Problems syncing folders locally

[Z400Racer37]

Hey guys,

I have been searching like crazy, but I think I need some help with this.

I have been looking for a way to sync a particular folder on my mac, with other macs in the office. I am currently sharing the folder from my mac now, and others are able to access it, but they are only able to search it if they open the volume in a window (i.e. not from the main spotlight in the top right of the screen). Ideally, I would like to be able to have local copies on all 4 macs in the office, and when one is updated, it pushes the modification to all the other local files (sync). Is there any program that can help me do this? I'd rather not use Dropbox etc, because I have a lot of data and I would need to buy the business edition which is expensive... Plus I'd like to keep it all backed up locally, and IDK how that would work with Dropbox (separate question?).

Thanks everyone

 

[onekerato]

You can use BitTorrent Sync (http://labs.bittorrent.com/experiments/sync.html) to sync a folder between two or more Macs.

Can be set up for LAN-only sync (i.e. without need for internet). Works great for large data transfers.

 

[antonis]

If you know your way with command line (terminal):

There's also the rsync command which is built-in to the operating system. It's the absolute standard among unix machines.
It can also be scheduled using crontab (also built-in of course) in order to run in specific intervals.

 

[BrianBaughn]

What is the amount of storage you'll need?

 

[Z400Racer37]

You can use BitTorrent Sync (http://labs.bittorrent.com/experiments/sync.html) to sync a folder between two or more Macs.

Can be set up for LAN-only sync (i.e. without need for internet). Works great for large data transfers.

Thanks, I'll give that a look!

If you know your way with command line (terminal):

There's also the rsync command which is built-in to the operating system. It's the absolute standard among unix machines.
It can also be scheduled using crontab (also built-in of course) in order to run in specific intervals.

Hmm, might you have any specific commands in mind? heh. Ideally it would sync whenever it detects a change in the folder in question, is that possible?

What is the amount of storage you'll need?

Right now I'm up to about 10 GB, but I'm converting the entire office to paperless, and I basically need all data synced and searchable. Maybe I will need room to 25-30? It's hard to tell...

Thanks all

 

[BrianBaughn]

Sounds like you're definitely looking for the type of syncing that Dropbox, Google Drive, Box etc provide. There are certain files that it doesn't work well with...such as Quicken files...but most files types do fine.

Google gives a total of 15GB per account for email and files. If you're not using the email then you get 15GB for files.

Insync (insynchq.com) syncs multiple google accounts using a one-time $10 fee per account system. Everyone could be logged into the same Insync account, I suppose. When you need more storage you can just add a new Google account. Not the most elegant solution but pretty cheap.