Re: Directory synchronization packages
On Wed, 2011-01-12 at 10:52 -0500, John A. Sullivan III wrote:
> On Wed, 2011-01-12 at 09:57 -0500, Gilbert Sullivan wrote:
> > On 01/11/2011 06:31 PM, John A. Sullivan III wrote:
> > > On Tue, 2011-01-11 at 17:37 -0500, John A. Sullivan III wrote:
> > >> Hello, all. We are looking for a Lenny/Squeeze package to synchronize
> > >> directories between our physical desktops and our X2Go (www.x2go.org) /
> > >> Trinity (KDE3 - trinity.pearsoncomputing.net) based virtual desktops via
> > >> sshfs and have had difficulty finding an acceptable package that is
> > >> friendly for all levels of users to use within a GUI. Any suggestions?
> > >>
> > >> We noticed that there is a package for unison-gtk but have some
> > >> reservations. As powerful as unison is, it is no longer maintained.
> > >> The GUI seemed intuitive to a developer but not to an average office
> > >> user. There was no way to browse hidden directories other than entering
> > >> them by hand. So our search began especially for something that would
> > >> work well on KDE3/Trinity.
> >
> > Finding software to synchronize desktops that is powerful enough and
> > flexible enough to get synchronization done exactly the way you need it
> > while still allowing non-techies to use it is a real challenge.
> > Unison-gtk is the only (nearly) satisfactory FOSS solution I've found so
> > far. It has required considerable effort to train some of my more
> > hapless users to keep it from becoming a weapon of mass data destruction
> > in their hands.
> LOL
> >
> > As I understand it, unison-gtk is still being maintained but isn't being
> > developed. I think its maintainers still act on critical bugs and
> > security issues (if any are being reported) or it wouldn't still be in
> > the Squeeze repos.
> Yes - I should have been more specific. That is correct.
> >
> > <snip>>> We looked at Krusader and were very impressed but it appears to be a
> > >> simple copy rather than an rsync style differential block
> > >> synchronization.
> I took another look at Krusader. It is SO impressive but, we traced the
> packets during synchronization just hoping against hope and it is indeed
> a straight file transfer - no differentials. Really disappointed
> although I could see Krusader being overwhelming to some users.
> > >>
> > >> We look at Komparator but it is KDE4 based, has a UI that seems
> > >> overwhelming to an average office user, and seems more oriented toward
> > >> search and compare than sync.
> >
> > <snip>>>
> > >> We are considering DirSyncPro. Again, there is no Debian package. It
> > >> is Java based which concerns us regarding memory and CPU consumption
> > >> when we are trying to squeeze as many virtual desktops onto a host as
> > >> possible. It does seem to be fairly full featured and actively
> > >> developed. Our packet traces show it does appear to do block level
> > >> synchronization.
> > >>
> >
> > I'm glad you reported this. I'm going to start looking at it as my
> > alternative. I wonder if there will be any effort to get it into the
> > Debian repos. I'm trying to stick exclusively with the office
> > repositories these days.
> Same with us. We've got it set up now and released for testing. We'll
> see what the feedback is.
> >
> <snip>
We've hit some serious bugs with DirSyncPro. We've reported them to
their bug tracker. We reported several minor ones early on and the
developer was extremely responsive; they were all fixed in short order.
The last two serious ones (major features almost completely broken) have
drawn stunning silence. Of course, it could be someone had the nerve to
go on vacation or something :)
However, in case those bugs are not fixed quickly, has anyone had any
luck finding an alternative to Unison or at least a more user friendly
front end? Thanks - John
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