Dropbox Smart Sync
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So as some may know I have been looking for a solution to make a vast amount of data easily accessible for mobile users.
I just discovered Smart Sync, a feature Dropbox apparently released last year. It seems it will only sync what you "pin' or what you access the most. This may allow me to dump terabytes of data on the cloud and access it from anywhere. I am about to test it out.
Any use this or a product that does something similar, or have any experience with Dropbox Smart Sync?
Side Note: When I first got Dropbox in 2008 this is how it worked, as far as I remember. At some point dropbox changed to syncing everything in real time.
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Sounds good, looking forward to feedback on it.
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@scottalanmiller said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
Sounds good, looking forward to feedback on it.
Looking forward to trying to break it! lol
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If this works, is it a VPN?
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@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
So as some may know I have been looking for a solution to make a vast amount of data easily accessible for mobile users.
I just discovered Smart Sync, a feature Dropbox apparently released last year. It seems it will only sync what you "pin' or what you access the most. This may allow me to dump terabytes of data on the cloud and access it from anywhere. I am about to test it out.
Any use this or a product that does something similar, or have any experience with Dropbox Smart Sync?
Side Note: When I first got Dropbox in 2008 this is how it worked, as far as I remember. At some point dropbox changed to syncing everything in real time.
I used it from the very beginning, it's a game changer for us because we have a huge number of files in dropbox so the client initial sync can take ages. It works ok, the only downside is that (obviously) the file pointers are useless without internet connection.
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@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
If this works, is it a VPN?
Dropbox might use a VPN to tunnel the encryption, but Dropbox itself isn't a VPN.
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@Francesco-Provino said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
So as some may know I have been looking for a solution to make a vast amount of data easily accessible for mobile users.
I just discovered Smart Sync, a feature Dropbox apparently released last year. It seems it will only sync what you "pin' or what you access the most. This may allow me to dump terabytes of data on the cloud and access it from anywhere. I am about to test it out.
Any use this or a product that does something similar, or have any experience with Dropbox Smart Sync?
Side Note: When I first got Dropbox in 2008 this is how it worked, as far as I remember. At some point dropbox changed to syncing everything in real time.
I used it from the very beginning, it's a game changer for us because we have a huge number of files in dropbox so the client initial sync can take ages. It works ok, the only downside is that (obviously) the file pointers are useless without internet connection.
@Francesco-Provino Great to know it is working for you. How does Smart Sync handle file access when two people are editing?
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One drive now has similar feature (files on demand)
"With Files On-Demand, you can access all your files in the cloud without having to download them and use storage space on your device. You don’t have to change the way you work, because all your files—even online files—can be seen in File Explorer and work just like every other file on your device."
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@Ambarishrh said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
One drive now has similar feature (files on demand)
"With Files On-Demand, you can access all your files in the cloud without having to download them and use storage space on your device. You don’t have to change the way you work, because all your files—even online files—can be seen in File Explorer and work just like every other file on your device."
Yeah I saw that when evaluating ODfB over the past couple weeks. Its one of Microsoft's many "coming soon" features in Windows 10 future builds. Who knows when it will come, and if it will ever work.
As it is I can't get ODfB to consistently sync docs. If you place a new file in an existing syncing folder its all "fingers crossed" that it will every sync and appear in the online Sharepoint view. Very scary.
I really wish everything Microsoft has in their cloud arsenal worked reliably. At a concept level I could use them for everything IT related, AND it would save money.
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@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
@Francesco-Provino said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
So as some may know I have been looking for a solution to make a vast amount of data easily accessible for mobile users.
I just discovered Smart Sync, a feature Dropbox apparently released last year. It seems it will only sync what you "pin' or what you access the most. This may allow me to dump terabytes of data on the cloud and access it from anywhere. I am about to test it out.
Any use this or a product that does something similar, or have any experience with Dropbox Smart Sync?
