Understanding Sync

If you are using IBM Aspera Drive with IBM Aspera on Cloud or IBM Aspera Shares, you can use Drive's sync feature to automatically synchronize files and folders between the remote server and the local computer.

Sync Direction

When you set up sync, you must choose the direction of synchronization. Drive can be configured for the following direction settings:
  • Remote to Local

    This is the default setting. In this configuration, the remote computer (usually a server) retains the master version of the files. The latest content is copied from the server to users' workstations.

  • Local to Remote

    In this configuration, the user's version of the content is assumed to be the master version, and is copied to a central server. Typically, this setting is employed when users update content frequently.

  • Two-Way

    In a two-way, or bidirectional, sync relationship, changes in each location are copied to the other location. With this type of sync, the contents of both remote and local are identical after the sync has completed.

    Note: When you have two-way sync configured, Drive runs these transfers using the lowest non-zero bandwidth limit that you have set for for automatic transfers. For details on setting bandwidth limits for automatic transfers, see Manual Versus Automatic Transfers.

    If no bandwidth limit is set, Drive runs two-way sync transfers at the maximum rate that the server and network conditions allow.

Avoiding Sync Conflicts

To avoid unexpected results, understand what each sync direction setting means and choose carefully. For example, consider the following scenario:

The system is configured for remote-to-local sync. When the scheduled automatic sync occurs, the latest content is copied from the remote computer to the user's local desktop. A local user then creates a new file. The next automatic sync occurs, but this new file still exists only on the user's computer. This is the expected behavior in remote-to-local sync. In this scenario, the content on the destination is not necessarily identical to that on the source.

Initial Synchronization

When you first set up a sync relationship between two computers, the system performs its initial transfer of content from the source location to the destination (or target) location. Depending on the size of the content, this can be a large operation.

Then, when the system performs the next automatic sync, any changes at the source location are copied to the target.

Automatic Sync Versus Reset

Automatic Sync

After the initial transfer, synchronization between the transfer server and client computers occurs automatically, at the regular interval you have set in Drive's Preferences dialog.

In these automatic sync operations, the system transfers only the changes since the most recent sync.

Reset Sync

A reset operation is like starting over. Unlike automatic sync, a reset is a wholesale transfer of all the content, not just the changed content. Because a reset clears the sync records, you typically perform a reset only after resolving a conflict or changing the sync configuration.