Cloud based sync system/software
I know this topic has been discussed before, but I haven't found an answer yet. It's possible that the answer has been provided, but I didn't read every single thread.
I am basically looking for a way to sync my files between my computers without running my own server.
I understand that I can use encryption to protect my files when hosted by someone else.
So far I have found 2 solution which do the job, but I don't like these solutions because they are closed source software:
1. Dropbox, does everything I need but the client software is closed source. It's not a problem if one day dropbox disappears as the files are also locally stored. So when I discover that dropbox has disappeared, I can simply go to my other computer with the internet unplugged and I will be able to make another copy of the files.
2. ownCloud, does everything I want but I need to run my own server. That's not something I want to do at this stage.
3. BitTorrent Sync, another interesting idea, but this has 2 problem. The first problem is that it's closed source and the second problem is that it requires you having your own server.
Does a solution exist for me to use which ticks all the boxes I am looking for?
The client of ubuntu one is free software, so why not give it a try?
The server side software is proprietary, but this shouldn't bother you since you don't want to set up your own server and it's not important which kind of software is running on canonicals server because you can't trust them anyway and have to protect yourself with encryption.
I had no idea that the client software of Ubuntu One was fully free software! I'll give it a try.
A problem with your description is the concept of "server", I think. ownCloud could run on one of the machines you that you want be involved in the syncing for example. Does installing a package make the machine magically become a "server"? It's just a software that any machine could run regardless of what you call it. Do you want something that doesn't need the other computer to be powered on in order to sync? That implies the data's been sent to some third party 'cause if the other machine's going to be powered on then you have lots of options of syncing directly between the two machines. That option includes ownCloud, since it can be installed on any computer. Or do you want to send the files to a third party? That lets you do syncing with the other machine turned off but creates other issues. If you have don't mind that the machines be on at the same time in order to sync files:
Use rsync?
Use version control?
Use Unison?
**Do you want something that doesn't need the other computer to be powered on in order to sync?**
Yes, that's what I'm after, which seems to rule out ownCloud and BitTorrent Sync (which wasn't ever an option because it's closed source. I think it also rules out rsync, version control such as git and I've not heard of Unison before. I'll look it up.
Thanks.
Use a DVCS repo on a portable disk? I use a USB flash drive to store
Mercurial bundles of changes that I do to my private repos (todo list,
browser bookmarks). Bundles can store changes that aren't included in
another repo or all changes, I had two repos of which one had exactly
the state after pulling changes from a bundle, so I sent a bundle with
new changes only to the other computer. I don't know such a solution
for git, I copy an archive with the whole bare repo.
I could probably use GIT for this? I mention GIT because it's the only DVCS I have a little experience with.
В 21:56 +0100 на 02.03.2014 (нд), oshirowanen[@nospam] написа:
> I know this topic has been discussed before, but I haven't found an answer
> yet. It's possible that the answer has been provided, but I didn't read
> every single thread.
>
> I am basically looking for a way to sync my files between my computers
> without running my own server.
Probably more than a simple sync, but still. I'll recommend duply +
duplicity. The first is a bash script wrapper around the second, meant
for easy configuration and automation with cron. The second is the
actual beast. :) It supports different backends (ssh, sftp, rsyn, ftp ..
etc). Encryption is supported with with GNU Privacy guard, it has
incremental and full backups, can be fully automated and has support the
storage some big companies provide as a backend.
The GUI backup tool Déjà Dup in Trisquel uses duplicity.
Thanks, I'll have a look at this solution!
What about "https://owncloud.com/registration" ?
It is a server using the owncloud.org system:
"About ownCloud
Based on the popular ownCloud open source file sync and share community project, ownCloud Inc. was founded in 2011 to give corporate IT greater control of their data — combining greater flexibility, openness and extensibility with on premise servers and storage. Company headquarters are in Boston, with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany." - https://owncloud.com/about
Another possibility is leastauthority.com which is endorsed by Richard Stallman, the FSF, and Jacob Applebaum of the Tor project. Unfortunately, the main service is very pricey right now, but hopefully their "Magic Folder" (A Dropbox clone) will be much more affordable when it finally arrives.
THE CLOUD WILL NEVER BE SAFE! sorry guys.
Take a look at git-annex and git-annex assitant.
What about SparkleShare (DropBox-like)? The client is free software and included in Trisquel's repository. Of course, you want to encrypt everything before uploading (or consider those data as public).
I am a translator!
Sparkelshare uses Mono, so it's a no-no.