Side Note: When I first got Dropbox in 2008 this is how it worked, as far as I remember. At some point dropbox changed to syncing everything in real time.
I used it from the very beginning, it's a game changer for us because we have a huge number of files in dropbox so the client initial sync can take ages. It works ok, the only downside is that (obviously) the file pointers are useless without internet connection.
@Francesco-Provino Great to know it is working for you. How does Smart Sync handle file access when two people are editing?
This is the biggest issue with dropbox, non only with smart sync. If you open an office file through the integrated o365 the experience is great and you can do collaborative editing in realtime. Otherwise, il better if you work on a copy or you will get a conflicted version issue.
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@Francesco-Provino I am about to try a tool in RDSH that will mount One Drive libraries as a UNC path and Drive Letter. I suspect its little more than an elaborate WEBDAV setup but I am hoping to be impressed. A lot of Citrix guys seem to like it.
If it works it would be enough to allow me to wait for the forthcoming updates to "Files On Demand". Microsoft's made no statement about whether those changes will only be released for Win 10 or will be included for 2016 RDSH. It apparently involves a lot of changes to the OS itself.
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@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
This may allow me to dump terabytes of data on the cloud and access it from anywhere. I am about to test it out.
I have used Dropbox Smart Sync, you will have an issue when trying to fetch folders that have over 300,000 items and it all depends on the power of your computer and internet bandwidth. Is like a search on demand but using your Internet.
It is important to note that Dropbox has never been supported on Servers and will not be as far as Dropbox has stated. Dropbox has not been great with collaboration and that is why you would end up with multiple duplicate files when someone is working on a shared folder same as you.
For sure it frees your computer to have all your folder synced or shared but you need to for "best practices" have a drive equal or greater than the full space you have with Dropbox. In a business account is up to 2 TB.
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@dbeato Thanks for the feedback. What do you use as an alternative?
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@bigbear I just only sync what I need and go online to check what else is needed. I use OwnCloud/NextCloud and select what I want to sync.
NextCloud has been requested the same feature as Dropbox, see below:
https://github.com/nextcloud/server/issues/4717 -
@dbeato I have thought a lot about nextcloud. They didnt seem to have any support plans for the ~10 to 15 user size companies so I was hesitant to go with it.
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@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
@dbeato I have thought a lot about nextcloud. They didnt seem to have any support plans for the ~10 to 15 user size companies so I was hesitant to go with it.
You can also host it yourself to no cost other than maintaining it. Maybe you can ask them directly for special pricing
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@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
@Francesco-Provino I am about to try a tool in RDSH that will mount One Drive libraries as a UNC path and Drive Letter. I suspect its little more than an elaborate WEBDAV setup but I am hoping to be impressed. A lot of Citrix guys seem to like it.
If it works it would be enough to allow me to wait for the forthcoming updates to "Files On Demand". Microsoft's made no statement about whether those changes will only be released for Win 10 or will be included for 2016 RDSH. It apparently involves a lot of changes to the OS itself.
@bigbear, do you mind sharing the name of this tool? I have tried several in the last couple of years and they've all been "craptacular". I'm still hoping to find a useful one!
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@manxam Its a german consulting group I think. they have a site up called Konnect.io
The guy just sent me a link earlier today to the trial
http://trial.konnekt.io/releases/index.html?channel=Release
In case you dont want to fill out the demo form.
Right now they are selling for $25 lifetime license per user. I imagine its because they know the Files On Demand from MS for Onedrive will eventually be a reality.
Im gonna be testing it out tomorrow. If you try it I would be interested to get your feedback on your use cases.
Why Microsoft cant do what a small consultancy can still blows my man. But I am sure Files On Demand is probably a major ground up redesign.
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@bigbear said in Dropbox Smart Sync:
@dbeato I have thought a lot about nextcloud. They didnt seem to have any support plans for the ~10 to 15 user size companies so I was hesitant to go with it.
Or, you could ask certain people in the community that promote it all the time to see what they offer.
