© Copyright Robert Vasvari, 1993-2008.

Sync Modes

It is extremely important for the user to fully understand how the different modes work, to make sure whatever happens is exactly what the user expects. Different modes are optimal for different sync situations, so please read carefully and select the right one for each sync pair.

• Auto Mode

  For most LTL or LTR sync ops this is the best and least time-consuming option. During the first run, the Phase 1 (Source Database) sync operations is run to create the Source Database. Then, a Phase 2 sync is run to establish a synchronized target folder. Subsequently, only a Phase 1 sync is run to detect changes. Use this mode if you are sure the target folder is not changed by somebody else, and you have tested the fact that changed files are actually uploaded without errors. This mode is recommended for most website maintenance and backup operations. Auto mode is always a one pass operation.

• Source Database Only

  Same as the Auto Mode, but only Phase 1 sync is performed, period. This mode is good for testing the sync setup. This mode is always a one pass operation.

• Source-Destination Comparison Only

  In this mode only Phase 2 sync is performed, comparing the source and target files. This very useful for LTL sync if the folders are big.

• Source Database then Source-Destination Comparison

  This is the recommended mode if the folders are not too big, so it is not too expensive to run both phases. This the most accurate way to sync, using the advantages of both phases.

• Mirror Mode

  In this mode, Phase 1 then Phase 2 sync is performed, then spurious files in the target folder will be deleted to make the target folder look exactly like the source. This means that if delete a file in the source folder, it will also be deleted in the target. Also, files in the target that are newer (this should not normally occur) will also be overwritten. By default this options is off, meaning that you are in the archive mode, deleted files are left in the target, only modified files are overwritten. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS OPTION! Since it deletes files, it is generally not recommended, only after careful evaluation of whether or not it is necessary.

OPTIONS:

• Character Encoding Access to hosts with Non ASCII character sets (SHIFT JIS, etc..): In order to ensure that RBrowser will work properly with files whose names contain non-ascii characters, be sure to set the character set of the host properly in the Site Preferences for that host. What encoding to use? Ask the system administrator of the site...
• File Name Extensions to Exclude if you want to exclude certain file types (like tiff and jpg images) from the sync operation, put "tiff;jpg;jpeg" into this field. RBrowser will parse this semicolon separated list and ignore files matching it from the sync operation.
• File Names to Exclude if you want to exclude certain files (like CVS for instance) from the sync operation, enter them into this field as a semicolon separated list, and files matching these names will be excluded.
• Exclude all dot files If turned on, all files whose name starts with a dot will be excluded
• Scheduled Backups If the options turned on with the checkbox, the sync operation will be executed automatically at the prescribed time. Times can be set as frequently as once an hour, daily, monthly, etc.. If a scheduled sync is used, the sync op is always a single pass only.IMPORTANT: For scheduled backups your computer must not sleep, and RBrowser must be running!
• One Pass Only By default sync operation will keep going as long as there are changes detected. So if there are changes, the sync engine will take two complete passes using one the sync modes described above. In the first pass changes are detected and flushed, in the normal case the second pass should find no more changes and the sync will report a success. This does not always work so well, especially if one make a synced backup of a large home directory while logged on. In this case some files always keep changing during the sync, so potentially the sync would never finish. For these cases this option can be turned on, causing the sync engine to quit after the first pass, whether there are changes or not. If the sync is scheduled, or the mode is set to Phase 1 only, then this setting is ignored and only a single pass is performed.
• Preview Mode If this button os checked, the changes are detected and listed in the transcript, but no actions are performed, the state or either source or target are not changed at all. This option is NOT SAVED! You must turn it on before each sync op.

Success Or Failure.. Be sure not to change the source folder during the backup, or the sync may report a failure. In many cases permission problems will cause the sync to fail, especially in Local-to-Remote sync ops. Make sure the source of the sync is writable!