syncing folders between a Mac and a NAS on Snow Leopard

[austinsevo]

I remember seeing a feature new to Snow Leopard that will sync a network folder to a local folder on a Mac running Snow Leopard. I remember it being included in the OS, not a 3rd party app.

Does anyone know what im talking about?

 

[r0k]

I remember seeing a feature new to Snow Leopard that will sync a network folder to a local folder on a Mac running Snow Leopard. I remember it being included in the OS, not a 3rd party app.

Does anyone know what im talking about?

I used to do this when I ran windows. I used a freeware program called "syncback" to synchronize my computer to a network drive every night at 4am. It was sort of a "poor man's time machine". There is also a freebie available from Microsoft called "Sync toy".

On OS X, the free sync utility requires a visit to Terminal. I'm sure there's a graphical OS X freeware program that does this same thing. I've probably even downloaded it but never got around to installing it. Of course there is the built in command line sync utility rsync. There is a more in-depth rsync tutorial here.

While searching for freeware today, I ran across a number of commercial and shareware OS X file and folder sync programs. I bet that some of them simply put up a friendly graphical wrapper around rsync.

edit: Ok I found a freeware graphical rsync wrapper over at apple.com: It's called backuplist+.

I also found a shareware program that costs 12 bucks called nSync.

Please note that I have not tried either of these so be sure to test them thoroughly before you rely on them. I should also mention that I use Time Machine/Time Capsule to handle my sync needs. I browse to the sparsebundle file and grab copies of any files I'm looking for using Finder rather than bothering with the whole animated Time Machine interface. For some reason (perhaps to sell more Time Capsules), Apple is reluctant to support using Time Machine with just any old NAS but I seem to remember they finally backed down and decided to allow Time Machine to work with a usb hard drive attached to an Airport Extreme.

 

[austinsevo]

I used to do this when I ran windows. I used a freeware program called "syncback" to synchronize my computer to a network drive every night at 4am. It was sort of a "poor man's time machine". There is also a freebie available from Microsoft called "Sync toy".

On OS X, the free sync utility requires a visit to Terminal. I'm sure there's a graphical OS X freeware program that does this same thing. I've probably even downloaded it but never got around to installing it. Of course there is the built in command line sync utility rsync. There is a more in-depth rsync tutorial here.

While searching for freeware today, I ran across a number of commercial and shareware OS X file and folder sync programs. I bet that some of them simply put up a friendly graphical wrapper around rsync.

edit: Ok I found a freeware graphical rsync wrapper over at apple.com: It's called backuplist+.

I also found a shareware program that costs 12 bucks called nSync.

Please note that I have not tried either of these so be sure to test them thoroughly before you rely on them. I should also mention that I use Time Machine/Time Capsule to handle my sync needs. I browse to the sparsebundle file and grab copies of any files I'm looking for using Finder rather than bothering with the whole animated Time Machine interface. For some reason (perhaps to sell more Time Capsules), Apple is reluctant to support using Time Machine with just any old NAS but I seem to remember they finally backed down and decided to allow Time Machine to work with a usb hard drive attached to an Airport Extreme.

thanks but like i said im looking for a feature that i saw included in Snow Leopard, not an 3rd party tool.

after looking back at my notes when i was at the conference, i think what im looking for is called "Portable Home Directories".

 

[r0k]

thanks but like i said im looking for a feature that i saw included in Snow Leopard, not an 3rd party tool.

after looking back at my notes when i was at the conference, i think what im looking for is called "Portable Home Directories".

rsync is included in Leopard. If you like the terminal. Otherwise, there are 3rd party tools to make it easier to use. I'm going off to google for "portable home directories". That doesn't sound at all like rsync.

I found it in an article that talked about OS X Snow Leopard Server. It has to do with syncing home directories when you log in to multiple machines and want your stuff to "just be there."

Here is a quote...

4. Far better Portable Home Directory Syncing options

Prior to Mac OS X 10.6, if you used Portable Home Directory Syncing, you had two options: Login/Logout sync or Background Sync. For Mac OS X 10.6, Apple increased the granularity by allowing you to manage login and logout sync separately. This is a bonus for people who are trying to minimize login/logout times, while still retaining the advantages of syncing outside of logins. (If you have files that are held open while you’re working, login/logout are the only practical times to sync them, so background sync is not a great option for those.)

read more...

But the article mentions that this feature is not new in Snow Leopard, only improved in Snow Leopard. I'm confused why you are asking about a SL server feature in a thread that deals with syncing folders with NAS. Well, I suppose that NAS could be sitting on a SL server... But unless I misunderstand where you are going with this question, I still think you are better off with one of the 3rd party rsync wrappers.

 

[austinsevo]

rsync is included in Leopard. If you like the terminal. Otherwise, there are 3rd party tools to make it easier to use. I'm going off to google for "portable home directories". That doesn't sound at all like rsync.

I found it in an article that talked about OS X Snow Leopard Server. It has to do with syncing home directories when you log in to multiple machines and want your stuff to "just be there."

Here is a quote...
read more...

But the article mentions that this feature is not new in Snow Leopard, only improved in Snow Leopard. I'm confused why you are asking about a SL server feature in a thread that deals with syncing folders with NAS. Well, I suppose that NAS could be sitting on a SL server... But unless I misunderstand where you are going with this question, I still think you are better off with one of the 3rd party rsync wrappers.

im sorry but do i need a Mac Server to use PHD (Portable Home Directories)?