The Difference Between Backup and Sync Folders
Let's start off with the differences between backup and sync folders. Though you may think that backup and sync folders are similar there are certain aspects which distinguish them.
Backup folders are read only and backups can be scheduled (every minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly). This means that you cannot edit files in your backup folder, but you can share the backup folder and you can download the folder if you like.
With sync folders you can sync files online and across multiple computers. Files can be edited directly on your local computer and on your Wuala sync folder, and are updated a short time after a change has taken place. Sync folders can be shared with friends.
Hence, the major difference is that your Wuala backup folder is read only, while your Wuala sync folder allows you to add and edit files directly.
The Details
Since we have released sync last week, we have received many specific questions on how sync works. I would like to pick up those questions and answer them.
How many previous versions are saved?
10 versions. The first version and the last version are always available.
Can I delete old versions?
In order to delete an old version, you would need to delete the whole file.
Are old versions of files saved when using sync?
Yes, old versions of files are saved. However, if you delete a file and then empty the trash on Wuala, the file and all its old versions will be permanently deleted.
How are conflicts handled in sync folders?
A copy of the conflicting files is made.
What happens when I delete a file in my local folder?
When you delete a file in your local folder it will be deleted in your Wuala sync folder and on all other folders which you have linked to your Wuala sync folder. However, with the time travel feature you can restore the file again. Select your sync folder and go to View > Show Time Travel. With the slider at the bottom you can move back and forth in time and select deleted files. If you want to restore a file, select it and go to File > Restore.
The Advanced Option
When setting up a sync folder (read the previous posting on How To Set Up Sync in Three Steps) you can also define where you want to create your sync folder within Wuala. Click on 'Advanced' in the 'Add Sync' dialog. You can now select the location of your sync folder on Wuala and set a folder name. This is convenient if you want to have your Sync folder in a special location on Wuala.
Let me know if you have any further questions or topics we should consider in this series.
Great info here :)
ReplyDeleteHowever I would like to suggest you an improvement of these features.
I think that backup and sync features should work together.
As you explained the differences are three: backup folders are read only on wuala, backup folders cannot be synchronized with other computers, with synchronized folders you only have access to the last 10 versions of you files (the problem is that you can have 10 synchronization in 10 minutes and so you would end up having the oldest available version of that file which correspond to 10 minutes before... which is not very good).
I think that if you allow more flexibility about which versions should be maintained it would be great!
By using sync you can make changes very often and every single changes becomes a new version.
It would instead be really useful to specify which versions of (backed up and synchronized) files needs to be saved.
For example to be able to access:
* the version of a X days ago
* the version of X weeks
* the version of X months ago
* the last 5 synchronized versions
and this regardless of how many changes of that file were made!
Your new synchronization feature is really great and it really close to my idea of the "ideal" backup solution :)
For use cases of the backup-and-sync solution resulting from that changes you can read here:
http://serverfault.com/questions/127725/finding-a-backup-and-synchronization-solution
Last question: are only deltas of edited files sent and received by all the computers synchronizing a specific folder?
The sync feature is awesome, the backup sync is awesome too... And here is a suggestion to make it even more awesome :)
ReplyDeleteWhat about being more flexible about which versions to maintain for a file?
I think that it would be great to allow, in both synchronized and backed up folders, to access versions:
* of X days ago
* of X weeks ago
* of X months ago
* and up to the last X synchronized versions
Doing so you avoid the problem given by synchronized folders.
Files in synchronized folders can in fact be edited really often... For example by doing an edit to a file 10 times every minute you would end up being able to access only the version of the file as it was 10 minutes ago without being able to go back in time any further.
This is not good for who would like to use wuala synchronization feature as backup solution.
Instead, by implementing a more flexible selection of previous versions, the synchronization features could be used as a backup and synchronization solution!
For a use case of a synch-and-backup solution you can read here:
http://serverfault.com/questions/127725/finding-a-backup-and-synchronization-solution
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I have passed it on the the appropriate developer.
ReplyDelete