – 2014-01-15T16:59:42.077

Answers

0

You can use Robocopy with the /MIR switch. This can be run from either the server or the clients and is a stock command line tool on all versions of Windows after XP (AFAIK).

It can be run on a schedule, but it does have a /MON switch which monitors the source for changes (I have not used this switch).

It is pretty easy if you have a single parent directory you are concerned with, but can get cumbersome (but manageable via batch files) if you have large numbers of parent trees you want to monitor.

Not sure if it is useful for the off-site server storage however, but there is no fundamental reason why you need a single package handle both.

horatio

Posted 2014-01-13T06:01:38.283

Reputation: 3 345

I wrote off robocopy before I started noting 'whys' and I can't remember why atm. – Anthony – 2014-01-15T16:57:40.820

I use it for pretty much the same thing you do, though I run it manually from the workstation. If you remember the reason, let us know! – horatio – 2014-01-15T16:58:59.820

Asked: 2014-01-13T06:01:38.283

Viewed: 75 times

Active: 2014-01-15T16:50:29.693