Replicating folders across WAN

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sriram N A \(MICO/PJ-SAP-PP\) *
  • Start date Start date
S

Sriram N A \(MICO/PJ-SAP-PP\) *

I need a folder tree on another server (in another domain in another
country) replicated over the WAN to a local server for ready access at least
once a week.

Due to the size of the remote folder tree (about 3 GB) and bandwidth
constraints, doing a full copy, with a tool such as robocopy, is not a good
option.

Is there any good method in Windows 2000 by which I can get only the updated
/ added files replicated to our local server? It would be nice if the
folder structure is retained, a log is created of the files transferred ,
and the whole operation can be scheduled in the night.

Sriram
 
I need a folder tree on another server (in another domain in another
country) replicated over the WAN to a local server for ready access at least
once a week.

Due to the size of the remote folder tree (about 3 GB) and bandwidth
constraints, doing a full copy, with a tool such as robocopy, is not a good
option.

Is there any good method in Windows 2000 by which I can get only the updated
/ added files replicated to our local server? It would be nice if the
folder structure is retained, a log is created of the files transferred ,
and the whole operation can be scheduled in the night.
Click to expand...

Robocopy can be used to copy only newer and changed files (/XO). Surely,
not the whole 3GB get changed every week? We used Robocopy for a long
time in this fashion. But now we want real-time bi-directional
replication.

We just installed Legato RepliStor on servers in Brisbane and London to
replicate, in real-time and bi-directionally, about 40,000 files
weighing >5GB, over a VPN. One Internet connection is 10Mb/s, the other
2Mb/s. This was implemented slowly for each top-level directory just
during the last week. So far, it seems to work.

One gotcha - initial false orphans. When you want bi-directional
replication, you start a replication job at both ends. I started one at
one end, and when it was finished, at the other. When the first job
encountered files on the target that were not present at the source, it
deleted them :-( For the next directories to be replicated, I will
disable the "delete orphans" option during the initial synchronisation.

BTW, the two sites were brought onto the "same page" indeed with
Robocopy: first copy all files which don't exist at the other site, then
update with newer files, never /PURGE. The first two jobs (BNE->LON,
LON->BNE) ran two days each. And I ran each job first with /L (log only)
and reviewed what would happen if run in earnest, to rectify small
naming inconsistencies, like one site calling a directory "2004-01", the
other "Jan 2004".

Just my 2 cents while the events are still fresh in my mind. Good luck.
 
Michael Bednarek said:
Robocopy can be used to copy only newer and changed files (/XO). Surely,
not the whole 3GB get changed every week? We used Robocopy for a long
time in this fashion. But now we want real-time bi-directional
replication.
Click to expand...

Umm.. never did check out all those switches, but if the functionality is
there, I'll use it.
We just installed Legato RepliStor on servers in Brisbane and London to
replicate, in real-time and bi-directionally, about 40,000 files
weighing >5GB, over a VPN. One Internet connection is 10Mb/s, the other
2Mb/s. This was implemented slowly for each top-level directory just
during the last week. So far, it seems to work.
Click to expand...

Have you checked out the built-in Windows Distributed File System features?
It sounds like it might do the trick when you need bi-directional
replication.
 
Umm.. never did check out all those switches, but if the functionality is
there, I'll use it.


Have you checked out the built-in Windows Distributed File System features?
It sounds like it might do the trick when you need bi-directional
replication.
Click to expand...

I checked it out briefly with a test directory and it gave me all sorts
of grief; don't remember exactly what, but I just left it. I suppose you
get what you pay for.
 
Check out secure copy
http://www.smallwonders.com/securecopy/secure_faqs.htm It will only
copy files that have changed and it is a great product. It should do
the trick but you could also use the old fashioned method of burning
the data onto a DVD and using UPS or FedEX and ship it over. It will
be a lot cheaper to do that 3 or 4 times a month versus paying the
money for increased bandwidth.
 
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