News and Reviews > Mini-Reviews by Members
Super Flexible File Synchronizer Mini-Review
J-Mac:
Darn - I never did get any notification about this; I just noticed it over in the Genie BU Manager thread!
Weird - I just clicked on Check for Updates in SFFS 5.68a and it downloaded and installed SFFS 5.72... didn't even mention Syncovery, so I still wouldn’t know about it if not for your posts Tom.
Better go take a look. The UI you posted a screenshot of looks almost identical to the current! Tobias never has been into human factors!
Thanks!
Jim
tomos:
hi Jim
you must have gotten lost off the mailing list! It's not really a major update in the sense of big changes - but very fair in the sense that there hasnt been a paid update for years, i mean in spite of the constant updating. (I seem to be having "inarticulate day" today.)
Here's a copy of the email:
SpoilerDear Subscribers,
a few days ago we released version 6 of Super Flexible File Synchronizer under the new product name SYNCOVERY. In addition, there's a completely new web site at http://www.syncovery.com. It will be much easier to find the information you are looking for on the new web site.
After one year of development, we are confident that the improvements will be great to have for all our users and customers. Version 6 uses new registration codes and you can order your license or upgrade right now. Many customers will receive a free upgrade, if their license purchase was within the past two years.
The page for new orders is this one:
http://www.syncovery.com/purchase/
And the upgrading system is here:
http://www.syncovery.com/upgrade/
This upgrading URL is used for both free and payed upgrades.
The list of new features can be seen here:
http://www.syncovery.com/v6/
To facilitate the migration for our corporate users, version 6 for Windows is also available under the old product name on http://www.superflexible.com. It will be updated for a short while but eventually be phased out. For the Mac version, this step does not seem necessary.
Super Flexible File Synchronizer and Syncovery can be installed side-by-side as two entirely independent products.
For those customers who are using the ExtremeSync Remote Service, please note that you need to replace it with the new Syncovery Remote Service and update all clients and servers at once, unless you want to keep both Remote Services running during the transition period.
tomos:
(J-Macs quote copied from another thread)
Tom, can you explain the "synthetic backup" to me? I hadn't created any new profiles since they added that "feature", so I never even looked at it. To be honest I never knew it was there! Tobias doesn’t announce anything when updates are released - you have to discover updates by manually checking. And the Help file doesn’t even contain the word "synthetic" in it.-J-Mac (August 21, 2012, 11:48 AM)
--- End quote ---
have a look at Block Level Copying here or in the spoiler. (It seems I have been using it incorrectly at times :-[ )
Block Level CopyingBlock Level Copying
Syncovery can detect which parts of a larger file have changed, and copy only the changed blocks rather than the complete file. This feature works similar to Rsync (but it’s not the same).
Copying only the changed blocks can save bandwidth and time, especially over a slow connection. When copying between local disks or in a LAN environment, it can save bandwidth too, but may not always save much copying time, because the source file has to be read in its entirety every time in order to determine the changed blocks.
Only block-oriented file types are eligible for block-level copying. These include database files such as SQL or Outlook PST, as well as drive images and virtual hard disk images (VMs). Stream-based files, on the other hand, will usually cause all blocks to be changed whenever they are modified (for example text documents, spreadsheets, zip files, and photos). Thus block-level copying won’t be able to save much bandwidth with stream-based files.
In Syncovery, block-level copying is called “Partial File Updating”. In many cases, you need to choose only this one checkmark, which is on the Special settings category in the profiles (in Advanced Mode).
The program needs to have fast access to at least one of the sides of the synchronization. The other side may be a low-bandwidth connection. If you are using an Internet Protocol, please note that only SSH/SFTP supports block-level updating directly. The other protocols can only be used with Synthetic Backup (see further down below).
Partial File Updating can work in three different ways:
Mode 1: With Database:
- Source access must be fast
- Destination may be slow
- MD5 checksums are stored in database
- Destination files must not be modified by any other profile, person, or tool
- Destination must be accessed via LAN, VPN, or SSH/SFTP
Mode 2: With Remote Service
[...]
Mode 3: Synthetic Backup:
- similar to Mode 1, plus:
- adds Zip compression, versioning, and filename encoding
- can work locally or with any Internet Protocol for the destination side
- the changed blocks are uploaded in a new, separate zip file every time
- all older zip files must stay on the backup storage, but can be thinned out
- all connection types and Internet Protocols are supported
Mode 1: Slow Destination
In this mode, the speed-up is available when you copy files from a location to which you have fast access (preferably your own hard disk). The destination can be a slow connection, but it must be a normal file system (either LAN or VPN) or SSH/SFTP. For other connections, you can use Synthetic Backup.
Instructions for Mode 1
In your profile, make the following checkmark: Use Partial File Updating, which is on the Special tab sheet when editing the profile in Advanced Mode. The next time you run the profile, a database is created on your hard drive where information needed for the speed-up is stored. The second time you run the profile, you should notice the speed-up.
Mode 2
[...]
Mode 3: Synthetic Backup
This feature is intended for backing up from a local storage to any type of backup storage. The backup can be local or online.
Choose “Synthetic Backup” on the tab sheet Versioning->Synthetic Backup. This will automatically place these additional checkmarks:
- Use Partial File Updating (under Special)
- Filename Encoding (under Versioning)
- Zip Each File Individually (under Zip/Encryption)
Find out more on Synthetic Backup on this page.
at the end there he says Find out more on Synthetic Backup on this page but there is no link...
superboyac:
I'm also curious about this new synthetic backup thing. If people say it's good, I'll use it. But I get nervous messing with my backup schemes.
J-Mac:
Oh... Well... That makes it perfectly clear. Tobias needs to get someone who can do technical writing that is more understandable.
Thank you.
Jim
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