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AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

aerofs.com

21–30 of 123 posts

Re: AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

#21
I see it more suitable for techies than normals. For instance I can't imagine explaining to my wife or sister that their files won't sync and they can lose something if the other machine went offline but when it came back they have already switched off the first one :(

Re: AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

#22
post #11
post #2

This looks very interesting, but the it's a bit difficult to figure out what it actually is from the website. My impression is that it's like a more featureful take on Unison ("two-way rsync" iirc) with a central server to facilitate NAT traversal. I suppose they probably haven't figured out their eventual pricing model, but I'd certainly pay a few bucks a month just for coordinating NAT traversal, papering over dyna…

I also don't understand from the website if this is a real filesystem (mounts in the namespace of the OS, works with any program etc) or o userspace utility, something like an explorer/finder plugin. Can anyone shed some light on that? Thanks.

From what I can tell, it's neither: it's just a directory (and subdirectories) on the existing filesystem; like Dropbox.

"(...) a Library is realy just a folder on your computer!" http://support.aerofs.com/customer/portal/articles/25637-wha...

Re: AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

#25
post #10

I'm using this for about 6 months now. It works exactly like Dropbox, but it doesn't store any data on a central server, so I can use it even for my more sensitive files like my ssh private key. I have a server at home on which AeroFS is running, so my data generally is available. And if my internet at home is down, usually there's another machine where it's running. As it's syncing and keeping the local copy, the mo…

I've got one of these NAS devices at home that is always on: http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=167

I'd love to see installers made for a few of the NAS devices on the market for this. It would solve the "must have another computer on" thing really well.

Re: AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

#26
I signed up for this ages ago. I tried it for a while, and then ditched it. IIRC it didn't have support for one of my operating systems at the time. My requirements have changed now, and it's been a while, so I just went to the website to download the app again, and I can't find it anywhere. The download link just goes to an invite page. I still have my credentials, but I can't log in with them, because there is no login form. Or at least it is hidden...

Re: AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

#28
post #7

I've been using the beta for several months now and it has worked great across a variety of Windows and Mac machines. For things like music and photos where I have 40+GB of accumulated bits it feels a better option than a straight cloud based system like DropBox or JungleDisk (which I also use, but for a smaller amount of stuff). I have a number of machines with many GB of spare disk space, so rather than paying mont…

>Since machines on the local network sync at LAN speeds it is also very fast in the usual case. On a LAN, I don't really see the advantages over something like FreeFileSync, which is GPL'd. Over the 'net, locating the machine and performing NAT traversal can be useful, though, especially for people behind ISP NAT.

"On a LAN, I don't really see the advantages over something like FreeFileSync, which is GPL'd."

AeroFS is not a 'copy diffs' tool, it's like dropbox - changes are propagated instantly and automatically, in all directions. Yes you can run a cron job syncing every 2 minutes or whatever but that still doesn't do syncs to many machines, it means you need to keep the machine with the cron job always on etc. So no, AeroFS/Dropbox are not like FreeFileSync or Cobian Backup or rsync or SyncToy or anything like that.

Re: AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

#29
I received my invite awhile back but was disappointed to find out they didn't have support for my 64bit Linux box. Since I primarily run Linux, I was a bit disappointed. I'm fully understanding, though, as I know my demographic by no means has any kind of market share. Still, it would be a very nice additional and would be the pre-cursor to me giving AeroFS a shot at home.

Re: AeroFS - File Sync Without Servers

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See that seems like a bit of a downside to me, I like being able to pull down things from my Sparkleshare server onto my laptop when I'm out, but I don't have my computer on all the time (Infact, most of the time, when my laptop is on my computer is off and vice-versa). I still think it's a great idea but having some cloud storage is a definate plus.

Seems like you could use a decent router with USB storage support ;)

Or a Linux or Windows based NAS.
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